Trumps Justice Department examining pardons issued by Biden

A senior official in Republican President Donald Trump’s Justice Department told staff on Monday that he has been directed to investigate clemency granted by Democrat Joe Biden in the waning days of his presidency to members of his family and death row inmates.Ed Martin, the Justice Department’s pardon attorney, wrote in an email seen by Reuters that the investigation involves whether Biden “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 supporters have made a variety of unfounded claims that Biden’s use of the device while president invalidated his actions or suggested that he was not fully aware of these actions.

It is not known whether Biden used autopen on pardons.The email stated that Martin’s investigation is focused on preemptive pardons Biden issued to several members of his family and clemency that spared 37 federal inmates from the death penalty, converting their sentences to life in prison.Just before he relinquished the presidency to Trump on January 20, Biden pardoned five members of his family, saying he wanted to protect them from future politically motivated investigations.The pardons went to Biden’s siblings James Biden, Frank Biden and Valerie Biden Owens as well as their spouses, John Owens and Sara Biden.

Biden on December 1 pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.Martin’s email did not specify which pardons of Biden family members were being investigated.It also did not make clear who directed Martin to launch the investigation.A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Biden spokesperson did not immediately provide comment.The US Constitution gives the president broad power to issue pardons to wipe away federal criminal convictions or commutations to mod...