Biden’s Last-Minute Use of Clemency

 📅 Timeline of Key Pardons

• January 19, 2025 (final full day in office)

  • Posthumous pardon for civil rights leader Marcus Garvey, convicted in 1923 npr.org+15theguardian.com+15reuters.com+15.

  • Pardons for five individuals convicted of nonviolent offenses, including Darryl Chambers, immigration advocate Ravi Ragbir, VA House Speaker Don Scott Jr., and criminal justice advocate Kemba Smith Pradia theguardian.com+3reuters.com+3theguardian.com+3.

• January 20, 2025 (last day in office)

  • Close family members — James Biden (brother) and wife Sara, Valerie Biden Owens (sister) and husband John Owens, Francis Biden (brother) — received broad, preemptive pardons covering any “nonviolent offense” from January 2014 through that date dailytelegraph.com.au+15abcnews.go.com+15npr.org+15.

  • High-profile public figures—Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, members and staff of the House January 6th committee, and Capitol & D.C. Metro police officers—were also pardoned preemptively to shield them from possible prosecutions en.wikipedia.org+7npr.org+7idahocapitalsun.com+7.

• December 1, 2024

  • Hunter Biden received a broad pardon for federal gun and tax offenses, granted before any additional charges beyond those he had already resolved in court theguardian.com+11npr.org+11theguardian.com+11reuters.com+10theguardian.com+10nypost.com+10.

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⚖️ Why This Matters

1. Preemptive pardons stretch traditional use of executive clemency beyond its standard post-conviction scope. Constitutionally, pardons typically apply after charges or convictions, not in anticipation of them. Legally, however, presidents do have broad clemency authority—even before charges are filed nypost.com.

2. Mixing politics, family, and power: Pardoning immediate family members and political figures before any formal allegations raises valid questions about conflict of interest and if the constitution’s clemency power is being leveraged as a protective shield, rather than a measure of mercy.

3. Pushback and scrutiny:

   • Legal scholars and watchdogs warn these pardons could undermine judicial proceedings and due process by preemptively closing criminal avenues .

   • Republicans and House Oversight launched investigations, including issues around whether Biden had the capacity to finalize them and whether autopen use obscured the pardon process nypost.com+2reuters.com+2nypost.com+2.

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🧠 Bottom Line

• Yes, preemptive pardons are technically within presidential power—courts typically defer to the executive on clemency decisions.

• But pardons covering non-convicted individuals, especially relatives and political allies, challenge accepted norms and raise serious ethical concerns.

• Accountability matters: This moment highlights how expansive presidential power can get—and why transparency and public trust in the pardon process are crucial.