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Investing.com -- Ed Martin, a senior official in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, has been instructed to look into clemency granted by President Joe Biden to his family members and death row inmates during the last days of his presidency.
Martin, who serves as the Justice Department’s pardon attorney, revealed in an email that the investigation is centered around whether Biden was competent during his tenure and if he was manipulated through the use of an autopen or other methods. An autopen is a device that automatically signs a document, and there have been unsubstantiated claims by Trump and his supporters that Biden’s use of this device during his presidency questioned the legitimacy of his actions. It is still unclear whether Biden used an autopen for pardons.
The probe is primarily focused on the preemptive pardons Biden issued to several of his family members and the clemency that changed the fate of 37 federal death row inmates, converting their sentences to life imprisonment.
Before Biden handed over the presidency to Trump on January 20, he pardoned five members of his family, aiming to shield them from potential politically motivated investigations in the future. The pardons were granted to Biden’s siblings James Biden, Frank Biden, and Valerie Biden Owens, as well as their spouses, John Owens and Sara Biden. On December 1, Biden also pardoned his son Hunter Biden, who had previously admitted to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.
Martin’s email did not specify which of Biden’s family member’s pardons are under investigation, nor did it clarify who directed him to initiate the probe.
The U.S. Constitution grants the president extensive powers to issue pardons to erase federal criminal convictions or commutations to modify sentences.
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