Former Clinton pollster Mark Penn said Monday on Fox News that he was disgusted by former President Joe Biden’s last-minute pardons for members of his family.
Biden issued a series of pardons on Monday to several lawmakers and family members, with some announced just minutes before President Donald Trump was sworn into office. On Fox News’ “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Baier asked Penn for his thoughts on the pardons granted to five of Biden’s family members. Baier said that Penn, in his social media response, appeared “pretty disgusted.”
“I am,” Penn said. “These last-minute pardons, you know, after all the elections are over, even of your family itself, after hiding and lying about everything that occurred relative to the Biden business, before any legal process whatsoever was done.”
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“So you’ve taken it out of the hands of all juries and all process, which probably wouldn’t have happened anyway, to be honest, because of what’s happened here,” Penn added. “But, yes, I think that Joe Biden has a 39% rating, 35% on things like inflation and immigration. I think this further takes him down in the history books.”
Prior to Trump being sworn in, the former president pardoned his brother Frank, his other brother James, James’ wife Sara Biden, his sister Valerie Owens and her husband John Owens. In a statement regarding the decision, Biden wrote that the pardons were made due to “baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak[ing] havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”
“Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances,” Biden wrote. “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”
Both of the former president’s brothers were linked to issues over which Biden faced public scrutiny.
James Biden was connected to Biden’s son, Hunter, through business dealings with overseas partners. He was paid millions by a Chinese energy firm called CEFC to help secure energy deals in the U.S., according to a former CEFC associate who testified to lawmakers in January 2024.
As for Frank Biden, he allegedly used the former president’s name to promote his business and secure contracts from Florida officials for a fledgling charter school venture he was asked to lead, according to ABC News. Frank later earned hundreds of thousands of dollars due to the alleged use of Biden’s name during a five-year period at the company, the outlet reported.
The family pardons from Biden came after the former president pardoned Hunter in December, even though both he and members of his staff said he would not do so.
(Featured Image Media Credit: Screenshot/Fox News/”Mark Penn on “Special Report With Bret Baier”)
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