Just minutes before he leaves office, Biden pardons his siblings and their spouses

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Monday.

President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris arrive at the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Monday. (Chip Somodevilla via AP)


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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday pardoned his siblings and their spouses, saying his family had 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," he said. He issued a slew of pardons and commutations in the moments before leaving office, including for aides and allies that have been targeted by Donald Trump. None have been charged with any crimes.

Last month, he pardoned his son, Hunter Biden for tax and gun crimes.

Biden issued blanket pardons for his brother James Biden and his wife, Sara Biden, his sister Valerie Biden Owens and her husband, John Owens, and his brother Francis Biden.

"The issuance of these 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 said in a statement.

The pardons came as Biden and others stood at the U.S. Capitol to see Trump inaugurated.

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