US President Joe Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses on his way out of the White House, saying on 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 former US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, members of the House of Representatives committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and allies who have been targeted by Republican President Donald Trump. He was sworn in Monday.
Photo: AFP
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.
However, 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 shoud 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.
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