Ex-Biden aide Neera Tanden admitted under oath to the House Oversight Committee that she had controlled Joe Biden’s autopen for nearly two years, but denied any manipulation or abuse, asserting that she was following a system established by previous administrations.
Tanden, who served as Senior Advisor to the President during the first half of the Biden presidency, testified Tuesday as part of the Committee’s investigation into Biden's cognitive decline and his ability to authorize use of an autopen under such circumstances.
“As staff secretary, I was responsible for handling the flow of documents to and from the president,” she said, according to the Washington Examiner. “I was also authorized to direct that autopen signatures be affixed to certain categories of documents."
"We had a system for authorizing the use of the autopen that I inherited from prior administrations," Tanden added. "We employed that system throughout my tenure as staff secretary.”
From colleague Rich Edson. A House Oversight Cmte aide tells Fox that Neera Tanden told investigators during her transcribed interview today that from 2021 to 2023 she was authorized to direct autopen signatures. It was a system inherited from previous administrations. She also…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) June 24, 2025
Tanden testified that she had been authorized to direct autopen use from October 2021 to May 2023, when she left the role of Staff Secretary and Senior Advisor to Biden.
Tanden, at that time, replaced Susan Rice as the head of the Domestic Policy Council. She was succeeded by Annie Tomasini, who is expected to sit down for her own interview in the coming weeks.
At present, it is unclear whether Tomasini continued the system used by her predecessor to operate the autopen, the use of which had become increasingly worrisome based on Biden's advancing cognitive decline.
Biden issued sweeping preemptive pardons to members of his family, while 37 individuals had death row sentences converted to life in prison in the waning days of his failed presidency.
Here is the White House staffer who was really running the Biden presidency via autopen.
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) June 25, 2025
Neera Tanden. Nobody elected her. Most people don't even know her name.
America is screwed if there is no accountability. This is one of the biggest scandals in U.S. history pic.twitter.com/ykh7hD5ixt
RELATED: Biden’s Autopen Scandal Widens As Watchdog Finds ‘No Evidence’ Former POTUS Knew About Signed Orders
In addition to the pardons, a government watchdog last month raised red flags after conducting a review of significant executive orders signed by autopen under the previous administration, finding "no evidence" that Biden was even aware of them.
The group analyzed multiple executive orders involving climate policy dating back to 2021 and, according to their Executive Director, found "no evidence that Biden ordered it, directed it, or was even aware it was happening in his name."
The Heritage Foundation in March found that a significant majority of official documents signed during Biden's term as President used the same autopen signature.
Some of these, if Tanden's testimony is accurate, came at her direction. Others fall outside of the mentioned timeframe. Who was behind these autopen signatures?
All of this comes as an official at the Department of Justice is actively reviewing potential "gatekeepers" who controlled the White House during Biden's tenure, and insiders have revealed a covert "Politburo" was running the country.
Tanden also testified Tuesday that she saw no evidence of Biden's inability to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
“I had no experience in the White House that would provide any reason to question his command as president,” she said.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) has stated that the investigation into the Biden administration is not questioning his authority to use the autopen, but rather whether he was aware that he had given authorization for others to use it, or if key aides had acted without his knowledge.
“I think the American people want to know, I think there's a huge level of curiosity in the press corps [with] respect to who was actually calling the shots in the Biden administration," he told reporters.
At the very least, there should be some level of curiosity. If the country were run by someone behind the scenes wielding the autopen for months, if not years, as opposed to the actual President of the United States, then this marks the biggest scandal in modern political history. Bigger than Watergate.
Every single day, here at RedState, we will stand up and FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT against the radical left and deliver the conservative reporting our readers deserve.
Help us continue to tell the truth about the Trump administration and its major wins. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member