Has Joe Biden issued any controversial or mass pardons in 2024–2025?
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Executive summary
President Biden used clemency extensively in late 2024 and the final minutes of his presidency: on Dec. 12, 2024 he pardoned 39 people and commuted the sentences of roughly 1,499 people in a single-day action described as the largest in modern history [1] [2] [3]. In January 2025 he issued additional last‑minute, preemptive pardons — including for family members, members of the Jan. 6 select committee and other high‑profile figures — that provoked sharp partisan backlash and calls for review [4] [5] [6].
1. A historic one‑day clemency sweep — what happened on Dec. 12, 2024
On Dec. 12, 2024 the White House announced clemency that commuted “close to 1,500” sentences and pardoned 39 people convicted of nonviolent offenses; news outlets called it the largest single‑day grant of clemency in modern U.S. history [1] [2] [3]. The commutations targeted people released to home confinement during the COVID pandemic and others serving sentences the administration said were harsher than would be imposed today [1] [3]. Major outlets (Reuters, AP, BBC) reported the scale and described it as historic [2] [3] [7].
2. Pardoning Hunter Biden — the flashpoint that widened the controversy
In the weeks before the mass actions, President Biden granted a full pardon to his son Hunter Biden for offenses covering January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024 — a move many observers labeled controversial because Biden had previously said “No one is above the law” [8] [9] [10]. That pardon intensified scrutiny of subsequent clemency decisions and fed partisan accusations of favoritism [8] [10].
3. Last‑minute preemptive pardons on Jan. 20, 2025 — family and prominent critics
On his final day in office Biden issued preemptive pardons that reportedly included several family members (brothers James and Frank Biden, sister Valerie Biden Owens) and other high‑profile figures — an action reported by BBC, Newsweek and White House archives — drawing immediate Republican condemnation and calls for investigations [4] [5] [6]. News outlets catalogued these as “last‑minute” or “preemptive” pardons, a form historically used but rare in modern practice [6].
4. How critics and supporters framed the decisions
Republicans and some oversight officials said the preemptive pardons were unprecedented, alleged conflicts of interest, and questioned whether proper process was followed [4] [11]. Supporters and legal scholars pointed to constitutional pardon power and historical precedents (e.g., Ford’s Nixon pardon) and defended preemptive clemency as a legitimate check against politicized prosecutions [6]. Reuters, AP and PBS coverage reflect this split: reporting the facts of the actions while noting sharply divergent political reactions [2] [3] [12].
5. Scale and record‑setting totals — numbers matter
Analyses compiled through early 2025 show Biden issued more acts of clemency than any prior president in modern counts, with thousands of commutations and pardons across 2021–2025; one fact‑check and research pieces cite totals that make his administration historically active on clemency [9] [13] [5]. Official DOJ and White House lists published the dates and recipient counts for dozens of actions through January 2025 [14] [15] [5].
6. Legal and political follow‑on: investigations, lawsuits and partisan moves
After the January 2025 pardons, congressional Republicans opened probes; some raised claims about signature methods (autopen) and presidential capacity, while legal experts and fact‑checkers noted that revoking a prior president’s pardons would be unprecedented and likely subject to court review [11] [16] [17]. Opponents say the pardons set a dangerous precedent; defenders argue courts and long‑standing law protect clemency decisions [11] [17].
7. What reporting does not establish (limitations and gaps)
Available sources document the pardons’ dates, recipients and partisan fallout, but current reporting in these materials does not provide definitive evidence that aides, rather than the president, made the clemency decisions, nor do they settle legal challenges about revocation — those questions remain for courts and further inquiries (not found in current reporting; p3_s2). Sources also vary on exact totals reported at different moments, reflecting ongoing updates to official lists [14] [5].
Bottom line: Yes — President Biden issued multiple large and politically sensitive clemency actions in 2024–2025, including a record single‑day commutation/pardon sweep on Dec. 12, 2024 and controversial last‑minute preemptive pardons in January 2025 that sparked partisan investigations and legal debate [1] [2] [4] [6].