Joe Biden ostensibly ran for president more than four years ago promising to bring America back to normalcy. He presented himself as a defender of American political norms.

President Joe Biden issued pardons to several close family members Monday in the final minutes of his presidency.

Former Biden White House official Kate Bedingfield criticized the last-minute pardons that President Biden granted just before leaving office on Monday.

President Joe Biden pardoned his brother James and other relatives for unspecified crimes, to protect them from Trump administration investigations.

Just minutes before he left office, Joe Biden announced a set of sweeping pre-emptive pardons for members of his family, including his two brothers and his sister, after some on the right suggested they should face prosecution.

Without naming Trump or the incoming administration, Biden said in a statement that he believes in the rule of law but warned about the threat of partisan politics and pointed to possible retribution as the main concern behind his decision to grant the preemptive pardons.

Now-former President Joe Biden used his final hours in office to issue several pardons, in what is being called an extraordinary use of presidential power. Among those pardoned were Biden's family members and their spouses.