I’m writing to urge you to defend the legitimacy of our government institutions and the rule of law. President Trump announced today that he is canceling all executive orders signed by President Biden with an autopen, claiming 92% were signed “illegally” and threatening the former president with perjury charges. This attack undermines constitutional governance and sets a dangerous precedent that threatens every future administration, regardless of party.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel ruled in 2005 under President George W. Bush that “the President need not personally perform the physical act of affixing his signature to a bill he approves and decides to sign in order for the bill to become law.” Autopen use has been standard practice since the Truman administration, and every modern president, including Trump himself, has used it. A 1929 memo from the U.S. solicitor general confirmed that the Constitution doesn’t require any specific method for presidential actions like pardons. Biden has repeatedly stated he made all decisions during his presidency, and the recent House Republican report on autopen use found no evidence that aides acted without his authorization. Zero evidence.
This isn’t about defending one party over another. It’s about preventing a dangerous erosion of legal precedent that protects the functioning of government. If any president can retroactively void their predecessor’s lawful actions on invented grounds, we don’t have stability or accountability. We have chaos. I urge you to publicly affirm that autopen use is lawful, defend the established Office of Legal Counsel opinions that protect all presidents, and reject any attempts to criminalize standard executive practices. Our system depends on consistent rules that apply to everyone.
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