Joe Biden’s clemency wave has begun. The lame-duck president will continue to announce pardons and sentence commutations before he leaves office on January 20. On December 23, he commuted the sentences of nearly all federal prisoners on death row. Biden has also pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, as well as dozens of other people convicted of nonviolent crimes. And he has commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 non-violent criminals who had been moved to home confinement during the COVID pandemic. More pardons and commutations are expected. It’s also possible that Biden will preemptively pardon government officials whom incoming president Donald Trump has vowed to retaliate against, and criminal justice activists are pushing for Biden to protect others, as well. Below is everyone Biden has announced clemency for thus far.
Pardons
Five members of Biden’s family
Just minutes before his presidency ended, as Joe Biden was seated to watch his successor sworn in, his administration announced sweeping pardons to five members of the Biden family.
Biden pardoned his two brothers, James and Francis Biden; his sister, Valerie Biden Owens; and James and Valerie’s spouses, Sara Biden and John Owens.
In a statement, Biden said: “My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics,” he said in his last statement as president. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
Preemptive pardons for Milley, Fauci, and people involved in January 6 Committee
On the final morning of his presidency, Biden issued multiple preemptive pardons aimed at staving off Trump reprisals:
I am exercising my authority under the Constitution to pardon General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee. The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.
Marcus Garvey
Biden gave Garvey, who founded the black nationalist movement in the U.S., a posthumous pardon on January 19. The pardon erases Garvey’s 1923 mail fraud conviction.
Four other activists and public servants
In addition to Garvey, Biden also pardoned gun violence prevention advocate Darryl Chambers, who was convicted of a non-violent drug offense in the 1990s; immigrant advocate Ravidath “Ravi” Ragbir, who was convicted of a nonviolent offense in 2001; Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott, who was convicted of a a non-violent drug offense in 1994; and criminal justice advocate Kemba Smith Pradia, who was convicted of a non-violent drug offense in 1994, and had her sentence commuted by President Clinton.
39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes
On December 12, Biden pardoned another 39 people who, according to the White House, “were convicted of non-violent crimes, including drug offenses, and have turned their lives around”:
These individuals are parents, veterans, health care professionals, teachers, advocates, and engaged members of their communities. Many of them have used their experiences in the criminal justice system to inspire and encourage others.
Most of the people pardoned committed drug offenses in their early 20s or younger. The full list of the 39 people, along with short biographies provided by the White House, is here.
Hunter Biden
Biden’s most controversial pardon, by far, has been for his son. On December 1, the president ordered a broad pardon for Hunter Biden despite having vowed he would never do that. Hunter was about to be sentenced on federal tax evasion and gun charges, but Biden’s pardon went beyond that — “For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024” — in an effort to protect his son from additional charges that might be brought by the incoming Trump administration.
Commutations
Leonard Peltier
In the last minutes of his presidency, Joe Biden commuted the life sentence of Leonard Peltier, a well-known Native American activist who was convicted of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in the 1970s. Peltier has been in prison since 1976, having maintained his innocence all along, and has been in poor health for years.
The White House said in a statement that Peltier “is now 80 years old, suffers from severe health ailments, and has spent the majority of his life (nearly half a century) in prison. This commutation will enable Mr. Peltier to spend his remaining days in home confinement but will not pardon him for his underlying crimes.”
In a statement put out by an advocacy organization, Peltier said “It’s finally over — I’m going home. I want to show the world I’m a good person with a good heart.”
Nearly 2,500 convicted of non-violent drug offenses
On January 17, President Biden announced that he has commuted the sentences of nearly 2,500 people who were previously convicted of non-violent drug offenses. In a statement, Biden said that with his latest action he has “issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history.”
“Today’s clemency action provides relief for individuals who received lengthy sentences based on discredited distinctions between crack and powder cocaine, as well as outdated sentencing enhancements for drug crimes,” he said.
This post has been updated.
