President Joe Biden issued pardons to several close family members Monday in the final minutes of his presidency.

RCP's Washington bureau chief Carl Cannon, Monday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, discussed the implications of President Biden pardoning five members of his family on his way out of the White House.

The relatives who were granted clemency in the final minutes of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s presidency had not been charged with wrongdoing, but some had drawn scrutiny.

In his last day as president, Joe Biden pardoned five members of his extended family, including his two brothers, James Biden and Francis Biden, and his sister Valerie Biden Owens. He also issued pardons to former White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci, who helped coordinate the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

President Joe Biden on Monday issued preemptive pardons for prominent critics of President-elect Donald Trump and members of his own family, using extraordinary executive prerogative as a shield against revenge by his incoming successor.

President Trump criticized former President Biden for pardoning several members of his family during his last moments as commander in chief. “That makes him look very guilty,” Trump said while speaking to reporters late Monday in the Oval Office as he signed a number of executive orders.

President Joe Biden pardoned his brothers and other family members on Monday just moments before President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing-in Biden

Joe Biden pre-emptively pardoned members of his family and a swathe of Donald Trump critics in an effort to guard against potential “revenge” minutes before the new president’s inauguration.

My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics.  Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.

Biden Monday issued several preemptive pardons, some to family members. Following the transition of power, Trump wielded his own clemency power.