U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi reacted quickly to a bombshell investigation alleging former President Joe Biden used an autopen and that his team covered up signs of cognitive and physical decline. Bondi announced that her office has started a review of the reported autopen use for pardons, signaling the Justice Department will dig into presidential actions flagged by lawmakers. The response landed amid sharp Republican calls for accountability and deeper scrutiny of decisions made in the Oval Office.

The House Oversight Committee released a report after dozens of interviews with administration officials, arguing that many executive actions lack sufficient contemporaneous documentation showing Biden himself made specific decisions. The report urged the DOJ to “immediately conduct a review of all executive actions” taken by Biden, with particular focus on clemency actions. Committee Republicans contend the omission of clear records raises serious questions about who actually signed off on key presidential moves.

One passage in the committee’s findings detailed a highly managed presentation of the president, describing controls over everything from makeup and clothing to the number of steps he could climb and the time he needed with family. “The report detailed how much the Biden team stage managed things for Biden from addressing his ‘makeup, clothing, and schedule’ to even ‘the number of steps’ that he could walk or climb and the amount of time he ‘needed to read and to spend with his family,’ as well as ‘keeping cabinet meetings to a minimum, eliciting ‘direction’ from Hollywood on the State of the Union and other events, and using teleprompters even at small, intimate events,'” the committee wrote.

That same report said none of the officials questioned would acknowledge concerns about Biden’s cognitive decline, and many could not recall any discussion of his cognitive health inside or outside the White House. “The report also observed that none of the people the committee questioned would acknowledge they had a concern about Biden’s cognitive decline. Many of them could not recall a single discussion about Biden’s ‘cognitive health with anyone inside or outside of the White House,'” it added. Republicans say that silence and the absence of documentation are part of a broader concealment.

Committee leadership publicly urged Bondi to open a “full investigation into all of Biden’s executive actions” after the report dropped, and they referred several key aides for further scrutiny. The referrals included close staff members who asserted their constitutional rights and refused to answer questions during depositions, a development GOP members called unacceptable. Those details stoked calls for immediate DOJ involvement to determine whether executive acts were properly lawful and properly authorized.

Pam Bondi confirmed the Justice Department’s review and thanked House Republicans for material they say aided the inquiry. “My team has already initiated a review of the Biden administration’s reported use of autopen for pardons,” Bondi wrote. “@RepJamesComer’s new information is extremely helpful, and his leadership on this issue is invaluable. We’ll continue working with @GOPoversight to deliver accountability for the American people.”

The timing of the report and Bondi’s statement amplifies partisan pressure as Republicans press for legal follow-up and Democrats brace for political fallout. The inquiry targets a sensitive area: who exercised presidential power and whether those exercises met constitutional standards. With a high-profile review now underway, the next steps will be to see if the DOJ finds actionable violations or administrative failings that warrant further legal measures.

Beyond legal questions, the issue is political theater with real consequences for public trust. Republicans argue voters deserve to know whether the man in charge of clemency and other executive acts was truly the decision-maker, while defenders say this is a partisan attempt to undermine an administration. Either way, the review promises to keep the controversy in the headlines and on the docket of federal investigators.