00:00President Donald Trump has ignited a new legal and political showdown, announcing on Friday
00:25that he is terminating any executive order, memorandum, or federal directive signed by President Joe Biden using the auto pen.
00:35The declaration came in a fiery Truth Social post, where Trump claimed, without offering evidence,
00:42that 92 percent of Biden's official actions were executed by mechanical signature rather than personal approval.
00:51Trump alleged that Biden was not involved in the auto pen process, accusing unnamed staffers of acting illegally and effectively usurping presidential power.
01:03He wrote, quote, any document signed by sleepy Joe Biden with the auto pen is hereby terminated and of no further force or effect.
01:13The president went further, warning that if Biden claims he personally approved the signatures, he could face perjury charges.
01:23An auto pen is a long used mechanical device that replicates a person's handwritten signature.
01:29Presidents from George W. Bush to Barack Obama have relied on it for routine approvals.
01:35And a 2005 Justice Department opinion makes clear the president does not need to physically sign a bill or directive himself as long as he authorizes its use.
01:48Trump himself used the auto pen during his first term.
01:52But the core of Trump's allegation is that Biden never approved the signatures.
01:57In accusation, Biden allies disnest as baseless and politically motivated.
02:04Legal experts say Trump's sweeping action would face immediate constitutional challenges.
02:10Noting that while presidents can reverse a predecessor's policies prospectively,
02:16they cannot retroactively void them based solely on disputes over the signing method.
02:22Some scholars also point out that there is no history of court striking down presidential orders because of auto pen use alone.
02:30In Biden's pardons, another target of Trump's claims are not considered void.
02:36According to experts, without clear evidence, the president himself did not authorize them.
02:42The legal implications remain uncertain.
02:45But the political message is unmistakable.
02:48President Trump is once again rewriting the boundaries of executive power,
02:54setting the stage for yet another bitter battle in Washington.
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