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Trump orders investigation into alleged concealment of Biden’s cognitive decline

The president accuses the former Democratic administration of hiding Biden’s unsuitability to lead the country. Presidential pardons and the use of the Autopen are also under scrutiny

An unprecedented investigation has been launched on the orders of US President Donald Trump to ascertain whether, during the final phase of the previous administration, measures were taken to conceal the cognitive decline of then-President Joe Biden. The measure, announced in an executive order signed by the White House, suggests a veritable ‘cover-up’ of the Democratic leader’s condition, which could invalidate dozens of crucial decisions taken in the last months of his term.

The use of the autopen, a machine used to reproduce the president’s signature automatically, is also under scrutiny. Trump accuses Biden’s staff of abusing this tool to simulate signatures on executive orders, presidential pardons and other official acts, taking advantage of the outgoing president’s increasing vulnerability. Among the contested acts are also preventive pardons for members of the Biden family, former officials and military personnel, with the aim of protecting them from possible legal proceedings.

The current administration’s measure expressly cites the risk that ‘the American people were kept in the dark about who was really exercising executive power’ while policies described as ‘extremist’ were being adopted. In particular, the legitimacy of the decree by which Biden commuted 37 of the 40 federal death sentences to life imprisonment is also being contested, a measure that could now be reconsidered.

However, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Affairs had already ruled in 2025 that autopen signatures are legitimate for sitting presidents. The official position is that a document signed with this tool, with the direct authorisation of the president, has full legal value. Trump himself, during his first term, used the autopen for some official communications.

Biden, who was recently diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer, responded with a harsh statement: “Let me be clear: I made all the decisions during my presidency. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous and false.’

Trump’s move comes in the wake of controversy sparked by the book Original Sin, written by journalists Jake Tapper (CNN) and Alex Thompson (Axios), which details the Biden staff’s attempts to publicly downplay the impact of the president’s advanced age, while privately discussing his growing difficulty in maintaining full control of the presidential agenda.

The investigation, now in the hands of a special commission appointed by the White House, could have significant consequences for the validity of acts signed in the final months of Biden’s term, with possible repercussions on administrative, military and diplomatic decisions.

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