Ed Martin, who was recently appointed to the Department of Justice as Pardon Attorney, revealed to staff on Monday that he has been directed to investigate the clemency issued by former President Joe Biden in the final weeks and hours of his presidency.
Martin wrote in an email viewed by Reuters that the investigation centers around whether Biden "was competent and whether others were taking advantage of him through use of AutoPen or other means." The email said that the preemptive pardons issued by Biden to several family members, as well as the clemency granted to 37 inmates on death row, were the focus of his investigation.
On December 1, Biden issued a pardon for his son, Hunter, who had been scheduled to be sentenced for federal firearm charges less than two weeks later. In the last hours of Biden’s presidency on Inauguration Day, Biden issued pardons for brother James Biden and his wife Sara Jones Biden, sister Valerie Biden Owens and husband John T. Owens, and brother Francis W Biden.
