Mark Osler, professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, spoke with Reuters about President Donald Trump’s claim that he can terminate any pardons or documents signed by former President Joe Biden using an autopen. Osler told Reuters there is no constitutional or legal basis for a sitting president to void a predecessor’s pardons, underscoring that such actions have long been recognized as final.
From the article:
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he is terminating all documents, including pardons, that he said his predecessor Joe Biden had signed using an autopen, a move that legal experts doubted would hold up in court. ...
“It’s never been thought that a president has the ability to void a prior president’s pardons,” said Mark Osler, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law.
“There is absolutely no constitutional or legal basis” for Trump to reverse pardons due to the use of an autopen, said Bernadette Meyler, a professor at Stanford Law School.
Brian Kalt, a professor at Michigan State University College of Law, said in an email that the administration would only be able to challenge the validity of a pardon in court.
Before leaving office in January, Biden issued several pardons, including for family members whom he wanted to protect from politically motivated investigations. He also commuted sentences, including for non-violent drug offenders.
