A Look Back At The U.S. Presidents Who Have Pardoned Family Members

Having family in the nation’s highest office definitely has its perks.

Presidential pardons have long triggered controversy, with amnesty granted for everything from murder, piracy, espionage, treason and even conspiring to kidnap a U.S. president. But it is President Joe Biden’s pardon of his son, Hunter, this week that is drawing the latest wave of outcry and contention.

Sitting presidents under the U.S. Constitution have the right to pardon anyone for federal crimes. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, which assists the president with investigating and recommending applicants, advocates pardons as second-chance opportunities. Though they don’t expunge or erase a federal conviction, they do remove legal disabilities due to the conviction, like the right to vote or bear arms.

Here’s a look back at some of the presidential pardons given by a sitting U.S. president to his own family.

Joe Biden

Joe Biden has issued 157 pardons and commutations between 2021 and this year. These pardons include this week’s pardon of his son, Hunter, who was convicted of tax fraud, and three felony counts related to a 2018 gun purchase and possession of a gun while using narcotics.