Which high-profile or controversial pardons did Biden grant in 2024 and what were the public reactions?
Executive summary
President Biden’s most prominent 2024 clemency moves were a pre-emptive pardon for his son Hunter on Dec. 1, 2024, and a massive single-day action on Dec. 12, 2024 that pardoned 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes and commuted roughly 1,499–1,500 sentences (White House, Reuters, AP) [1] [2] [3]. The Hunter pardon produced sharp partisan backlash and weak public approval (about 2 in 10 Americans approved in an AP‑NORC poll), while the December 12 clemency action was framed by the administration as restorative justice even as critics called it an abuse of power [4] [2] [3].
1. The Hunter Biden pardon: a single, explosive act
President Biden issued a pre‑emptive, broad pardon for his son Hunter on Dec. 1, 2024 that covered any federal offenses from Jan. 1, 2014 through Dec. 1, 2024; the decision reversed earlier statements that he would not pardon family members and immediately dominated news and political debate [5] [6]. Media and political reactions split sharply: many Republicans and some Democrats said it undercut trust in the justice system and breached prior commitments, while other legal commentators and some Democrats defended the pardon as warranted given the political targeting of Hunter’s prosecutions [7] [8] [9].
2. Polling and political fallout from the Hunter pardon
Public reaction was largely unfavorable: an AP‑NORC poll found only about two in 10 Americans approved of the pardon, with roughly half disapproving; Democrats were divided, with roughly four in 10 approving and many prominent Democrats — including senators and governors — publicly criticizing the move as “unwise” or a misuse of power [4] [8] [10]. Republican leaders and the incoming Trump administration used the pardon to argue corruption and double standards; House Republican messaging framed subsequent family pardons as confirmation of a corrupt “Biden Crime Family” narrative [11] [12].
3. The Dec. 12, 2024 mass clemency: scale, rationale, and defenders
On Dec. 12, 2024 the White House announced clemency for nearly 1,500 people (commutations) and pardons for 39 individuals convicted of nonviolent crimes, calling it the largest single‑day clemency action in modern times and emphasizing rehabilitation and overly harsh sentences under outdated laws (White House fact sheet, Reuters, AP) [2] [3] [13]. The administration framed the move as restoring fairness to people who would likely receive different penalties under today’s laws and as part of a longer policy line on marijuana and military‑era convictions tied to sexual orientation [2].
4. Supporters’ arguments and the restorative‑justice frame
Supporters pointed to scale and precedent: Biden previously used categorical pardons for marijuana possession and for discharged service members convicted under old sodomy laws, and officials argued these December actions corrected sentencing disparities and recognized rehabilitation [2] [14]. News outlets covering recipients highlighted individual stories — veterans, parents, health workers — that the White House used to humanize the decision [2] [15].
5. Critics’ arguments: conflict of interest, secrecy, and scale as overreach
Critics described the Hunter pardon as a breach of promise and a conflict of interest that eroded trust in the presidency and the justice system; conservative outlets and Republican leaders said the pattern of pardons favored allies and family and amounted to political cronyism [7] [12] [11]. Opinion pieces and think‑tank writers charged that mass clemency numbers and last‑minute timing amounted to circumventing Congress and hiding controversial grants from public scrutiny [16] [17].
6. Legal questions raised after the pardons — and what reporting says
Some Republicans and conservative groups raised legal and procedural questions — including disputes about whether autopen signatures or electronic processes affected the validity of pardons — but legal scholars and reporting noted that longstanding precedent supports the validity of clemency so long as the president intended the act; courts would be required to void pardons, and experts said that is a high bar [18] [19] [20]. Available sources do not mention successful court invalidation of Biden’s 2024 pardons as of the cited reporting [18] [19].
7. Context and historical comparison
Biden’s overall clemency record was extraordinary in scale: reporting shows his administration granted more acts of clemency than any prior president by the end of the term, with many acts concentrated in the final months of his presidency — a pattern that drew comparisons to both past presidents’ controversial last‑minute pardons and to contemporaneous mass acts by other leaders [21] [17]. Commentators placed Biden’s moves within a long history of presidents using clemency both to remedy perceived injustices and to reward political allies; the partisan nature of reactions is consistent with past high‑profile pardons [5] [1].
Limitations: this account relies on reporting and official fact sheets compiled in the supplied sources; specific lists and biographical details of all individual pardons/commutations are reported elsewhere but are summarized here by major actions and public reactions described in those sources [2] [3] [6].