The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode: Autopen Bombshell: Was VP Harris Actually POTUS? Plus, Falsified Economic Data Means Inherited a “Massive Mess”
Date: September 10, 2025

Brief Overview

In this episode, Ben Ferguson tackles two major political bombshells surrounding the previous Biden administration:

1. Revelations from internal White House documents suggesting critical presidential decisions, including clemencies and pardons, may have been delegated—potentially to Vice President Kamala Harris—through the use of an auto pen rather than directly by President Biden.
2. Explosive allegations that the Biden administration falsified economic data, inflating millions of jobs that never existed, thus misleading the public about the strength of the economy as Donald Trump took office.

The episode is packed with detailed commentary, document breakdowns, and expert analysis delivered in Ben Ferguson’s intense, critical style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The “Autopen” Scandal and Who Was Really in Charge (09:10–17:45)

• Bombshell internal memos and emails surfaced from the Biden White House indicate major presidential actions—in particular, pardons and clemency—may have been delegated to staff and even Vice President Kamala Harris instead of being personally decided or signed by Joe Biden.
• Ferguson underscores the implications for presidential power:
  • “The internal memos and emails indicate that critical decisions, including clemencies, were quietly delegated to others, others who were not elected officials, others who were not the President of the United States of America.” (11:40)
• Cites a February 2021 draft policy memo:
  • “Our recommendation is that as a general rule, you ‘personally approve and hand sign all decisions that require presidential action.’” (12:31)
• By February 2024, memos show the Vice President’s signature became sufficient for clemency approvals due to the president’s workload (13:12).
  • “The lawyers at Biden’s White House were saying, he’s not running the show. It’s the vice president and others.” (13:58)
• Ferguson claims most of Biden’s late-term pardons and notable commutations—including those for Dr. Fauci and General Mark Milley—were signed by auto pen, not Biden. The sole exception was Hunter Biden’s pardon, allegedly hand-signed by the president himself (15:20).
• Raises serious questions:
  • “Are these pardons and clemency actually legal?” (16:29)

2. Falsified Economic Data and the “Massive Mess” Inherited by Trump (17:45–37:10)

• Ferguson transitions to what he calls outright fraud by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), with job numbers under Biden allegedly “made up out of thin air.”
  • “You’re telling me the federal government sucks so bad at counting jobs… that they got it wrong by 911,000 jobs? The answer is obviously no.” (20:20)
• New recalculated data show close to a million jobs overstated from April 2024 to March 2025 (20:00).
  • “The Bureau of Labor Statistics is saying that isn’t just a revision. That is a revision on a level that clearly is straight up fraud.” (19:55)
• The pattern is longstanding, per Ferguson—in the previous year, BLS “overestimated” 818,000 jobs right before the election (22:10).
• Political motivation alleged:
  • “Why did this happen? Because they wanted Joe Biden to win.” (27:19, quoting White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt)
• Repeated revisionism undermined public trust:
  • “It is a absolute scandal of gigantic proportions that our government was lying to the American people, trying to make you feel like things are better than they actually are.” (26:59)
  • “This is exactly why we need new leadership to restore trust and confidence in the data on behalf of the financial markets, on behalf of businesses, policymakers and families that rely on this data.” (29:27)
• Direct consequences: After the July jobs report, President Trump fired BLS Commissioner Erica Mickin Tarver; quickly nominated economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth (Heritage Foundation) to replace her (31:20).
• Labor Secretary conclusion:
  • “It’s imperative for the data to remain accurate, impartial and never altered for political gain.” (32:50)
• Ferguson insists the American public recognized the problem—“it had to be really bad for them to see it. And so this is again one of the examples of the massive lies of the left.” (36:35)

3. Expert Analysis with Steve Moore (32:35–35:40)

• Ferguson introduces Steve Moore (former Trump campaign senior economic adviser, Fox News/Fox Business contributor) for reaction:
  • Moore lambastes BLS data unreliability and political influence:
    • “I think one of the takeaways from this report is how increasingly unreliable these jobs numbers are … one survey had a big increase in jobs … whereas the one that’s reported, the headline number was what, 28,000? So we need to clean up these numbers … We make so many economic decisions based on these jobs numbers.” (33:20–34:10)
  • Moore and Ferguson jointly argue for major reforms at the BLS, warning of lasting damage to business trust and economic stability.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ben Ferguson on the auto pen evidence:
  • “So again in writing, the lawyers at Biden’s White House were saying, he’s not running the show. It’s the vice president and others.” (13:58)
• On the job numbers scandal:
  • “You don’t get these numbers this wrong … that is a revision on a level that clearly is straight up fraud.” (19:55)
  • “Why did this happen? Because they wanted Joe Biden to win.” (27:19, quoting Caroline Levitt)
• Steve Moore on economic data reliability:
  • “We make so many economic decisions based on these jobs numbers. And I’ve been doing this for 35 years that ... look at the re-estimates, they keep changing the numbers every month.” (34:11)

Important Timestamps

• 09:10 – Begins “auto pen” and VP Harris power transfer scandal
• 12:31 – Reads from 2021 White House memo on required presidential signatures
• 13:12 – Switch to VP Harris’ sign-off on clemency by 2024
• 15:20 – Details on Biden’s actual use of auto pen, list of pardonees
• 17:45 – Economic data segment starts
• 19:55 – “Straight up fraud” claim regarding job number revisions
• 26:59 – Ferguson: “Absolute scandal of gigantic proportions”
• 29:27 – The case for restoring trust in economic data
• 32:35 – Steve Moore interview
• 34:10 – Moore: “We need to clean up these numbers…”

Tone & Style

Ben Ferguson’s delivery is energetic, pointed, and often incredulous. He frames both the “auto pen” and jobs-number controversies as evidence of deep dysfunction and corruption, often using rhetorical questions to drive home the consequences (“Are these pardons and clemency actually legal?”). Guest Steven Moore maintains an analytical, critical tone while focusing on technical implications for the business and economic world.

Summary

This episode offers a high-octane breakdown of two headline scandals—delegation of presidential authority through auto pen (possibly to VP Harris), and alleged job-number fabrication by the Biden administration. Ferguson’s analysis is intense and accusatory, linking both incidents to a larger pattern of mismanagement and deception. With interviews, document excerpts, and focused timestamps, the episode is positioned as a clarion call for reform and transparency as the Trump administration takes on what Ferguson calls a “massive mess.”