Former President Joe Biden’s final act as president was to preemptively pardon several members of his family.
The sweeping pardon covers the president’s brother, James B. Biden; sister-in-law, Sara Jones Biden; sister, Valerie Biden Owens; brother-in-law, John T. Owens; and brother, Francis W. Biden. The pardons were announced minutes before President-elect Donald Trump was sworn in.
“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,” Biden said in a statement.
The pardons mark the second time in recent weeks that Biden has moved to protect his family members from legal jeopardy. In December, he issued a broad pardon for his son, Hunter, who was due to be sentenced for federal tax and gun crimes.
“My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” Biden said.
He suggested that his family members would be subject to “baseless and politically motivated investigations” under the Trump administration.
President Trump, during his inaugural address, vowed to end the “unfair weaponization of the Justice Department.”
“Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents, something I know something about,” he said, alluding to the various criminal indictments he spent much of the last several years battling in court.
Trump has consistently held that he was politically targeted for prosecution by the Justice Department.
“We will not allow that to happen,” Trump said. “It will not happen again under my leadership. We will restore fair, equal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law, and we are going to bring law and order back to our cities.”
Biden’s pardons add to a list of other last-minute reprieves he issued on the final day of his presidency. Hours earlier, he preemptively pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and those who served on the House Jan. 6 Select Committee.
Speaking with supporters after the inauguration, Trump questioned why former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and other members of the select committee deserved pardons.
“They destroyed and deleted all of that information that went on for almost two years against Trump. And the reason they did [was] because it was all false,” Trump said.
Trump also criticized the pardon of Milley, his former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, calling it “terrible.”
The pair’s relationship soured following Milley’s testimony before the select committee, and the retired general has been highly critical of Trump since.
