DOJ quietly shelves Biden autopen investigation that Trump demanded [View all]

Source: NBC News

March 4, 2026, 7:21 PM EST


The Justice Department shelved an investigation into former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen, a person briefed on the matter told NBC News on Wednesday.

Justice Department pardon attorney Ed Martin, the former “weaponization” czar, opened the probe while he was interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. It wound down recently under Jeanine Pirro, the current U.S. attorney, who is a longtime Trump ally and former Fox News host. The New York Times first reported the news.

The autopen case was never presented to a grand jury, unlike the case that Pirro's office tried to bring forward last month against six members of Congress who participated in a social media video that urged members of the military and intelligence communities not to follow unlawful orders.

It is difficult to bring a criminal case when there is not even a readily identifiable and applicable criminal statute, the person briefed on the matter said.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/doj-shelves-biden-autopen-probe-rcna261810