A pro-energy group, Power the Future, is calling for an investigation into multiple Biden administration executive actions on climate, alleging they were signed by an autopen without the president’s awareness or public comment. The organization reviewed eight significant orders, such as a ban on Arctic drilling and a commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, and found no public statements from Biden regarding them. Power the Future has urged the DOJ and congressional committees to explore the legitimacy of these orders and verify whether the president approved them. Concerns have been raised about potential unauthorized actions taken in Biden’s name.
FIRST ON FOX: A pro-energy organization is revitalizing its request for an investigation into several Biden administration executive actions regarding climate, which it argues should be considered void since they were signed using an autopen without any public acknowledgment from former President Joe Biden confirming his awareness of them.
Power the Future, a nonprofit that champions American energy employment, evaluated eight executive orders from Biden that it claims represent major changes in domestic energy policy. They reported no evidence of the president discussing any of these publicly, raising doubts about whether the orders were signed using an autopen and whether he was informed about them.
“These are not obscure bureaucratic memos; these were foundational shifts in American energy policy, yet not once did Joe Biden speak about them publicly,” stated Daniel Turner, founder and executive director of Power The Future, in remarks to Fox News Digital.
The executive orders analyzed by Power the Future comprise an Arctic drilling ban established in 2023, a 2021 executive order committing the federal government to net-zero emissions by 2050, an executive order requiring “clean energy” AI centers, and an offshore drilling ban executive order just before leaving office in 2025.
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Then-President Joe Biden listens during a visit to the D.C. Emergency Operations Center in Washington, D.C. (AP/Evan Vucci)
Finding no evidence of Biden publicly addressing the climate executive orders, Power the Future dispatched letters this week to the DOJ, EPA, DOI, DOE, as well as the House and Senate Oversight Committees, urging an investigation to identify who made the decisions, drafted the executive orders, and ultimately signed them.
“Given the mounting evidence that actions supposedly taken by the former president may not have been approved or signed by him, but rather executed by a small group of advisors in his name without his knowledge or over his signature using an ‘autopen,’ the necessity for congressional access to information has become increasingly critical,” reads the letter to GOP House Oversight Chair James Comer.
“Congress should ascertain how or whether these executive actions were sanctioned, and whether the former President was cognizant of such directives before they were enacted by the federal bureaucracy. Were these actions taken on behalf of the president and claiming to execute his authority done with his knowledge? It is essential for Congress to investigate all parties involved in these actions—who directed them, when, and what was said.”
WHAT IS AN AUTOPEN? THE SIGNING DEVICE AT THE HEART OF TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON BIDEN PARDONS
Then-President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference on the final day of the NATO summit in Washington on July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
Fox News Digital sought a response from Biden’s office but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
The presidential autopen has generated discussions among Republicans in recent weeks and months, particularly as concerns about Biden’s mental sharpness during his presidency, particularly in recent years, have intensified after the release of Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson’s book “Original Sin.”
“Power The Future remains alarmed that significant policies impacting the economy and national security directed by the White House during the Biden administration might have been enacted without the president’s awareness and consent, potentially originating from a small group of staff,” the letter emphasizes.
“Although this probability has become clearer due to claims made in the book ‘Original Sin,’ these assertions merely corroborate information that had already surfaced.”
An autopen is a machine that physically grasps a pen and is designed to duplicate a person’s signature. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel ruled in 2005 that the president is allowed to employ an autopen to sign bills into law, and in February, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided that the absence of “a writing does not equate to proof that a commutation did not occur.”
In March, President Donald Trump asserted that Biden’s pardons of lawmakers involved in the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, among others, are “VOID,” claiming they were signed with an autopen and that Biden was not even aware of them.
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Despite Trump’s concerns regarding the legitimacy of Biden’s pardons due to alleged use of an autopen, constitutional expert Jonathan Turley informed Fox News Digital that the chances of successfully contesting them in court are “vanishingly low.”
“Presidents are permitted to use the autopen, and courts will not presume a dead-hand conspiracy,” Turley stated.
Power the Future’s letter also mentions House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who noted in January that Biden seemed to forget he had signed an order to pause LNG exports during a meeting.
A report from a Heritage Foundation affiliate suggested that many official documents signed by Biden might have featured an autopen signature.
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Then-former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
“During the Biden administration, hundreds of billions of dollars were allocated to favored green initiatives, while the American fossil fuel sector faced penalties, and there is no indication that Biden ordered, directed, or was even aware of these actions taken in his name,” Turner remarked to Fox News Digital, asserting that the American public “has the right to know” who was signing executive orders “behind closed doors.”
“This autopen controversy underscores the invalidity of these green executive orders, and the individuals involved should be thoroughly investigated by the DOJ for betraying the American people’s trust and committing a significant fraud on the nation.”
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.