Biden pardons his siblings and their spouses in final moments of his presidency

President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris arrive during the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Pool Photo via AP)

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — Minutes before leaving the presidency, Joe Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses, saying Monday 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.”

“Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” he said as his presidential term was ending.

The family pardons were the surprise finale in a series of unprecedented presidential actions by the Democrat, who has been known as an intuitionalist during his half-century in politics. Biden also pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and allies who have been targeted by Republican President Donald Trump. He was sworn in Monday.

It was a remarkable use of Biden’s presidential power: None of the above has been charged with any crime, and the move was designed to guard against possible retribution by Trump.

Trump, during his campaign, repeatedly suggested he would seek to use the Justice Department to exact retribution against his perceived political foes. His pick for attorney general, Pam Bondi, told lawmakers during her confirmation hearing last week that the department would not prosecute anyone for political purposes. But she refused to rule out potential investigations into Trump adversaries, including the special counsel who brought two federal criminal cases against Trump that have since been abandoned.

Last month, Biden pardoned his son Hunter for tax and gun crimes, despite his previous pledges not to do so.

Biden issued blanket pardons for his brother James and his wife, Sara; his sister, Valerie, and her husband, John Owens; and his brother Francis.

“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,” he said in a statement.

The pardons came just before noon. Biden was already at the Capitol to see Trump inaugurated.

House Republicans in June sent a letter to the Justice Department recommending the prosecution of Hunter and James Biden, accusing them of making false statements to Congress as part of a Republican impeachment inquiry. James Biden’s lawyer at the time called it a “baseless partisan action.” James Biden’s business dealings were heavily scrutinized by Republicans as part of their failed impeachment inquiry. Republicans pointed to a series of payments that they claimed showed the president benefited from his brother’s work.

House Democrats defended the transaction, pointing to bank records they say indicate James Biden was repaying a loan provided by his brother Joe, who had wire transferred $200,000 to him about six weeks earlier. The money changed hands while Joe Biden was a private citizen.

In a voluntary interview as part of the impeachment inquiry, James Biden said his brother “never had any involvement” in the business dealings of other members of his family.

Other presidents have pardoned family members, but those were for specific criminal convictions.

Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger for drug charges after he had served his sentence roughly a decade earlier. In the final weeks of his first term, Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in law, Jared Kushner, as well as multiple allies convicted in special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

By Zeke Miller, Colleen Long and Alanna Durkin Richer

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS