President Biden cast Monday's last-minute pardons of family members merely as an effort to shield them from the retribution of Donald Trump. In reality, his brother, entrepreneur Jim Biden, had already come under scrutiny from investigators in Biden’s own Justice Department, Politico reports. 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. Jim Biden, 75, has not been accused of criminal wrongdoing. Both investigations deal with a now-bankrupt hospital operator, Americore, that Jim Biden worked with in the years between his 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, 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.”. 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.
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