ReutersIn the final minutes of his presidency, Joe Biden pre-emptively pardoned several members of his family, including his brothers James, Francis and Frank Biden, and sister Valerie Biden Owens.
In a statement released as Donald Trump arrived at the Capitol rotunda, Biden said the pardons were intended to shield his family from politically motivated attacks.
The eleventh-hour move follows another set of pardons issued to Covid response chief Anthony Fauci and members of the House 6 January riot investigation to prevent what he called “unjustified… politically motivated prosecutions”.
The outgoing president said: “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment.”
Trump regularly clashed with Dr Fauci during the pandemic and has suggested he would take action against those who tried to hold him accountable for the 6 January Capitol riot and other “enemies from within”.
For years, Trump has levelled unproven accusations of corruption at both Biden and his family. In 2023, House Republicans launched a nearly yearlong investigation into the Biden’s, examining their business dealings abroad, but found no criminal wrongdoing.
“My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me,” Biden said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
In addition to his siblings, Biden issued pardons for his sister-in-law Sara Jones Biden and his brother-in-law John Owens.
The outgoing president had previously issued a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, who was facing sentencing for two criminal cases.
As he prepared to leave the White House, Biden also commuted the life sentence of indigenous activist Leonard Peltier, who was serving a life sentence for the 1975 murder of two FBI agents. Peltier will transition to house arrest, Biden said in a statement.
On Monday morning, a Trump spokesperson has called Biden’s pre-emptive pardons “the greatest attack on America’s justice system in history”.
“With the stroke of a pen, he (Biden) unilaterally shielded a group of political cronies from the scales of justice,” Taylor Budowich, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel said in a post on X.
“This is yet another dangerous and unreversible erosion of American norms.”
Biden also issued a pre-emptive pardon to Mark Milley, a former chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, who last year described Trump as “fascist to the core”.
Biden’s statement said that the pardons should “not be mistaken as an acknowledgment” that any of those covered “engaged in any wrongdoing”.
Democrats had warned the outgoing president against such action. Adam Schiff, a Senator for California, said Biden could set a “precedent” for “each president hereafter on their way out the door giving out a broad category of pardons”.
Dr Fauci told US media that he “truly appreciated” Biden for taking action, adding that the possibility of prosecution had created “immeasurable and intolerable distress” on his family.
“Let me be perfectly clear, I have committed no crime and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me,” he added.
Gen Milley, 66, thanked Biden in a statement and stated that he did not wish to spend the rest of his life “fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights”.
“I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety,” he said.
Biden’s pardons cover all members of the House Select Committee that investigated the 6 January riot, as well as their staff and the officers who testified.
The committee was led by Democrat Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, who later campaigned with Trump’s opponent, Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Trump in December backed a call for the FBI to investigate Cheney over her role in leading Congress’s probe.
But the pardons do not shield the officials from congressional investigations. The recipients could be subject to probes from a Republican-led Congress that require them to testify and provide other materials.
Former US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn said he was “eternally grateful” to Biden “not just for this pre-emptive pardon, but for his leadership and service to this nation”.
“Unfortunately, the political climate we are in now has made the need for [a pardon] somewhat of a reality,” he said.
“I, like all other public servants, was just doing my job and upholding my oath.”
Trump is set to pardon some of those convicted of crimes related to the riot.
“You’re going to see something tomorrow,” Trump said on Sunday, in reference to the 6 January rioters. “I think you’ll be very, very happy.”
On the campaign trail, Trump railed against “enemies from within”, and has endorsed several figures who have vowed retribution against his foes to join his cabinet.
However, his choice for attorney general, Pam Bondi, said during her confirmation hearing last week that there would never be an enemies list and that she would not use the justice department to target anyone based on their politics.
