Biden’s Last-Minute Use of Clemency

 📅Timeline of Key Pardons/Clemency

• 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.