Scott Jennings (right) challenges former Obama official Elliott Williams (left) over claims Biden aides used an autopen for pardons — “a power that can’t be delegated.” (CNN)
CNN contributor and conservative commentator Scott Jennings once again embarrassed a Democrat pundit on live television, this time Elliott Williams, a former Obama-era DOJ official, after Williams bizarrely suggested that a president could delegate the constitutional power of pardons.
Elliott Williams, who once served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice and as Assistant Director at ICE under the Obama administration, bizarrely tried to defend Biden’s use of an autopen to sign official documents, including pardons.
“Tradition of autopens has existed in every presidential administration across parties. I had an autopen when I worked at ICE,” Williams said.
Jennings immediately hit back, asking the obvious question: “Did you allow people to use the name Elliott Williams without your knowledge of the document or what was on the page? I’m asking you!”
Williams dodged, saying, “I don’t recall,” before doubling down that delegation of authority might allow someone else to act in the president’s name.
Jennings, stunned by the level of constitutional illiteracy, shut down the argument in seconds.
Scott Jennings:
“If you were a government official and you had an autopen, which you did, would you let some staffer sign things in your name without reading?”
Elliot Williams:
“Here’s the question: was my authority delegated to that person? I think they do have the authority to do so. I’m serious, Scott—laws and regulations…”
Scott Jennings:
“The authority to delegate pardons and executive orders? The President of the United States can say, ‘You, unelected staffer, can go sign my name on a document that I’ve never seen for a decision that I’ve never made?’”
Elliot Williams :
“Quite often, the United States Code delegates authority—through the President of the United States, through the attorney general, whatever else—‘X’ person can carry out a function. And certainly that could be the case.
Now, Donald Trump, for instance, in his first term, pardoned 1,600 people. And I have a hard time believing that he was aware of every single person that he was pardoning. One could make a challenge—every President does this.
Now, hold on—if it’s a question about Biden’s fitness for office, did he know what he was…? Of course, raise that question. But I just—one, given how vast the pardon power is, and two, given how comprehensive the use of autopens are across administrations—I have a hard time seeing a legal challenge.”
Scott Jennings:
“Nobody can be delegated the pardon power. It is a constitutional power. I don’t really think you can delegate the executive order power either, because the executive has to make the order. So, Scott—the President.”
WATCH:
Elliott Williams: “I had an autopen when I worked at ICE.”
Scott Jennings: “Did you allow people to use the name Eliot Williams without your knowledge of the document or what was on the page?”
Elliott Williams: “I don’t recall.”
Scott Jennings: “I’m asking you. If you were… pic.twitter.com/8dtMdKASYV
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) October 28, 2025
Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution provides that the President “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
This language vests the power solely in the President, not in any subordinate, agency, or department.
The U.S. Department of Justice maintains an Office of the Pardon Attorney, but it serves only an advisory role.
The office reviews applications and makes recommendations, but the president is not bound by these findings and can choose to bypass the office entirely.
Staff may prepare paperwork and handle logistics, but they cannot make or approve the decision itself. The President must personally authorize or direct each act of clemency.
The House Oversight Committee, led by Rep. James Comer (R-KY), released a 100-page report today, Tuesday, declaring all of Biden’s autopen executive actions “null and void.”
These include pardons performed by White House staff and signed by an autopen.
The report calls on the Department of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi to conduct an investigation, including of Biden aides responsible for the cover-up.
“We are calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a thorough review of these executive actions and scrutinize key Biden aides who took the Fifth to hide their participation in the cover-up,” the report reads.
“The D.C. Board of Medicine must also review the actions taken by President Biden’s physician to hide his true condition. We have provided Americans with transparency about the Biden Autopen Presidency, and now there must be accountability,” it continues.
Attorney General Pam Bondi responded to the Committee’s findings and said her team had already initiated a review of the Biden regime’s use of the autopen for pardons.
“My team has already initiated a review of the Biden administration’s reported use of autopen for pardons,” Pam Bondi said on Tuesday.
The post Scott Jennings Schools Leftist Panelist on Basic Civics After He Claims Presidential Pardon Can Be Delegated to Anyone Other Than the President appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.