Joe Biden pardons his family members in final act as president
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: Melina MARA / POOL / AFP / Mandel Ngan - Pool/Getty Images
Joe Biden has pardoned several of his family members in one of his last acts as President of the United States.
In a lengthy statement issued before President-elect Donald Trump was sworn into office, the White House shared a message on Biden's behalf.
Today's pardons (January 20) do not include his son, Hunter Biden, whom the President had already issued a pardon for last month.
The decision came after Hunter was convicted of three federal firearms-related felony charges in June 2024.
Advert
"I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision," Biden said of his decision to pardon his son.
Part Biden's new statement issued today read: "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.
"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 finances."
Biden went on to name James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden as the pardoned individuals.
The newly issued pardons cover all of their 'nonviolent' actions dating back to January 1, 2014.
The poignant statement went on: "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."
As well as his family, Biden issued pardons for American businessman Gerald G. Lundergan, and attorney Ernest William Cromartie.
"I am commuting the life sentence imposed on Leonard Peltier so that he serves the remainder of his sentence in home confinement," Biden added.
Peltier, who is currently serving life in prison for killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and escaping from federal prison, will now serve the rest of his life sentence from home.
The 80-year-old is said to have spent nearly half a century behind bars, and there have been many calls for his clemency in recent years.