Joe Biden spent his last hours in office issuing presidential pardons to allies and later family members.
The former president issued preemptive pardons in the dying minutes of his presidency. Ex-White House chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and lawmakers who investigated Jan. 6 all received presidential pardons as Biden claimed they faced “revenge” under the new administration.
Furthermore, with less than 20 minutes before his tenure officially came to an end, Biden pardoned relatives such as brothers James and Francis, sister Valerie and sister and brother-in-law respectively, Sara and John Biden.
“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,” Biden said.
However, his last-minute pardons – timely issued as the eyes of the world centered on President Donald Trump’s inauguration – spurred criticism of hypocrisy for someone who criticized his successor for exploring pardons four years ago.
Trump’s usage of pardons was slammed by senior Democrats during the last transition of power. Following Biden’s sweeping wave of statements on Jan. 20, 2025, a resurfaced clip of Democrat Senate leader Chuck Schumer lambasting the now two-term president went viral on X.
Sen. Schumer described Trump’s proposed use of preemptive pardons as a “a gross abuse of the presidential pardon authority” in the closing days of Trump’s first presidency – comments which were revisited by conservatives online on Inauguration Day.
Others called for constitutional reform on the use of pardons.
