In a stunning move just hours before leaving office, President Joe Biden issued a sweeping pardon for his brother, James Biden, along with several other family members, effectively shutting down a five-year probe into the Biden family’s alleged influence-peddling. The decision, which many see as a preemptive strike against potential investigations by the incoming Trump administration, adds another controversial chapter to the Biden family saga—a tale that has long been dogged by allegations of questionable financial dealings and murky international business ventures.
The pardon comes after years of scrutiny from congressional Republicans, who subpoenaed James and Hunter Biden in 2023 to dig into their business dealings, which reportedly involved leveraging Joe Biden’s political connections. Evidence uncovered by House Republicans suggested repeated instances where James and Hunter involved the president in lucrative arrangements with foreign and domestic entities. While James Biden was not formally charged with federal crimes, the investigations pointed to potential unregistered foreign lobbying, suspicious financial transactions, and other questionable activities.
In his parting statement, Biden framed the pardon as a defense against what he called "unrelenting attacks and threats" on his family, dismissing the investigations as politically motivated. He declared, “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.” While the president insisted the clemency should not be interpreted as an admission of wrongdoing, critics see it as a desperate attempt to shield his family from further legal and political fallout.
And 4 years+ later… https://t.co/m2aCx5tnxy pic.twitter.com/ONJpmDN7Oo
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) January 20, 2025
Among the pardoned are Sara Biden, James Biden’s wife, and Valerie Biden Owens, Joe Biden’s sister, along with her husband, John Owens, and the president’s other brother, Frank Biden. Each of these individuals has been tied, to varying degrees, to the Biden family’s web of business dealings that spans decades. Notably, the timeline and specifics of the pardon remain ambiguous, raising more questions about the depth and breadth of their involvement in alleged influence-peddling schemes.
This pardon follows an unprecedented move by Biden in December, when he issued a clemency order for his son, Hunter Biden, that spanned over a decade of conduct, including his work with Ukrainian energy firm Burisma Holdings. That pardon halted sentencing for Hunter’s gun and tax evasion convictions and preemptively blocked additional charges. These back-to-back acts of clemency underscore the Biden administration’s concern over the possibility of Trump’s Justice Department reviving investigations into the family’s business dealings.
James Biden, in particular, has been at the center of many controversies. For decades, he has been accused of monetizing his proximity to Joe Biden’s political career, dating back to Biden’s time as a U.S. senator. Congressional Republicans uncovered financial records showing James transferred $240,000 to Joe Biden in 2017 and 2018 from funds linked to alleged influence-peddling schemes. James defended these payments as loan repayments, though House Republicans questioned the lack of formal loan documentation.
The first brother’s business ventures include a laundry list of eyebrow-raising activities: receiving loans from a rural hospital provider while allegedly promising Middle Eastern investments, pitching foreign investors on projects by invoking his brother’s name, and receiving substantial sums from Chinese energy giant CEFC, which has been accused of having ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Notably, James Biden sent $40,000 to Joe Biden in September 2017, which Republicans claim came from “laundered” funds tied to CEFC. These allegations fueled the GOP-led impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden, with investigators scrutinizing whether the president benefited financially from these ventures.
The Biden family’s business dealings are as complicated as they are controversial. James Biden’s involvement in ventures ranging from hedge funds to healthcare pitches, and even potential ties to lobbying reforms during Joe Biden’s Senate tenure, paint a portrait of a family that frequently blurred the lines between political power and personal profit.
While James Biden insists his business endeavors were based on his own merit and not his brother’s status, Republicans argue otherwise. Investigations revealed wiretaps, suspicious financial transactions, and documented instances of James leveraging his family name. These findings raised serious questions about the family’s adherence to federal laws, including the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).