President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons for several family members today, citing concerns that they will be targeted by “baseless and politically motivated investigations.” The White House announced the pardons just minutes before President-elect Donald Trump entered the Capitol rotunda to be sworn in as the next commander in chief.

Biden pardoned his brother, James Biden; James’ wife, Sara Jones Biden; his younger sister, Valerie Biden Owens; Owens’ husband, John Owens; and his other brother, Francis Biden, closing the final chapter of a long-running investigation into the Biden family’s alleged influence peddling. The pardon essentially shields them from potential legal consequences under a new Trump administration.

In 2023, congressional Republicans subpoenaed James Biden, 75, and his nephew Hunter Biden, 54, as part of an investigation into their roles in the family’s business dealings both domestically and internationally. Evidence had surfaced suggesting that both men frequently involved President Joe Biden in their financial ventures.

Republican lawmakers accused James Biden of misleading Congress, calling for criminal charges against him. They also suggested that his actions might have constituted unregistered foreign lobbying, which would be another legal violation.

“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 stated shortly before leaving office.

“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances.”

Biden continued, “That is why I am exercising my power under the Constitution to pardon James B. Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. 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.”

In an unprecedented move, President Biden granted clemency to his son Hunter Biden on December 1, which covered a span of over 11 years, dating back to 2014 when Hunter joined the board of Burisma Holdings. This decision also halted prosecution for charges related to gun possession and tax evasion, along with possible new charges.

James Biden, in contrast to his nephew, has not faced any criminal charges, although his activities have been closely scrutinized by both House Republicans and the media.

The decision to pardon James Biden, who struggled with managing his finances despite substantial earnings, indicates that the president likely anticipated the incoming Trump administration’s Justice Department would intensify investigations into the Biden family’s financial matters. James played a significant role in several initiatives involving both his brother Joe and his nephew Hunter.

For decades, James Biden leveraged his access to political power—stemming from Joe Biden’s long tenure in the Senate—to profit, with records uncovered by House Republicans showing that he transferred $240,000 to Joe Biden in 2017 and 2018 from funds allegedly tied to influence peddling. James, however, claimed these payments were simply the repayment of personal loans.

In one of the earliest known incidents drawing scrutiny, James Biden reportedly boasted in 2006, “don’t worry about investors, we’ve got people all around the world who want to invest in Joe Biden,” while he and Hunter Biden were involved in taking over a hedge fund in New York City.

“We’ve got investors lined up in a line of 747s filled with cash,” Politico reporter Ben Schreckinger wrote in his 2021 book.

At the time, Joe Biden was the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

In 2006, law firm SimmonsCooper—affiliated with wealthy asbestos attorney Jeff Cooper—invested $1 million in the New York City hedge fund. That year, Congress was debating asbestos reform, and then-Senator Joe Biden played a key role in blocking a proposed change to limit funding for asbestos-related payouts, which benefitted Cooper’s firm.

A Biden spokesperson later claimed in 2008 that the investment was unrelated to the bill, and that it was eventually returned.

Cooper later worked with the Biden family on business ventures in Mexico during the Obama administration and even appeared in a 2015 group photo with Joe Biden at his official vice-presidential residence. He also traveled aboard Air Force Two for a 2016 trip to Mexico.

James Biden was also wiretapped in 2007 by the FBI, while his brother was still serving as a senator, as part of a bribery investigation involving Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs, according to a Washington Post report from 2023.

Though James was never charged, he had discussions with Scruggs and another figure, Tim Balducci, about establishing a law firm that would have employed James, Hunter, and James’ wife.

At one point, Scruggs flew Joe Biden to a fundraiser aboard his private plane, as the Post reported.

Senator Biden shifted his stance on federal tobacco legislation after Scruggs paid James Biden’s lobbying firm $100,000 in 1998, according to the Washington Post.

“I probably wouldn’t have hired him if he wasn’t the senator’s brother,” Scruggs told the paper.

Joey Langston, another disbarred attorney from Mississippi, loaned James Biden $800,000 in 2016 and 2017, during Joe Biden’s final term in office. However, Langston only received $400,000 back, raising further questions about potential misconduct involving Biden family members.

James Biden also became involved in questionable foreign business deals. Bankruptcy filings indicate that he received $600,000 in loans in 2018 from Americore, a rural hospital provider, including a $400,000 loan in January 2018 and another $200,000 in March, based on his promise to secure a large investment from the Middle East.

Politico reported that one person involved in a transaction with James recalled him saying during a call, “I’m sitting in a car next to my brother Joe.”

James Biden allegedly approached Qatar in 2018 for a $30 million investment in Americore, and directly mentioned his relation to Joe Biden during the presentation, as documented by Politico.

James Biden explained during the impeachment inquiry that he was introduced to potential investors by Amer Rustom, a businessman with strong connections in the Middle East and North Africa. However, the investment never came to fruition.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged Michael Lewitt, another businessman involved in the deal, with stealing $4.7 million from his own investors.

After receiving a final installment from Americore, James Biden wrote his brother a $200,000 check, which he insisted was for loan repayment. Republicans questioned the lack of formal loan documents and raised doubts about the source of the original funds.

James Biden also transferred $40,000 to Joe Biden in September 2017, which House Republicans traced to funds from CEFC China Energy. This Chinese company had paid millions to Hunter and James Biden, with a notorious Biden family associate reportedly indicating that the payment was part of a scheme involving a 10% cut for Joe Biden, who was referred to as the “big guy.”

The origin of the $40,000 transfer was scrutinized due to the nearly empty balance of James’ bank account at the time.

In his impeachment testimony, James Biden defended his dealings with CEFC, although he faced questions about his potential violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires Americans to register before lobbying for foreign clients.

“Relying on the extensive network of contacts I had developed over many decades, I quickly identified a number of promising opportunities. For example, I reached out to a number of investors who were friends and who expressed serious interest in working with us,” James said.

“In addition, I connected with Richard Ieyoub, an old friend and the former long-term Attorney General of Louisiana, who by 2017 was the state Commissioner of Conservation. Mr. Ieyoub directed me to a number of projects, including Monkey Island LNH, a property off the coast of Louisiana with opportunities for the onloading and offloading of liquid natural gas.

“Of all the projects, this was the one that proved most attractive to CEFC, whose representatives presented the opportunity to the Chairman [Ye] and gave an informal go-ahead for the project. We even marked the occasion with a celebratory lunch.”

In early 2017, Joe Biden allegedly met with CEFC Chairman Ye Jianming shortly before funds began to flow to the Biden family, according to testimony from former Biden associate Rob Walker.

James Biden maintained in his testimony that his brother “had no information at all about the source of the funds I used to repay him.”

“I never asked my brother to take any official action on behalf of me, my business associates, or anyone else. In every business venture in which I have been involved, I have relied on my own talent, judgment, skill, and personal relationships — and never my status as Joe Biden’s brother,” James said during the inquiry in February.

He further clarified, “The money I transferred to the president were all short-term loans that were for tuition payments for my children, unforeseen medical expenses, and storm damage on my house.”

Regarding the pardon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated on December 12, “What I can say is not that I’m aware of. But I just don’t have anything else beyond that, and the president certainly is going to as it more broadly speaking, as we move forward to the next couple of weeks, he obviously is going to review with his team about other clemency decisions, and they’re taking additional steps, and so that’s what I can speak to at this time.”

{Matzav.com}