Joe Biden says ‘I made the decisions’ after Donald Trump orders investigation

Joe Biden has hit back at Donald Trump’s directive to investigate his mental acuity in office, calling it a political stunt and a “distraction” aimed at deflecting from real issues.

Former US president Joe Biden has hit back at Donald Trump and said that he “made the decisions” while in the top job, defending his use of an autopen during his presidency, after the current president ordered an investigation.

Mr Trump directed US Attorney-General Pam Bondi to open a probe and mused that some of Mr Biden’s aides may have used the autopen system to get away with making key decisions for the 46th president, chiding that his mental acuity had declined.

“I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false,” Mr Biden said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into what Republicans claim was a “conspiracy” to cover up Joe Biden’s declining cognitive health during his time in the White House.

“This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.”

Shortly after his departure from the White House, the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project uncovered evidence that the 46th president had used an autopen — a device to produce his signature — on a slew of key documents such as proclamations, pardons, and executive orders.

Joe Biden falls during the graduation ceremony at the United States Air Force Academy in 2023. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump quickly seized on those revelations and began to publicly cast doubt on the legitimacy of many of Mr Biden’s actions, such as his flurry of last-minute pardons.

Earlier this week, the White House confirmed that Ed Martin, the head of an anti-weaponisation working group, is investigating whether Biden “was competent and whether others were taking advantage of him through use of AutoPen or other means.”

House Republicans, led by Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, launched a similar inquiry and have summoned five former Biden aides to answer questions about Biden’s mental acuity and whether there was a cover-up.

Then on Wednesday, Trump went a step further and directed the probe into the autopen use specifically, something that will be led by White House counsel David Warrington in co-ordination with Bondi.

“In recent months, it has become increasingly apparent that former Mr Biden’s aides abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Mr Biden’s cognitive decline and assert Article II authority,” Mr Trump argued in a memo to Ms Bondi.

Joe Biden trips on the steps as he arrives on stage to speak about his Bidenomics agenda at Tioga Marine Terminal in Philadelphia in 2023. Picture: AFP

“This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history,” he added. “The American public was purposefully shielded from discovering who wielded the executive power, all while Biden’s signature was deployed across thousands of documents to effect radical policy shifts.”

Since at least Thomas Jefferson, US presidents have used versions of an autopen to sign rudimentary documents such as holiday cards. The modern iteration of autopen use is believed to date back to Harry Truman, and presidents have used it in the decades since.

Mr Trump openly questioned Mr Biden’s mental fitness in office and strongly implied that some of his aides have taken advantage of the autopen.

“Given clear indications that President Biden lacked the capacity to exercise his Presidential authority, if his advisers secretly used the mechanical signature pen to conceal this incapacity, while taking radical executive actions all in his name, that would constitute an unconstitutional wielding of the power of the Presidency, a circumstance that would have implications for the legality and validity of numerous executive actions undertaken in Biden’s name,” Mr Trump contended in the memo.

The investigation he ordered will look for any deals between Mr Biden’s aides to “cooperatively and falsely deem recorded videos of the President’s cognitive inability as fake.”

All of this comes against the backdrop of renewed consternation over Mr Biden’s cognition in light of Original Sin by journalist Jake Tapper, which was published last month and details the 46th president’s mental acuity during his four years in the White House.

TRUMP SUPPORTS BIDEN ‘CLONE THEORY’

It comes as Trump reposted a bizarre social media post that seems to suggest that former US president Joe Biden is a “soulless” clone.

“There is no #JoeBiden – executed in 2020,” the beginning of the post, shared to President Trump’s Truth Social platform on the weekend read.

“Biden clones doubles & robotic engineered soulless mindless entities are what you see. Democrats don’t know the difference,” the post read.

Mr Trump reshared the message Saturday morning (local time).

The theory that Joe Biden was replaced by a clone, robot, or some other artificial entity originated from online conspiracy theory communities and has been circulating for several years.

Donald Trump ‘retruthed’ a post suggesting that his former opponent was a clone. Picture: Truth Social

Meanwhile, a Secret Service whistleblower claims that former President Joe Biden was so out of it at the White House that he would “get lost in his closet”.

The stunning level of disorientation is an example of why the Democratic cover-up of Biden’s mental decline is one of the biggest scandals in presidential history, Senator Josh Hawley has claimed.

“This Secret Service whistleblower actually was assigned to Biden,” the Missouri Republican told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

Former US president Joe Biden pauses as he speaks about the death of former President Jimmy Carter Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in Christiansted, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Picture: AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

“He told me that Biden used to get lost in his closet in the mornings at the White House,” Hawley claimed, noting that he spoke to numerous Secret Service agents while investigating the assassination attempts against President Trump.

“I mean, the guy literally stumbling around in the White House residence couldn’t find his way out of his own closet,” Hawley continued.

“The president of the United States.

“This is outrageous. We were lied to.”

Senator Josh Hawley speaks during a hearing with the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on Capitol Hill. Picture: Getty

Hawley’s disclosure of the Secret Service whistleblower’s claim comes amid multiple congressional investigations into the 82-year-old ex-president’s cognitive abilities while in office — and the role his staff played in running the country.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is probing the possible use of an autopen by Biden’s subordinates to sign off on White House directives and pardons without the president’s knowledge.

Comer has also requested testimony from Dr Kevin O’Connor, the White House physician during the Biden administration, as part of the probe.

The oversight panel chairman has suggested that O’Connor was not being truthful about Biden’s wellbeing in public reports and statements after the president’s annual check-ups.

It comes as Mr Biden has spoken for the first time about his cancer treatment telling reporters he was feeling “optimistic” about the future.

The former president’s office announced earlier this month he was battling an aggressive form of prostate cancer with a Gleason score of nine — placing him in the most severe category.

Former President Joe Biden arrives Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church for a memorial mass on the 10th anniversary of the death of the President's son Beau Biden in Wilmington, Delaware. Picture: AFP

The veteran Democrat told reporters he had decided on a treatment regimen while attending event in Delaware to belatedly mark Monday’s Memorial Day federal holiday.

“Well, the prognosis is good. You know, we’re working on everything. It’s moving along. So, I feel good,” Mr Biden, 82, said adding that “the expectation is, we’re going to be able to beat this”.

“It’s not in any organ, my bones are strong, it hasn’t penetrated. So I’m feeling good,” he said.

The mental and physical health of the former president, the oldest person ever to hold the office, was a dominant issue in the 2024 election.

After a disastrous debate performance against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Mr Biden ended his campaign for a second term.

When Mr Biden’s office announced his diagnosis, they said the cancer had spread to his bones.

The newly released book Original Sin claims Joe Biden suffered declining mental and physical fitness during his run for a second term as president. Picture: Spencer Platt / Getty

But Mr Biden told reporters: “We’re all optimistic about the diagnosis. As a matter of fact, one of the leading surgeons in the world is working with me.”

The political row over Mr Biden’s aborted candidacy has become a major scandal since the release of the book “Original Sin” — which alleges that Mr Biden’s White House covered up his cognitive decline while he was in office.

The ex-president was asked about the controversy and responded with sarcasm, joking that “I’m mentally incompetent and I can’t walk.”

Mr Biden attended a memorial service for his late son Beau Biden (pictured with his father in 2008) earlier on Friday. Picture: Paul J Richards / AFP

He said he had no regrets about initially running for a second term and that his Democratic critics could have challenged him, but chose not to “because I’d have beaten them.”

In earlier formal remarks in New Castle, Delaware, Mr Biden spoke of his presidency as his greatest honour, and called for better treatment of veterans.

But he saved his most poignant comments to mark the 10th anniversary on May 30 of his son, National Guard veteran Beau Biden, dying of brain cancer at the age of 46.

“For the Bidens, this day is the 10th anniversary, the loss of my son Beau, who spent a year in Iraq,” said Mr Biden, who had attended a memorial service for his son earlier in the day.

“And, to be honest, it’s a hard day.”

Originally published as Joe Biden says ‘I made the decisions’ after Donald Trump orders investigation