What is an autopen? How Biden used it and why Trump disparages it

Trump said the Biden administration used an autopen to sign orders and pardons that the former president was not aware of — a claim Biden vigorously denies.

President Donald Trump has ordered an investigation into the Biden administration's use of an automatic signature pen, alleging that Joe Biden wasn't aware of many of his presidential orders and appointments.

"This conspiracy marks one of the most dangerous and concerning scandals in American history," Trump said in a memorandum Wednesday directing the probe.

Biden denied the allegations, calling them "ridiculous and false."

“This is nothing more than a distraction by Donald Trump and Congressional Republicans who are working to push disastrous legislation that would cut essential programs like Medicaid and raise costs on American families, all to pay for tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday, referring to the massive GOP bill to advance Trump's agenda.

Here's a look at what's known — and what isn't — about the allegations Trump has referred to on social media as "the biggest scandal in American history," how they started and what might come next.