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The Justice Department is reviewing the list of people that were granted pardons by former President Joe Biden, amid new concerns about his use of an AutoPen to automatically sign documents, as well as concerns about his state of mind and mental acuity in his final months in office.
TRUMP DOJ INVESTIGATING BIDEN-ERA PARDONS AMID CONCERNS OVER STATE OF MIND
Biden used his final weeks as commander-in-chief to grant clemency and pardon more than 1,500 individuals, in what his White House described as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president.
But critics blasted Biden for some of the pardons and preemptive pardons for members of his family, inner circle, and some allies, amid concerns that the Trump administration would investigate and attempt to punish their actions.
WHAT IS AN AUTOPEN? THE SIGNING DEVICE AT THE HEART OF TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON BIDEN PARDONS
Biden signed the pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, by hand. But the others appear to have been signed by AutoPen.
Here is a list of the former president’s most controversial pardons:
Hunter Biden
Former President Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden in December 2024—after vowing to the American people for months that he would not do so.
Hunter Biden was found guilty of three felony firearm offenses stemming from Special Counsel David Weiss’ investigation. The first son was also charged with federal tax crimes regarding the failure to pay at least $1.4 million in taxes. Before his trial, Hunter Biden entered a surprise guilty plea.
Biden, in December, announced a blanket pardon that applies to any offenses against the U.S. that Hunter Biden “has committed or may have committed” from Jan. 1, 2014, to Dec. 1, 2024.
HUNTER BIDEN: A LOOK AT HOW THE SAGA SPANNING OVER SIX YEARS UNFOLDED
“From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted,” Biden said. “There has been an effort to break Hunter — who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me — and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.”
Biden added, “I hope Americans will understand why a father and a president would come to this decision.”
Biden Family Members
Just a day before leaving office on Jan. 20, 2025, Biden signed an Executive Grant of Clemency for his brother James Biden and his wife Sarah Jones Biden; his sister Valerie Biden Owens and her husband John T. Owens; and his brother Francis W. Biden.
The “full and unconditional” preemptive pardon for his family members covered “any nonviolent offenses against the United States which they may have committed or taken part in during the period from Jan. 1, 2014, through the date of this pardon,” which was signed on Jan. 19, 2025.
The pardon appears to have been signed with AutoPen.
Members of the Biden family had fallen at the center of the congressional investigation into their business dealings.
The House of Representatives launched an impeachment inquiry against Biden, finding that Biden committed “impeachable conduct” during his time as vice president and “defrauded the United States to enrich his family.”
PRESIDENT BIDEN PARDONS HIS SIBLINGS JUST MINUTES BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE
During the inquiry, congressional investigators heard testimony from James Biden, who ultimately was referred to the Justice Department for prosecution for making false statements to Congress about “key aspects” of the impeachment inquiry.
The House of Representatives found that the Biden family and its associates received more than $27 million from foreign individuals or entities since 2014.
They also alleged that the Biden family leveraged Biden’s position as vice president to obtain more than $8 million in loans from Democrat benefactors. The loans “have not been repaid and the paperwork supporting many of the loans does not exist and has not been produced to the committees.”
The Republicans said the alleged conspiracy took place while Biden was serving as vice president.
Former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley
Biden, on Jan. 19, 2025, pardoned Milley, after an administration marred by the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal.
Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has admitted the withdrawal where 13 U.S. troops lost their lives was a “strategic failure.”
BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ ‘DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT
“My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,” Milley said in a statement, accepting the pardon. “After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our Nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights.”
The pardon appears to have been signed with AutoPen.
Dr. Anthony Fauci
Biden, also on Jan. 19, 2025, pardoned former Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci also served as Biden’s chief medical advisor and oversaw the U.S. public health response and research on the COVID-19 virus and vaccine development.
Fauci accepted the pardon in a statement shortly after Biden announced the move, claiming he was subject to “politically motivated threats of investigation and prosecution.”
DR. FAUCI SAYS HE APPRECIATES PRESIDENT BIDEN’S PARDON BUT INSISTS ‘NO CRIME’ WAS COMMITTED
“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. The fact is, however, that the mere articulation of these baseless threats, and the potential that they will be acted upon, create immeasurable and intolerable distress for me and my family. For these reasons, I acknowledge and appreciate the action that President Biden has taken today on my behalf,” Fauci said.
Fauci’s pardon also appears to have been signed with AutoPen.
Members of the House Select Committee to investigate Jan. 6
Biden, also on Jan. 19, 2025, used AutoPen to sign a pardon for members of Congress who served on the House Select Committee to investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.
BIDEN PARDONS MARK MILLEY, ANTHONY FAUCI, J6 COMMITTEE MEMBERS
The pardon also covered committee staff and the police officers from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Capitol Police who testified before the committee.
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