President Donald Trump offered brief reaction to former President Joe Biden's pardons for family members, which he issued as his last act before leaving office on Monday.
During an appearance to sign executive orders, President Trump said Biden's pardons were "unfortunate," but said he wouldn't discuss them further yet.
"We won't discuss it now. There's plenty of time to discuss it," the president said.
In the last hours of his presidency, Biden issued pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House Jan. 6 investigative committee, as well as for James B. Biden (Biden’s brother), Sara Jones Biden (Biden’s sister-in-law), Valerie Biden Owens (Biden’s sister), John T. Owens (Biden’s brother-in-law), and Francis W. Biden (Biden’s youngest brother).
“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden wrote, but said that the pardons were needed because of the risk of “baseless and politically motivated investigations" that could "wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”
RELATED STORY | Trump will issue executive orders to remake immigration policies
Former President Biden also pardoned his son Hunter Biden in December of 2024, writing at the time that Hunter had been targeted because he was the president's son.
That decision drew criticism from lawmakers and from then-President-elect Trump, who called that pardon an "abuse and miscarriage of Justice" and questioned why President Biden hasn't pardoned any of the "hostages" who were imprisoned following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
