CNN's John King: Biden's last-minute pardons of family 'unseemly'

CNN’s John King criticized former President Biden’s last-minute pardons of his family members on his way out of the White House as “unseemly” in remarks Monday.

In voiceover commentary on CNN, the veteran journalist recalled covering former President Clinton when he pardoned, on his last day in office, billionaire Marc Rich, whose wife had been a Democratic donor.

“I was covering the Clinton White House when, at the very last minute, when the then-soon-to-be former President Clinton was on his way to the Capitol, and they pardoned this billionaire Marc Rich, who was a fugitive and had violated all sorts of sanctions against Iran and other countries around the world,” King said.

“It's just unseemly,” he continued. “If you're going to do it, have the courage to do it in the light of day and explain it to the American people. It's a stain on his legacy to do it like this.”

“We can have an argument about, is it necessary? Has Donald Trump promised retribution? Yes, he has,” King said. “But, I just, if you're the president of the United States, who said that the curse of Donald Trump was that he didn't respect democracy and didn't respect norms, have the courage to look the American people the eye and explain what you're doing.”

Biden announced pardons for members of his family in the final minutes of his presidency Monday, a development that came as President-elect Trump’s inauguration was already underway.

The blanket pardons were issued to his brother, James Biden; his sister-in-law, Sara Jones Biden; his sister, Valerie Biden Owens; his brother-in-law, John T. Owens; and his youngest brother, Francis Biden.

“My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics,” Biden said in a statement. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”

Biden said the pardons do not acknowledge any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance of them be viewed as an admission of guilt. They cover any nonviolent offense from Jan. 1, 2014, to Sunday.

A number of the family members previously testified before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee as it investigated both President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in a probe of influence peddling.

The president had also given his son a similar blanket pardon last month, drawing bipartisan criticism after previously saying he would never make such a move.

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