Biden Issues Scathing Rebuttal of ‘Ridiculous’ Trump-Ordered Probe Into His Presidency

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

Former President Joe Biden pushed back hard against a new White House directive from President Donald Trump ordering an investigation into his use of presidential powers, calling it a “distraction” from the GOP’s push for “disastrous legislation.”

The probe, launched Wednesday via a Trump-signed memorandum, instructs the White House counsel and Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate whether top aides during Biden’s presidency “conspired to deceive the public” about his mental fitness, and whether executive authority was exercised unconstitutionally on his behalf.

Trump is also questioning Biden’s use of an autopen as part of what he called “one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history.”

Biden dismissed the premise outright in a statement issued late Wednesday.

“Let me be clear: I made the decisions during my presidency,” Biden said. “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”

He accused Trump and Republican lawmakers of using the inquiry to divert attention from their legislative agenda, warning they aim to “cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations.”

Biden has faced mounting scrutiny over his health in the wake of his Stage 4 prostate cancer diagnosis and the release of Original Sin, a behind-the-scenes book by Alex Thompson and Jake Tapper chronicling his administration.

The Department of Justice has long accepted autopen use as legitimate under both Democratic and Republican administrations.