Biden Said His Pardon Of Family Was Meant To Shield Them From Trump. That’s Not The Full Story.

Joe Biden cast his last-minute pardons of family members merely as an effort to shield them from the retribution of Donald Trump.

In reality, his brother, serial entrepreneur Jim Biden, had already come under scrutiny from investigators in Biden’s own Justice Department.

In addition to calls from Republicans in Congress to prosecute him for allegedly lying to congressional impeachment investigators, Jim Biden’s activities have been investigated in recent years in two federal criminal probes, as POLITICO previously reported. Jim Biden, 75, has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing in those cases.

Both investigations deal with a now-bankrupt hospital operator, Americore, that Jim Biden worked with in the years between his older brother’s vice presidency and presidency.

It is not clear where existing DOJ probes might have led before Monday's pardons. Joe Biden's 11th-hour issuance of a blanket pardon protects his brother not only from Trump’s revenge, but also from ordinary inquiries into his business activities.

In one case, the Justice Department has for years been investigating schemes to defraud Medicare and other government health care programs that occurred in part at an Americore hospital in Pennsylvania.

In a recording of a 2023 conversation reviewed by POLITICO, one of Jim Biden’s associates, Mississippi health care executive Keaton Langston, said he misled Justice Department investigators when he was questioned about some of Jim Biden’s contacts with Americore.

Langston, then facing prosecution, said on the recording that he could have improved his own negotiating position with the government “If I’d have just told the truth about Jimmy Biden,” but did not explain how.

Last May, Langston pleaded guilty to his role in a $51 million health care fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for June 26.

Paul Fishman, a lawyer for Jim Biden and his wife, Sara Biden, who was also pardoned, said his clients had no criminal liability.

"Jim and Sara Biden did not seek this pardon because they have never committed any crimes,” said Fishman, a partner at Arnold & Porter. “But for the reasons the president described, they have accepted it.”

In a federal criminal investigation in South Florida, meanwhile, Justice Department officials have scrutinized an effort, which Jim Biden participated in, to raise investment funds for companies including Americore from sources in the Middle East.

Investigators in that case subpoenaed a legal agreement that Jim Biden was party to and sought information about a series of loans to Americore, some of which Jim Biden has said he was paid to arrange.

It is not clear whether Jim Biden’s activities are a focus of that probe.

The criminal investigation in South Florida deals with many of the same transactions that were at issue in a civil case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission against a business partner of Jim Biden’s, fund manager Michael Lewitt. Last year, the SEC banned Lewitt from the securities industry for five years.

According to a person familiar with the criminal case, who was granted anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter, the investigation remains open.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While Hunter Biden has garnered more public attention, Republican lawmakers have also set their sights on Jim Biden.

Alongside Hunter Biden, with whom he sometimes partnered, Jim Biden was a major focus of House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry, and testified before it last February.

The inquiry stalled, but last June, a trio of House Republicans sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department calling for Jim Biden to be prosecuted for making false statements.

The referral cited Jim Biden’s testimony about an alleged May 2017 meeting at a hotel bar in Los Angeles.

Two other participants in the alleged meeting, Hunter Biden and Tony Bobulinski — a businessman with whom Jim and Hunter Biden were working to land potential deals with a Chinese energy tycoon — testified to the impeachment inquiry that they were present with Joe and Jim Biden at the bar.

Jim Biden, though, testified that Joe Biden was not present. “I could have been there just with Tony Bobulinski. I could have been there with Hunter as well. But my brother was never there,” he said.

The referral alleges that Jim Biden lied about the meeting to distance Joe Biden from his overseas dealings.

On Friday, House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), released a letter to Pam Bondi, Trump’s pick for attorney general, urging her to prosecute Jim Biden for that testimony.

In announcing the pardons of his three siblings and their two spouses, Joe Biden said that “baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances.”

The potential legal jeopardy faced by Monday’s other pardon recipients varies. Sara Biden at times participated in her husband’s business dealings, and transactions in her name came under scrutiny during Republican-led congressional investigations of the Bidens.

Joe Biden’s youngest brother, Frank Biden, drew criticism for linking himself to his brother in a 2021 ad for a Florida law firm, but has mostly avoided controversy during his brother’s presidential term.

Joe Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden, and her husband John Owens, also received pardons despite a lack of controversy surrounding their activities.