Why Biden’s controversial NY Times interview about autopen matters

The New York Times famously sparred with the Biden White House over the refusal to grant interviews with its journalists during his presidency, but former President Joe Biden finally ran to the paper this month as President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers put a harsh spotlight on his use of an autopen. 

The interview was widely panned, with many suggesting the Times buried the most crucial part of its own story, and it had essentially done more harm than good for Biden. Now, the Gray Lady faces widespread criticism and the Trump administration will investigate the legality of Biden’s pardons in the final days of his presidency, which were mostly signed using an autopen.

Fox News Digital breaks down exactly what happened – from the paper’s call for more access to Biden to the backlash the Times is currently receiving. 

What happened: 

Biden’s lack of availability irks press: New York Times blasts Biden for ‘avoiding questions’ from journalists

• President Biden’s team kept him largely sequestered from press conferences and sit-down interviews, particularly in comparison to his predecessors Donald Trump and Barack Obama.
• The New York Times released a blistering statement in April 2024 calling out Biden for his unprecedented lack of media access while in office.
• “For anyone who understands the role of the free press in a democracy, it should be troubling that President Biden has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his term,” the Times said, before suggesting Biden could set a “dangerous precedent” of avoiding scrutiny and accountability.
• Politico published a story about the “petty feud” between the Times and Biden’s team last April, with his officials and campaign team calling the newspaper staffers “entitled.”

No longer in office: Biden finally speaks to Gray Lady

• After dodging New York Times journalists for an interview throughout his presidency aside from a 2021 chat with a columnist, Biden spoke to the paper’s reporters in a ten-minute phone call earlier this month regarding the growing questions about the legality of Biden’s pardons using an autopen.
• The rare interview was published on July 13.
• Trump’s attacks on Biden over the use of an autopen come after the Oversight Project with conservative think-tank The Heritage Foundation released a report March 6 claiming that it conducted an analysis of Biden documents, and found that a majority of documents signed during his administration used an autopen.

Gray Lady focuses on Biden’s talking points: Criticism over the Times’ framing

• The Times printed the headline, “Biden Says He Made the Clemency Decisions That Were Recorded With Autopen.”
• Biden insisted he “made every decision” on his own and called Trump and other Republican critics “liars,” the Times reported.
• However, the Times reported in the 32nd paragraph of the lengthy story that Biden “did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people,” citing the former president and his aides.
• The Times was also criticized for burying in the story that chief of staff Jeff Zients was the one who sometimes gave final approval for the use of the autopen, waiting until the final line to note that Hunter Biden’s pardon is the only one he physically signed.
• Some critics said the reporting deep in the story contradicted the opening paragraphs.

Former President Joe Biden spoke to the paper’s reporters in a ten-minute phone call regarding the growing questions about the legality of pardons in the final days of his presidency, which were mostly signed using an autopen. (DOJ/Getty)

POTUS responds: Trump blasts Biden

• When asked about the Times’ report, Trump told reporters at the White House Monday that Biden’s alleged use of the autopen amounted to possibly “one of the biggest scandals that we’ve had in 50 to 100 years.” “I guarantee you he knew nothing about what he was signing, I guarantee you,” Trump said.
• Trump told reporters in March that although he employs an autopen for correspondence, it is “disgraceful” to use one when signing documents such as pardons.

Probe announced: White House will investigate Biden’s use of autopen 

• The White House is now investigating Biden’s use of the autopen, with senior administration officials telling Fox News Digital that they already are reviewing tens of thousands of documents turned over by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
• Officials told Fox News Digital that the White House Counsel’s Office is leading the investigation, but said they are coordinating with the Justice Department.
• “Joe Biden was the worst, most incompetent, and senile president in our country’s history,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “It has been widely reported that Joe Biden handed the power of the presidency to an autopen controlled by unelected leftist staffers, who were allowed to make terrible decisions that destroyed our country.”

Modern technology: What is an autopen, and how does it work?

• An autopen is a device that physically holds a pen and is programmed to replicate a person’s signature. It is not a stamp or a digitized print of someone’s signature, and various autopen machines have the capability to hold different types of pens, ranging from ballpoint to permanent marker, according to descriptions of autopen machines available for purchase.

President Donald Trump has called for an investigation into former President Biden’s use of autopen.  (Reuters; AP)

Parroting the Gray Lady: Backlash as other outlets mirror Times’ controversial framing  

• Independent journalist Drew Holden published a lengthy thread on X Tuesday scolding the Times for “repeating Biden’s claim that he made the calls” and burying the admission he “really didn’t.” Holden then singled out other news outlets, including ABC News, CBS News, USA Today, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, Yahoo News and The Daily Beast, for peddling the Times’ framing and burying unflattering reporting that indicated Biden didn’t always make the decisions himself.

Media watchdogs react: Biden vents to ‘sympathetic’ source that would spark friendly aggregation

• DePauw University journalism professor Jeffrey McCall suspected Biden’s handlers decided to turn to the Times to combat the autopen controversy as the paper is the “major agenda setter for the news sphere” and that other news outlets in the legacy media would follow its lead.
• Tim Young, a Media Fellow for Strategic Communications at The Heritage Foundation, believes Biden spoke with the Times because it was a convenient way to fend off criticism.
• “Biden finally sat down with the New York Times because his White House was exposed by the House GOP and the Oversight Project for literally not knowing what clemency or pardon orders were signed. It’s pretty clear the pressure was building on his former staff in what could have been an actual Constitutional Crisis — as the left likes to scream about a lot — and the team ‘rolled him out’ to get this over with before repercussions started to build,” Young told Fox News Digital.
• NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck told Fox News Digital the Times report was “embarrassing,” and political commentator Mark Halperin argued that the Times disregarded basic journalistic standards by failing to include opinions from experts and Republicans on Biden’s claims about his use of the autopen.

Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Times for comment.

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Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman, Andrea Margolis, Diana Stancy and Mark Tamasco contributed to this report.