What to know about presidents pardoning family members and allies

 What to know about presidents pardoning family members and allies

President Biden in the White House Rose Garden on Nov. 26. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

President Biden sent shockwaves through Washington Sunday night when he issued a pardon of his son Hunter — a move he'd previously vowed he wouldn't make.

Why it matters: Biden's pardon for his son is the most sweeping presidential pardon in decades, since then-President Ford issued a blanket pardon for former President Nixon, Politico reported.

• His decision infuriated Republicans and raised questions regarding the precedent that it could set for future presidents.

Donald Trump

• Kushner had pleaded guilty in 2004 to filing false tax returns, retaliating against a witness and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission as part of a prosecution by then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie.

• He was sentenced to two years in prison and served 14 months, per the Washington Post.

• After being pardoned by Trump in 2020, Kushner was recently announced as Trump's pick for ambassador to France.

• In the final hours of his presidency, he pardoned his former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who was facing federal criminal charges stemming from a scheme to privately finance a southern border wall.

• Trump also issued last-minute pardons for his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and longtime associate Roger Stone.

Bill Clinton

• Roger Clinton had pleaded guilty to drug charges in 1985 and spent a year in prison, but the pardon cleared his criminal record, the Washington Post reported.

• Rich was an international fugitive who had fled to Switzerland to escape prosecution for tax evasion, racketeering, and wire fraud.

• Rich's ex-wife had donated over $1 million to Democrats and Clinton's presidential library, raising questions about the pardon, NBC News reported.

• Clinton also issued a pardon for Susan McDougal, his former business partner at the Whitewater Development Corporation.

Gerald Ford

• In September 1974 — just weeks after taking office — Ford announced that he would "grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon."

• The two men had been close friends and political allies.

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Yes, but: Biden is far from the only president to have issued a pardon for a family member or close ally.

President-elect Trump is no stranger to controversial pardons. He issued one for Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, at the end of his first term.

Some of Trump's friends and allies also received pardons at the end of his first term.

Former President Clinton issued a presidential pardon for this half-brother Roger Clinton on his last day in office.

Zoom out: Clinton's pardon of his relative was less controversial than his pardon of the financier Marc Rich, per CNN.

One of the most defining moments of former President Ford's presidency came when he decided to pardon former President Nixon in the wake of Watergate.

Go deeper: Why Biden pardoned Hunter: Guilty feelings, family solidarity