The final hours of any presidency are usually a blur of boxes, moving trucks, and the frantic scratch of a fountain pen. But Joe Biden’s exit was different. It wasn’t just the typical list of non-violent offenders looking for a fresh start. On January 20, 2025, literally minutes before the clock struck noon and Donald Trump took the oath, Biden unleashed a wave of "preemptive" pardons that sent shockwaves through DC.
Honestly, it felt more like a defensive shield than a standard clemency act.
He didn't just look at the stack of DOJ files. He looked at the people who had been in the trenches with him—and those who had been in the crosshairs of his successor. If you've been following the news, you know about Hunter. But the "who did biden pardon at the last minute" list is actually way deeper, involving his siblings, high-ranking generals, and the very people who investigated the January 6th Capitol riot.
The Inner Circle: Family and "Preemptive" Protection
The most striking part of the January 20th morning was the "blanket" nature of the pardons. Normally, a pardon is for a specific crime someone was convicted of. Not this time. Biden issued full and unconditional pardons for any federal offenses his family members "might" have committed over the last decade.
Basically, he was building a legal fortress around his kin. The list included:
- James Biden (his brother) and his wife, Sara Jones Biden.
- Valerie Biden Owens (his sister) and her husband, John T. Owens.
- Francis W. Biden (his younger brother).
Biden’s logic? He claimed his family had been "subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats" simply to get to him. It’s a controversial move, for sure. By extending these pardons back to January 1, 2014, he effectively shut the door on any future Special Counsel investigations into the family's business dealings that Republicans had been teasing for years.
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Defending the "Deep State": Fauci and Milley
If the family pardons were personal, the next group was purely political defense. Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci and General Mark Milley.
Neither man had been charged with a crime.
That’s what makes this so weird. Preemptive pardons are rare—think Gerald Ford pardoning Nixon before he was even indicted. By pardoning Fauci, the face of the COVID-19 response, and Milley, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Biden was signaling that he expected the incoming administration to "weaponize" the DOJ against them. It was a preemptive strike against what he called "vengeful politics."
The January 6th Investigators
Then there’s the group that really got the MAGA base fired up. Biden issued a collective pardon to the members of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack.
We're talking about big names like Bennie Thompson, Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, and Jamie Raskin. He even included the committee staff and the police officers who testified, like Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn.
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Fanone’s reaction was pretty raw. He told reporters he hadn't fully "digested" it yet, but saw it as protection from a party he described as "vengeful." It’s a wild moment in American history when a president feels the need to pardon members of Congress and cops just for doing their jobs and testifying.
What About the "Second Chances"?
Away from the headlines of the "Deep State" and the Biden family, there was a more traditional side to the clemency. On January 17 and 19, Biden set records. He commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people in a single day—the most in U.S. history.
Most of these were non-violent drug offenders, people caught up in the "War on Drugs" era sentencing. But a few names stood out for their symbolic weight:
- Marcus Garvey: In a historic posthumous pardon, Biden cleared the name of the Black nationalist leader convicted of mail fraud way back in the 1920s. Civil rights groups had been pushing for this for decades.
- Don Scott: The Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. Scott served seven years on drug charges decades ago. His pardon was a "full circle" moment for a guy who went from a prison cell to leading a state legislature.
- Ravi Ragbir: A well-known immigrant rights advocate who had been fighting deportation for years.
- Kemba Smith Pradia: A face of criminal justice reform who had her original sentence commuted by Bill Clinton but finally received a full pardon from Biden.
The Death Row Commutations
One of the most quiet but massive moves happened just before Christmas 2024. Biden commuted the sentences of 37 out of 40 federal death row inmates. He didn't set them free; he changed their sentences to life without parole. He left out the "worst of the worst"—those convicted of terrorism or mass murder—but effectively emptied federal death row before Trump could take over, knowing the Republican stance on capital punishment.
The Hunter Biden Reversal
We can't talk about who Biden pardoned at the last minute without mentioning the big one. On December 1, 2024, Biden did exactly what he said he wouldn't do: he pardoned his son, Hunter.
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The pardon was incredibly broad. It covered anything Hunter did or "may have committed" between 2014 and 2024. This didn't just wipe away the gun conviction in Delaware and the tax charges in California; it was a total legal shield. Biden's justification was that the process had been "infected by raw politics." Critics, even some within his own party, called it a blow to his legacy of "restoring the soul of the nation" and respecting the rule of law.
But as a father? Biden basically said "enough is enough."
Why These Pardons Matter Now
The 2025 transition was arguably the most litigious in history. Biden’s use of the pardon power wasn't just about mercy; it was about strategy. By pardoning the January 6th committee and the "doctors and generals," he attempted to take "retribution" off the table for the next administration.
Of course, a pardon only covers federal crimes. It doesn't stop state-level prosecutors from taking a look at people. And it doesn't stop the political fallout.
Actionable Insights for Following Legal Developments:
- Check the DOJ Pardon Office: For a full, un-spun list of every individual name (there are thousands of non-famous ones), the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney is the only source of truth.
- Watch the "Acceptance" Issue: Interestingly, a pardon must be accepted to be valid. Keep an eye on figures like Adam Kinzinger, who initially expressed hesitation, as accepting a pardon can sometimes be legally interpreted as an admission that a crime was committed, even if the pardon itself says otherwise.
- Monitor State Actions: Since these are all federal pardons, watch for any "workarounds" where state attorneys general might try to bring charges for similar conduct under state law, which a president cannot touch.
The dust hasn't totally settled on the Biden era, but his final acts with the pen made one thing clear: he was determined to have the last word on who was "guilty" and who deserved a pass.