“This is Dangerous”: Senator Hawley Delivers Blistering Accusation of Lies and Demands Biden Autopen Records

The “Full Exposure Moment” as Josh Hawley Accuses Democrats of Hypocrisy and Constitutional Danger

In what was quickly characterized as a “full exposure moment” during a routine Senate hearing, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) dramatically confronted what he claimed was four years of deliberate deception by Democrats regarding former President Joe Biden’s fitness and official actions. Stepping forward “with receipts,” Hawley focused on two devastating contradictions: the conflict between public Democratic assurances about Biden’s mental acuity and the findings of the Special Counsel’s report, and a demand for transparency regarding the use of the autopen on presidential documents, including pardons.

The moment was defined by the absence of Democratic colleagues, which Hawley immediately seized upon as evidence of a stone wall. He asserted that the Democrats “don’t want to answer a single question” or “bear to show their faces in public” because they are unwilling to defend the “bill of goods they sold this country.”

The Glaring Contradiction: The Hur Report vs. Public Statements

The central point of Hawley’s attack was the stark contrast between the findings of the Department of Justice’s Special Counsel, Robert Hur, and the public defenses offered by high-ranking Democrats.

The Special Counsel investigated Biden’s handling of classified documents and ultimately declined to bring charges, noting in his report that a jury would likely view him as a “well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Hawley highlighted that this conclusion—that Biden could not form the “requisite mental state to stand trial”—was immediately contradicted by his party allies.

Hawley recited a list of public comments from Democrats, including:

Vice President Harris: Dismissing the Hur report’s characterization of the president as “so wrong,” insisting the president’s demeanor is “totally fine.”
Senator Smith & Kaine: Calling the report’s notes on Biden’s memory loss (like not recalling his son’s death) “unfair” or “grandstanding.”
Other Democratic Colleagues: Insisting in the months leading up to the hearing that they found the president to be “sharp, focused, impressive, formidable, and effective.”

Hawley hammered the point: “They lied to us for four years.” He suggested that their public claims about Biden’s strength and decisiveness ultimately “came crashing down” when his performance in subsequent public appearances, such as debates, made the contradictions undeniable. Running the president for office again, Hawley asserted, was “a form of elder abuse.”

The Demand for Accountability: The Autopen Controversy

The second major line of attack concerned the legitimacy of executive actions signed by autopen, a device that replicates a signature mechanically. Hawley brought in testimony from witnesses who confirmed that, according to the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) opinion, the autopen can only be used when the President “specifically directs it” and the action is “under his direct authority.”

Hawley demanded the “paper flow” be released, specifically regarding presidential pardons, clemencies, and stay applications, which he characterized as being granted to “murderers, drug dealers, child rapists.”

As expert testimony confirmed that records should exist from the staff secretary’s office documenting when the President gave his personal ascent to use the autopen, Hawley issued a direct, unequivocal call:

“I call on President Biden, former President Biden and his staff, release the documents. You have them… Show us the documents where the president authorized the use of the pen for every single pardon and clemency and stay application.”

He positioned this as a “binary question”—either the documentation exists to prove the actions were constitutional, or the silence confirms a dangerous lack of presidential consent.

The Message: Truth and Constitutional Crises

Hawley concluded by framing the entire exchange not just as a political skirmish, but as a fight to prevent “one of the greatest constitutional crises of our history.”

The senator’s core message was that accountability should override partisan convenience. By demanding the documents, he sought to force the issue of who was truly directing the executive branch’s most sensitive decisions, especially in light of the official findings on the former president’s mental state. He argued that the lack of transparency, combined with the Democrats’ alleged cover-up, made the ruling party “dangerous” and “not be trusted with power to tell the truth.” The moment, according to Hawley, was a reminder that records matter, truth matters, and leadership must protect the Constitution, not just political allies