Biden's last-minute pardons of his own family members a 'stain on his legacy,' 'looked tawdry': CNN reporters

CNN reporters and hosts said Monday that President Biden's determination to pardon his household members successful the waning minutes of his medication tarnished his estimation and was "a stain connected his legacy."

"Well, arsenic it turns out, Anderson, determination is different committedness broken. That is precisely however helium has yet decided to attack the justness system. This is simply a determination that is going to rise truthful galore alarming questions astir the ineligible precedence that this present sets. And it would person been truly 1 of the precise last acts for President Biden arsenic a sitting president," CNN's MJ Lee said, noting that Biden had told CNN's Jake Tapper successful December of 2020 that the U.S. would not spot preemptive pardons successful his administration, and that his attack to the justness strategy would beryllium wholly antithetic from President Trump's. 

Biden's pardon applies to James Biden, Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John Owens, and Francis Biden, the White House announced during Trump's inauguration ceremony. The now-former president argued that his household could beryllium taxable to "politically motivated investigations" aft helium leaves office.

Lee said earlier successful her connection that this was different mode the erstwhile president had tarnished his ain legacy. 

PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLS BIDEN LAST-MINUTE PARDONS 'UNFORTUNATE' IN SIGNING CEREMONY

President Joe Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One astatine Dover Air Force Base successful Delaware, Wednesday, July 17, 2024. B (Susan Walsh/AP)

CNN commentator and "The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin argued during the treatment the pardon of household members was "much muddier" than his last-minute pardons of Liz Cheney, Gen. Mark Milley and Anthony Fauci.

"It is conscionable unseemly," CNN big John King said. "If you’re going to bash it, person the courageousness to bash it successful the airy of time and explicate it to the American people. It’s a stain connected his bequest to bash it similar this. We could person an statement about, is it necessary, has Donald Trump promised retribution? Yes helium has, if you're the President of the United States who said the curse of Donald Trump was that helium didn't respect ideology and didn't respect norms, person the courageousness to look the American radical successful the oculus and explicate what you're doing."

Former Obama adjutant David Axelrod said that the timing of the pardons looked suspicious.

"The information is that Trump has been saying this for a agelong time. That doesn‘t explicate wherefore successful the past 10 minutes of your presidency you gaffe a merchandise retired there, it conscionable made the full happening look tawdry," Axelrod said.

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David Axelrod speaks during CNN connected Jan. 20, 2025. (Screenshot/CNN)

In December 2020, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Biden if helium was acrophobic astir rumors that Trump, who helium had conscionable defeated, would dole retired a question of preemptive pardons for immoderate of his closest confidantes.

"Well, it concerns maine successful presumption of what benignant of precedent it sets successful however the remainder of the satellite looks astatine america arsenic a federation of laws and justice," helium said astatine the time.

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"You're not going to spot successful our medication that benignant of attack to pardons," Biden added. "Nor are you going to spot successful our medication the attack to making argumentation by tweets. You know, it's going to beryllium a wholly antithetic mode successful which we attack the justness system."

Fox News' Nikolas Lanum and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.