On Friday, an Associated Press article was released, questioning whether President Trump used an autopen to sign nine pardon documents, in a rather transparent attempt to cast the president as a hypocrite for criticizing the excessive use of the mechanical aide by Joe Biden. The article pointed out that several signatures were quickly "corrected."
The Justice Department posted pardons online bearing identical copies of President Donald Trump’s signature before quietly correcting them this week after what the agency called a “technical error.”
The replacements came after online commenters seized on striking similarities in the president’s signature across a series of pardons dated Nov. 7, including those granted to former New York Mets player Darryl Strawberry, former Tennessee House speaker Glen Casada and former New York police sergeant Michael McMahon. In fact, the signatures on several pardons initially uploaded to the Justice Department’s website were identical, two forensic document experts confirmed to The Associated Press.
Within hours of the online speculation, the administration replaced copies of the pardons with new ones that did not feature identical signatures. It insisted Trump, who mercilessly mocked his predecessor’s use of an autopen, had originally signed all the Nov. 7 pardons himself and blamed “technical” and staffing issues for the error, which has no bearing on the validity of the clemency actions.
There's just one problem with the "online speculation", namely, that it was unfounded. The AP got way out in front of their skis on this one.
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On Sunday, Will Scharf, Assistant to the President and White House Staff Secretary, took to his personal X account to disassemble the critics.
This is 100% fake news.
— Will Scharf (@willscharf) November 17, 2025
President Trump signed eight of the nine pardons at issue by hand in my presence. He hand-signed the ninth in the presence of a member of my team and others.
We don’t autopen pardons in this Administration. That’s the story. https://t.co/3f3swD3tzu
Don't bother reading the replies to Mr. Scharf's X post; if a Trump administration official said that the son came up in the east, the leftists infesting social media would scream, "Liar!"
I won't speculate as to what may have caused the initial problem, mostly because anything I could offer here would be just that - speculation. Mr. Scharf claims he personally witnessed eight of the nine pardons, and that one of his team members witnessed the remaining one. If that exact thing had happened during the Biden administration, these same people who are pointing fingers now would have accepted it without question.
On this, as in so many things, the left can't have it both ways. They have spent ten months downplaying the Biden administration's excessive use of the autopen, including its use to sign pardons. Now, President Trump has signed nine, in front of witnesses, and the left is on fire.
There's this, as well: President Trump has a very distinctive signature. He was, before entering politics, not only a famous real-estate developer, but also a television figure; he no doubt signed autographs, along with other documents, and may well have practiced his signature to the point where it's very consistent. Or he may have just been taught how to write in cursive.
Either way, this is a tempest in a teapot. The AP should be mildly embarrassed for bringing it up.
Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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