Trump’s Justice Department launches investigation into Biden’s pardons for family and inmates
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump’s Justice Department has launched an investigation into the pardons and commutations issued by former president Joe Biden toward the end of his term.
Ed Martin, the pardon attorney of the Justice Department, revealed in an internal email that he has been "directed to investigate" whether Biden was "competent" to issue the pardons.
Donald Trump’s Justice Department investigates whether Joe Biden was ‘competent’ to issue pardons
Ed Martin's unprecedented probe was revealed in an email to staffers that was obtained by Reuters.
In the email sent on Monday, June 2, the pardon attorney mentioned that the investigation involves whether the former president "was competent and whether others were taking advantage of him through use of autopen or other means."
An autopen is a device used to automatically affix a signature to a document. Trump and his followers have argued in several ways that Biden's use of the device throughout his presidency discredited his actions.
The probe, according to the email, is centered on preemptive pardons granted by Biden to many members of his family, as well as mercy that spared 37 federal inmates from the death penalty by reducing their sentences to life in prison.
The preemptive pardons went to the ex-POTUS' siblings James Biden, Frank Biden, and Valerie Biden Owens as well as their spouses, John Owens and Sara Biden.
On December 1, 2024, the 82-year-old also granted a pardon to his son Hunter Biden, who had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.
The probe seems to be intended to use the Justice Department to intensify questions about Biden's health and mental clarity, a topic that has gained more attention in the weeks since his cancer diagnosis and a new book that exposed Democratic worries about his health last year.
Ed Martin views the presidential pardon power as 'plenary'
In May, Ed Martin told reporters that he believes the presidential pardon power is "plenary," or absolute.
"If you use the autopen for pardon power, I don't think that that's necessarily a problem," he said during a press conference, adding he still felt the Biden pardons warranted scrutiny.
“They need scrutiny because we want pardons to matter and to be accepted and to be something that’s used correctly. So I do think we’re going to take a hard look at how they went and what they did,” he said.
Martin also claimed that the US Attorney’s office under his leadership had already been “taking a look at some of the conduct surrounding the pardons and the Biden White House.”
Donald Trump previously declared Joe Biden's pardons 'void, vacant, and of no further force'
As Joe Biden’s use of an autopen came to light, Donald Trump declared the pardons issued by his predecessor are "void, vacant, and of no further force or effect."
"The Pardons that Sleepy Joe Biden gave to the Unselect Committee of Political Thugs and many others are hereby declared VOID, VACANT AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT because of the fact that they were done by Autopen,” he wrote in a Truth Social post in March.
"In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them but, more importantly, he did not know anything about them! The necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden. He knew nothing about them and the people that did may have committed a crime," he added.
He continued, "Therefore, those on the Unselect Committee, who destroyed and deleted ALL evidence obtained during their two year Witch Hunt of me and many other innocent people, should fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level."
"The fact is, they were probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf without the knowledge or consent of the Worst President in the History of our Country, Crooked Joe Biden!" Trump concluded.
