The last-hour pardons for James, Valerie and Frank

The warrant names James B. Biden and his wife Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens and her husband John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden, for any nonviolent federal offense they “may have committed or taken part in” from 1 January 2014 to the date of the pardon. [1]

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. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.” He added that the pardons “should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing.” [2]

Of the five, James had the most exposure: he was central to the business dealings the House investigated, and in June 2024 House Republicans referred him to the Justice Department for allegedly lying to them about a 2017 meeting with Tony Bobulinski. He denies wrongdoing. James Biden’s business has the details. [3][4]

The family pardons were signed by autopen, and House Oversight Republicans argued in October 2025 that Biden’s aides may have issued clemency he did not personally approve. Committee Democrats said no witness testified to that. On 2 December 2025 Trump declared autopen pardons “terminated.” Legal scholars told Reuters that a president has no power to revoke a predecessor’s pardon, and none has been tested in court. The autopen has the full story. [1][2][3]