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Politics|Pardoned Biden Family Members Were Targets of Republicans
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/us/politics/pardoned-biden-family-members-were-targets-of-republicans.html
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The relatives who were granted clemency in the final minutes of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidency had not been charged with wrongdoing, but some had drawn scrutiny.
Ken Vogel reported from Washington. He has reported on the Biden family’s business dealings.
Jan. 20, 2025, 6:07 p.m. ET
Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s last-minute pre-emptive pardons to five family members came after years of scrutiny from Republicans.
Mr. Biden issued full and unconditional pardons on Monday to James Biden, his brother; Sara Biden, James’s wife; Valerie Biden Owens, the former president’s sister; John T. Owens, Ms. Owens’s husband; and Francis W. Biden, the youngest of the former president’s siblings.
None of those five family members of the former president has been charged with any crimes, but congressional Republicans have claimed that some of the Bidens profited from Mr. Biden’s long tenure in government.
On the campaign trail, President Trump had signaled that he had plans to use the Justice Department to “go after” members of the Biden family.
In a statement announcing the pardons, made public 21 minutes before the end of his presidency, Mr. Biden declared that the 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 lamented the “unrelenting attacks and threats,” on his family, adding, “unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
