Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said Sunday that the legality of presidential pardons signed with an autopen should be tested in court, raising questions about the pardon granted to Dr. Anthony Fauci and whether the president personally authorized it, as reported by the Gateway Pundit.
Gill discussed the issue during an appearance on “Sunday Morning Futures” with guest host Jason Chaffetz.
The conversation focused on Fauci, former government officials involved in the federal response to the COVID pandemic, and whether additional accountability efforts could follow.
Chaffetz asked Gill about others who may have been involved, including former Fauci adviser David Morens, and whether additional officials could face scrutiny.
“Well, you are exactly right. It’s not just Fauci or Morens. I think there are several other people involved here. It seems to be virtually his entire team,” Gill said.
Gill argued that Americans who questioned COVID lockdowns, the COVID vaccine, or the origins of the virus faced censorship and social consequences while government officials allegedly withheld information.
“I think the most defensive part about this is that this entire time, if any American spoke out against Covid lockdowns, against the Covid vaccine, against where or spoke openly about where Covid actually originated from, they were not only kicked off of social media, not allowed of course on left-wing media outlets, but often times were virtually shunned from civil society for saying the things that these government officials often times knew about, but were hiding from the American people,” Gill explained.
“This is as tyrannical as it possibly gets, and people’s lives were ruined with this. And these people ought to be held accountable,” Gill continued.
Gill also said he wanted additional information about who knew what within Fauci’s circle and whether other officials should face consequences.
“I’m glad that Fauci was held in contempt. I want to see this guy go to jail, and I’d like to see, learn more about who knew what in the Fauci orbit, and make sure that they are held accountable as well,” Gill said.
Chaffetz then turned to the pardon itself, questioning whether the use of an autopen should be accepted without a legal challenge.
“The reason they haven’t arrested Dr. Fauci or hasn’t been charged is because he was granted a pardon, but that pardon was done on an autopen. Is that a valid way? And why not test it?” Chaffetz asked.
“Or should we just accept the idea that autopen pardons were just legal and lawful?” he added.
Gill said the use of an autopen to issue a presidential pardon raises questions that deserve judicial review.
“No, I think most Americans, whenever they hear autopen pardon, kind of take a step back and wonder what in the world is going on in Washington? How is the President signing pardons, or who is signing pardons on the President’s behalf?” Gill asked.
He called for a court challenge to determine whether such pardons are legally valid.
“I think there is absolutely a legitimate case that we ought to test these autopen pardons. The legality of these in court. Let the courts decide that, but we ought to get, put the effort in to actually bring that forward,” Gill explained.
Gill said the broader issue was accountability within the federal government.
“The American people are so sick of, they are so sick of a lack of accountability,” Gill said.
He argued that presidential actions should not be carried out by unelected officials without clear responsibility resting with elected leadership.
“Whenever unelected bureaucrats are signing pardons on the President’s behalf, there is by definition no democratic accountability, and that has to change,” Gill continued.
The comments add to continuing questions about the use of autopen signatures for official presidential actions and whether courts may ultimately be asked to determine the legal status of pardons issued using the device.
