### Trump Orders Investigation into Biden's Use of Autopen for Presidential Documents

In an unprecedented move, President Donald Trump has called for an investigation into whether former President Joe Biden used an autopen to sign official documents while in office. Trump alleges that Biden's aides may have employed this routine presidential practice to conceal Biden’s purported cognitive decline.

On Wednesday, Trump signed a memorandum instructing White House Counsel David Warrington, alongside Attorney General Pam Bondi, to probe "whether certain individuals conspired to deceive the public about Biden's mental state and unconstitutionally exercised presidential authorities."

In a rebuttal, Biden emphatically denied the allegations, stating that he personally made all decisions regarding pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations during his presidency. "Any suggestion that I didn't is ridiculous and false," Biden told NPR, labeling Trump's efforts as a "distraction by Congressional Republicans pushing legislation that would harm essential programs like Medicaid."

Trump admitted on Thursday that he has not found concrete evidence showing these documents were approved without Biden's consent. However, he cited Biden's performance in debates as indicative of a lack of control. "I was in a debate with the human mind, and I didn't think he knew what the hell he was doing," Trump remarked.

This investigation comes at a time of heightened focus on Biden’s mental and physical fitness, especially following his announcement of an aggressive prostate cancer diagnosis last month. Concerns around Biden's abilities had earlier led to him canceling his reelection campaign.

Further fueling the controversy, last month saw the release of "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again," a book by CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios' Alex Thompson. The publication details Biden's cognitive issues and attempts by his aides to keep them hidden from the public.

Additionally, Axios published recordings from Biden's 2023 interviews with Special Counsel Robert Hur, who had investigated Biden's handling of classified documents. Hur decided not to prosecute, stating a jury would likely view Biden as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”

Although Biden has refuted claims of cognitive decline, Trump’s memorandum calls attention to the high volume of documents signed during Biden's term, including over 1,200 presidential documents and a record number of commutations for federal death row prisoners. Trump questions the validity of these actions, claiming they were signed using an autopen.

Legal scholars, however, argue that the use of an autopen does not invalidate presidential actions. Boston University’s Jay Wexler pointed out that pardons hold as long as they are accepted by their recipients, with no constitutional requirement for a handwritten signature.

Historically, the autopen’s use in American politics is well-documented. From Thomas Jefferson’s polygraph to Barack Obama’s notable autopen use for signing legislation, presidents have leveraged this technology to handle their exhaustive correspondence load.

Trump's new directive signals a deeper scrutiny into the practice, despite legal consensus that its use is constitutional and does not undermine the authority of presidential actions. This move, amid ongoing debates about presidential fitness, ensures that the controversy will continue to unfold in the public and political spheres.