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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to take a jab at CNN chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins after the reporter asked for evidence following President Donald Trump's claim that pardons signed by former President Joe Biden were "void" and "vacant" because they were allegedly signed by autopen without his knowledge.
“You’re a reporter, you should find out," Leavitt responded when asked by Collins if there was "any evidence" to claims that Biden was unaware of what he was signing.
Trump announced he was voiding the pardons made by Biden during the latter's final days in office, claiming that Biden didn't know anything about them because they were signed by autopen in a post shared on his Truth Social account Monday (March 17) morning.
"The 'Pardons' that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs, and many others, are hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT, because of the fact that they were done by Autopen," Trump wrote. "In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them, and the people that did may have committed a crime."
Leavitt echoed Trump's statements while addressing reporters at the White House on Monday.
"I think it's a question that everybody in this room should be looking into because, certainly, that would propose perhaps criminal or illegal behavior if staff members were signing the president of the United States' autograph without his consent."
Collins then pointed out that Biden was on record talking about preemptive pardons for the people involved, at which point Leavitt once again questioned if his actual signature was being used.
Biden's autopen pardons included the nine-member Jan. 6 committee, including its two leaders Reps. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), as well as former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley and former National Institue of Allergy Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci.