On his way out of the White House, Joe Biden granted his siblings and their wives pardons, claiming that his family had been “subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics.”
As his time as president came to an end, he observed, “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
But that’s not everyone he pardoned…
Known as an intuitionalist during his 50 years in politics, the Democrat’s unusual presidential acts culminated in the surprise pardons of the families.
Biden also granted pardons to supporters targeted by Republican President Donald Trump, retired General Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members of the House committee that looked into the attack on the Capitol on January 6. On Monday, he was sworn in.
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None of the aforementioned have been accused of any crimes, and the action was taken to protect against potential Trump retaliation. It was an impressive use of Biden’s presidential authority.
Throughout his campaign, Trump made it clear that he intended to utilize the Justice Department to retaliate against his alleged political opponents.
During her confirmation hearing last week, Pam Bondi, his choice for attorney general, assured lawmakers that the department would not bring political charges against anyone.
However, she declined to rule out possible inquiries of Trump’s opponents, such as the special counsel who filed two now-abandoned federal criminal charges against Trump.
Despite his earlier promises not to, Biden this month pardoned his son Hunter for firearms and tax offenses.
Biden pardoned his sister Valerie and her husband John Owens, his brother Francis, and his brother James and his wife Sara.
In a statement, he stated, “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”
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Just before noon, the pardons were granted. As Biden watched Trump take office, he was already at the Capitol.
In June, as part of a Republican impeachment inquiry, House Republicans wrote to the Justice Department urging that Hunter and James Biden be charged with lying to Congress. At the time, James Biden’s attorney referred to it as a “baseless partisan action.”
As part of their unsuccessful impeachment investigation, Republicans closely examined James Biden’s economic activities. Republicans alleged that the president profited from his brother’s labor by pointing to a number of payments.
Using bank records that they claim show James Biden was repaying a debt from his brother Joe, who wired him $200,000 around six weeks prior, House Democrats justified the transaction. When Joe Biden was a private citizen, the money was exchanged.
James Biden stated that his brother “never had any involvement” in the financial affairs of other family members during a voluntary interview conducted as part of the impeachment investigation.
Hours after the Biden White House announced the pardons, Trump spoke to supporters and criticized the action. He made fun of the Democratic administration for making the announcement just minutes before the end of its tenure.
“Did you know that Biden, while I was making my speech, pardoned his whole family?” Trump said. “The brother — the whole deal was pardoned. Can you imagine that?”
In a different interview with reporters, Trump charged that Biden was setting “unbelievable precedent” for presidents to come.
Trump remarked, “I guess now I have precedent to do it.”
Family members have been pardoned by other presidents, but only for certain criminal convictions.
About ten years ago, Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug offenses after he had completed his term.
Trump pardoned several associates found guilty in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, including Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, in the last weeks of his first administration.
