Donald Trump in Massapequa Park, New York on March 28, 2024

Four and one-half months after former President Joe Biden left the White House, President Donald Trump is calling for an investigation of Biden's use of the autopen — which, Trump claims, was used to hide his "cognitive decline."

In an article published by The Atlantic on June 7, attorney Paul Rosenzweig argues that this probe is not only "absurd" — it is also dangerous because it could pave the way for Trump to expand his abuse of the legal system.

Paul Rosenzweig, who served in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under former President Barack Obama, explains, "President Donald Trump's presidential memorandum ordering an investigation of Joe Biden's cognitive decline and his use of the autopen is just the most recent step in Trump's hostile takeover of the Department of Justice. It is also nonsensical fan service, amplifying addled MAGA conspiracy theories that contend, with a straight face, that Biden was really a robotic clone. In these senses, the investigative order was a sign of just another Wednesday in the chaotic, topsy-turvy world of Trump."

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According to Rosenzweig, the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in Trump v. the United States encourages Trump to conduct frivolous investigations. The High Court ruled, 6-3, that presidents enjoy absolute immunity from prosecution for "official" acts committed in the White House but not for "unofficial" acts.

"Far from preventing retaliatory and escalatory criminal investigations," the former DHS official warns, "it has enabled them. And now, with this new memo, Trump's team may be setting the country on a path to further expand the immunity bubble, to protect not just the president, but his aides as well — enabling yet more lawlessness. To begin with, the absurd investigation of Biden's cognitive decline was almost certainly encouraged by the immunity decision itself — in the sense that the grant of presidential immunity frees Trump from any personal responsibility for his own 'creative' use of the law."

Rosenzweig adds, "In a rational world, Trump might face legal consequences for his illicit abuse of the criminal-justice system — in the form, say, of a civil suit for malicious prosecution. But thanks to Trump v. United States, Trump is free to undertake any plausibly official act with complete impunity, including ordering nonsensical investigations of those who worked for his predecessor."

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Paul Rosenzweig's full article for The Atlantic is available at this link (subscription required).