Former U.S. President Joe Biden directly rebutted allegations that he misused an automatic signature machine at the end of his term, criticizing President Donald Trump as a "liar."
According to The New York Times (NYT) on the 13th (local time), former President Biden stated in a 10-minute phone interview with the NYT on the 10th, "Every clemency decision was made consciously by me," adding, "Trump and Republican figures are lying. Everyone knows how deep his resentment is."
Former President Biden acknowledged the use of an automatic signature machine in the clemency and commutation decision process. However, he clarified that this was a procedure in which his aides used the machine to sign documents after he approved the clemency subjects in meetings. He added, "It was simply because there were too many clemency subjects to handle without using the automatic signature."
The NYT reported that an analysis of several thousand emails related to the Biden administration submitted to the National Archives by the Trump administration revealed that when former President Biden made verbal clemency decisions, his assistant Stephanie Feldman completed the documents using the automatic signature machine.
An automatic signature machine is an equipment that mechanically signs documents requiring the president's signature and is used for processing large volumes of documents. According to CBS News, past presidents, including John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama, have also utilized this device for letters, bills, and clemency documents.
President Trump also used the automatic signature machine but claimed to reporters in March, "I only used it for very unimportant documents," asserting, "It’s disgraceful that Biden used it for such important matters as clemency."
Earlier, President Trump directed an investigation, alleging that former President Biden, due to cognitive decline at the end of his term, was incapable of normal government operations and that his aides had concealed this while misusing the automatic signature machine.
The NYT added that the emails obtained are only a small part of the several thousand and that there are limitations in grasping the overall circumstances of the time.