D.C. U.S. Attorney Closes Trump‑Ordered Biden Autopen Criminal Probe Without Charges
The D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office has closed without charges the criminal probe into President Biden’s use of an autopen, which followed President Trump’s June 4, 2025 public directive for the Justice Department to investigate his predecessor. Trump later said he had “no evidence whatsoever” Biden did anything wrong, and critics including former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade called the inquiry an abuse of power amid a broader pattern of Trump-era DOJ actions targeting Democratic officials.
📌 Key Facts
- The D.C. U.S. Attorney closed the Trump‑ordered criminal probe into President Biden’s use of an autopen without bringing charges.
- The reporting ties the probe to Donald Trump’s June 4, 2025 public directive ordering the Justice Department to investigate Biden’s autopen — the first time an incumbent president openly ordered a federal criminal probe of a predecessor.
- A day after ordering the probe, Trump publicly admitted he had “no evidence whatsoever” that Biden had done anything wrong.
- University of Michigan law professor and former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade called the autopen investigation “a disgusting abuse of power.”
- The autopen probe is presented alongside the DOJ’s failed attempt to secure felony indictments against six Democratic lawmakers over a video about “illegal orders.”
- The article frames the autopen investigation as part of a broader pattern by Trump’s Justice Department pursuing cases against numerous Democratic officials — including Tim Walz, Letitia James, Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Mark Kelly, Ilhan Omar and Jacob Frey.
📰 Source Timeline (2)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
March 05, 2026
2:06 PM
Trump’s Justice Dept. reportedly failed to find a crime in Biden’s use of autopen
New information:
- This piece ties the NYT/NBC scoop explicitly to Trump’s June 4, 2025 public directive ordering DOJ to investigate Biden’s use of an autopen, underscoring that this was the first time an incumbent U.S. president openly ordered a federal criminal probe of a predecessor.
- It highlights that Trump publicly admitted a day later that he had 'no evidence whatsoever' Biden had done anything wrong, despite ordering the probe.
- University of Michigan law professor and former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade is quoted calling the autopen probe 'a disgusting abuse of power.'
- The article situates the autopen investigation alongside DOJ’s failed attempt to secure felony indictments against six Democratic lawmakers over a video about 'illegal orders,' and notes that Trump’s DOJ is still pursuing cases against a long list of Democratic officials (Walz, Letitia James, Schiff, Swalwell, Mark Kelly, Ilhan Omar, Jacob Frey), framing the autopen case as part of a broader pattern.
March 04, 2026