In the final moment of his presidency on Monday, President Joe Biden issued pardons to several close family members as well as several Trump critics. (per ABC NEWS.)
Shortly before Donald Trump was to be inaugurated as the nation’s 47th president, the White House announced that Biden granted clemency for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and also issued five preemptive pardons to James Biden, Joe’s younger brother; Sara Jones Biden, James’ wife; Valerie Biden Owens, Joe’s younger sister; John T. Owens’, Valerie’s husband; and Francis W. Biden, Joe’s younger brother. Signed Jan. 19, the pardon excuses James Biden and the other family members of “ANY NONVIOLENT OFFENSES against the United States which they may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through the date of this pardon.”
Biden wrote in a statement: “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. That is why I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden. 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.”
Republicans in congress had pressed the incoming Justice Department to bring charges against James Biden, 75, for allegedly lying to Congress as part of its impeachment inquiry into the outgoing president and his family. James Comer, the chair of the House Oversight Committee, wrote to incoming Attorney General Pam Bondi to hold James Biden accountable for “having misled Congress regarding Joe Biden’s participation in his family’s influence peddling and deserving of prosecution under federal law.”
Biden announced the preemptive pardons for his siblings and in-laws while in the Capitol Rotunda attending the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump: “I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finance. 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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