Brit Hume weighed in on a podcast Tuesday about NBC News’ portrayal of former President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen, calling out the network for downplaying the issue and failing to understand its seriousness.
NBC News published an article Tuesday reporting that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky, who is leading the investigation into Biden’s use of the autopen for pardons and other matters, often signs letters as part of the investigation using an autopen. During an appearance on the podcast “Next Up with Mark Halperin,” Hume dismissed the report as misguided and misleading.
“It’s perfectly clear, or should be, that nobody is talking about Mr. Biden’s use of the autopen for letters and other routine things. The concern, to the extent there is a concern, is about using the autopen for very serious official documents, such as pardons and the like,” Hume said.
Hume explained why he believed the story lacked substance and why NBC either misunderstood the issue or knowingly pushed a false narrative.
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“Well, I’m afraid I think it’s the latter, Mark,” Hume said when host Mark Halperin asked if NBC knew the story was phony but wrote it on purpose, or if they were so deluded that they thought it was a real story. “As young journalists come along and they hear the story about an autopen being used by Mr. Biden, and, therefore, you know, anybody using the autopen becomes kind of an equivalent in their mind and imagination. And the next thing you know, you’ve got stories written about it.”
Hume said that while the use of the autopen for routine matters may raise concerns, the president’s power to grant pardons is so broad that it likely passes legal scrutiny.
“My own view is that the pardon power, which is what’s most often talked about, is so plenary, so nearly absolute, that if he chose to do it by saying certain categories of people should be pardoned and the staff then whipped up a group that fit the criteria, and the auto pen was used to do it, then that probably passes muster in the courts,” Hume said. (RELATED: ‘Scandal Of The Century’: Josh Hawley Demands Biden Staff Secretary Testify To Congress On Autopen)
From December 2024 to January 2025, Biden signed only one pardon by hand: for his son Hunter. He used the autopen to issue 25 pardons and commutations during the same period.
Biden told the New York Times that he allowed his staff to use the autopen due to the high volume of clemency requests he had granted. The former president said he personally approved all pardons and commutations at the end of his term but instructed his staff to use the autopen on clemency warrants because of the large number involved.
As Biden granted clemency and pardons in large batches towards the end of his administration, he didn’t personally approve each name but signed off on the criteria and standards, according to the NYT report.
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