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Trump disputes validity of graces granted by Joe Biden

Donald Trump declares the graces signed by Joe Biden null and void, claiming they were granted without his actual approval. The controversy surrounding Biden’s preventive graces protecting various political figures and family members is reignited

Donald Trump declared the presidential graces granted by Joe Biden ‘null, void, and of no effect’, claiming that they were not signed personally by the president, but through a mechanical instrument called an ‘Autopen’. According to Trump, Biden ‘knew nothing about it’, as the graces, issued on 20 January, were allegedly signed automatically, and therefore had no legal value.

In his message on Truth Social, Trump particularly challenged the prior graces granted to protect members of the investigative committee on the assault on Congress, described as ‘the committee of political bandits’. Among the recipients of the graces would include, in addition to members of the committee, prominent figures such as the former head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, and virologist Anthony Fauci.

However, constitutional experts and case law seem to refute Trump’s claims. The US Constitution grants the president full authority to issue graces, without specifying that they must be physically signed, as confirmed by legal precedents from 1929 and last year.

Trump’s statements evoking the possibility of legal action against the recipients of graces risk fuelling further political and legal tensions in the US.

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