Theoretically speaking, I could be a staffer in the Trump admin, make a bill declaring Gloria Swanson's birthday a national holiday, use autopen to "forge" Trump's signature and it'd be okay since I work for him?
It would not, for a number of reasons including the fact that it has to go through both Houses of Congress first, and that the President cannot (as far as I am aware) delegate that power.
The only remaining question is if he authorized it.
Does not matter. The Pardon power is not one of the powers that can be delegated. It is solely vested in the highest bodies (President for Federal pardons, Governors for State pardons, both Houses of Congress for the 14th Amendment disability pardon (if it even counts as one) ). There is nothing in USA, or its history, suggesting that the Pardon power can be delegated. The closest comparison I can find is 1797 law passed by Congress that allowed the Secretary of the Treasury to forgive fines regarding ships without proper certification (and for violation of other laws), but as the Supreme Court noted, it was a different power entirely than the one enjoyed by the President. See The Laura,
114 U.S. 411 (1885). The Founding fathers
intended the Pardon power to be entrusted into a single man (the one enjoying that power), and specifically cautioned against delegating or sharing such power.
If that was the case I would gladly take a blanket pardon just so I can admit guilt for literally every crime.
That pardon's imply legal guilt is a well believed thing, but ultimately a myth born out of misreading of SCOTUS precedent. I would suggest you read
Lorance v. Commandant, 13 F.4th 1150 (10th Cir. 2021) for a very well articulated reason as to why there is no legal guilt from accepting a presidential pardon