House Oversight AutoPen Report: Cover-Ups, Gaslighting, Invalid Pardons and DoJ Referrals

Republicans on the House Oversight Committee have released a devastating report that accuses President Joe Biden’s inner circle of hiding his mental and physical decline—and of using an AutoPen to sign major documents without clear proof the President approved them. The Committee has asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead a Justice Department review, and has referred three aides who took the Fifth—Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal—for further scrutiny.

The report, titled “The Biden AutoPen Presidency: Decline, Delusion, and Deception in the White House,” is based on 14 depositions and transcribed interviews of nearly 47 hours of testimony. It paints a picture of a White House that tightly controlled the President’s schedule, appearances and messaging to hide his diminished capacity from the public. The report says aides used scripted events, blocked unscripted contact, limited media access, and even sought outside counsel to shape how Biden looked and acted in public.

The Committee’s report highlights these key findings:

1. Biden’s decline and a coordinated cover-up. The report found “substantial evidence” of mental and physical decline and says top staff and the president’s doctor took active steps to conceal it — from scripting remarks to curbing the president’s work.
2. Gaslighting the public over the 2024 debate. The White House pushed a narrative that debate worries were over a “bad cold” or normal effects of age — not evidence of cognitive lapses. The Committee calls that a deliberate effort to mislead voters.
3. Political control over medical choices. Senior aides, the report says, blocked calls for cognitive testing and pushed political aims into medical choices. Testimony from officials like Jeff Zients and Anita Dunn is cited to back that claim.
4. The President’s doctor invoked the Fifth. Dr. Kevin O’Connor declined to answer some questions before the committee and did not perform a cognitive exam, the report states—raising questions about medical oversight and possible conflicts of interest.
5. Aides exercised presidential power and AutoPen use was improper. The staff found lapses in record keeping and the custody of the “decision binder.” It says aides used the AutoPen and other means to sign orders, pardons and memos without clear written proof that Biden personally approved them. The committee flagged irregular pardons and commutations near the end of the term.
6. Referrals to the DOJ and D.C. Board of Medicine. Chairman Comer asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to probe all executive acts and to scrutinize aides who refused to testify. He also asked the D.C. Board of Medicine to review Dr. O’Connor’s conduct for possible misconduct in his care of the President.

Comer’s letter to AG Bondi asks the DoJ to review executive acts that could be void if they were issued without the president’s direct OK. It singles out three people who refused to testify under oath by pleading the Fifth—Dr. O’Connor, Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal—and asks the DoJ to examine whether their silence masks criminal conduct or a cover-up. That referral transforms the matter from a partisan probe to a law-enforcement review, with an eye towards possible criminal prosecutions and invalidation of the executive acts—specifically pardons—in question.

News outlets and GOP allies quickly framed the report as proof that key decisions were made without true Presidential assent. Other outlets note the legal hurdles: courts have long allowed delegated signatures in some cases, and proving fraud or criminal intent in a signatures dispute is hard. Still, Comer’s move forces the Justice Department to at least investigate matters which many Democrats would rather be forgotten.

Video from testimony released by the committee shows other troubling facts, such as top advisers admitting large financial incentives tied to Biden’s reelection. The Committee points to testimony suggesting some advisers stood to gain millions if the 2024 campaign succeeded—a motive that, the report argues, could have driven aides to keep problems quiet.

If the DoJ finds evidence that executive actions were signed or relied upon without valid presidential approval, the legal and political fallout could be significant. The Committee says some end-of-term pardons and commutations warrant close review—including those where the AutoPen was used and documentation is thin or missing. Whether courts will deem any acts void is an open question.

The Oversight staff report accuses White House staff and the President’s physician of running a cover-up that put political aims ahead of public truth and proper medical care. Comer has sent the files to AG Pam Bondi and to the D.C. Board of Medicine, and wants prosecutors to decide whether the aides who refused to testify were hiding crimes. For those who worry about who was actually running the country, the report raises urgent questions about trust, duty and the rule of law—and it demands answers and accountability that We the People deserve.

The Press Release about the report—whic contains links to the full report, referral letters to AG Bondi and the D.C. Meducal Board and links to testimony transcripts and video, is available HERE.