Biden Pardons Five More Family Members—Minutes Before Leaving Office

 

US President Joe Biden on Jan. 16, 2025

Joe Biden in the final minutes of his presidency on Monday issued pardons to five more members of his family—his brother James and wife Sarah, his younger sister Valerie Biden Owens and husband John T. Owens, and his brother Francis Biden—after he says they were "subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats" motivated by a desire to hurt him.

Key Facts

The move comes after Biden controversially pardoned his son Hunter—who was previously charged with tax and gun crimes—and gave preemptive pardons to Trump foes like Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley and members of the House Jan. 6 committee.

Other than his son Hunter, Biden’s family members haven’t faced charges.

Biden said in a statement the preemptive pardons are not an admission that his family members engaged in any wrongdoing, nor that they’re guilty of any crimes.

He called out "baseless and politically motivated investigations" meant to target political rivals and their families as motivation for the pardons, and said that even being investigated for a crime they’ll be cleared of “can irreparably damage their reputations and finances.”

President Donald Trump, who was sworn in roughly 20 minutes after the pardons were announced, has suggested he could use federal agencies to prosecute his political rivals if he was reelected, telling Spanish-language television network Univision "it could certainly happen" and that his indictments, which he has also claimed were politically motivated, "released the genie out of the box."

Surprising Fact

Biden holds the record for the most individual pardons and commutations issued.

What Has Biden’s Family Been Accused Of?

The GOP-led House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into Biden and his family in January 2023, citing concerns with the foreign business activities of Biden's son, Hunter, and brother, James. The investigation, and the impeachment inquiry that followed, alleged—but ultimately didn’t dig up evidence—that Joe Biden was involved in or personally profited from his family's business dealings, or that he improperly influenced policy based on them during his time as vice president. James Biden, who has been accused of capitalizing on the Biden name to further his business prospects, testified that his brother has never been involved with or benefited from any of his business ventures.

Why Did Hunter Biden Need A Pardon?

Hunter Biden, the second son of Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, was in June convicted on three federal felonies for unlawfully purchasing a gun while he was addicted to drugs in 2018. Prosecutors allege Biden was in the throes of an addiction to crack cocaine when he lied on a federal form to purchase a gun by checking a box that he was not a drug user. By doing so, he lied to a federally licensed firearm dealer and illegally owned the gun for 11 days. Prosecutors used Hunter Biden's memoir, “Beautiful Things,” to prove he was addicted to drugs at the time and several family members were called to testify against him. The three charges carried a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and $750,000 in fines. He was scheduled to be sentenced on the charges in December, but his father pardoned him on Dec. 1. Separately, Hunter Biden pleaded guilty to tax crimes. The then-president said his son was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” arguing in a statement the charges “came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election.” “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” the president wrote.

Who Else Has Joe Biden Pardoned?

Biden on Monday morning issued preemptive pardons to Milley, Fauci and lawmakers and staffers who served on the House Jan. 6 select committee. He said the pardons were to prevent the incoming Trump administration from targeting them with “politically motivated” criminal investigations and prosecutions. On Sunday, Biden granted clemency to five people who were convicted of non-violent drug offenses and commuted the sentence of two people he said have demonstrated "remorse, rehabilitation, and redemption" in decades of incarceration. On Friday, Biden commuted the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. In December, he commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and pardoned 339 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. Biden previously issued 122 commutations and 21 other pardons.