WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden pardoned his brothers and their spouses on Monday, arguing that his family had been “subjected to relentless attacks and threats...Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe that these attacks will end,” he said.

Biden issued a series of pardons and commutations in the moments before leaving office, including aides and allies who have been targets of Donald Trump.

Last month, he also pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, for tax and weapons offenses. He was indeed charged and convicted.

What are the pardons granted by Biden?

Biden granted general pardons to his brother James and his wife Sara, his sister Valerie and her husband John Owens, as well as his brother Francis.

"The granting of these pardons should not be interpreted as an acknowledgment that they participated in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any crime," stated in a press release.

The pardons occurred when Biden and others were at the United States Capitol to witness Trump's inauguration, that is, minutes before he ceased to be president at 12:00 pm this Monday, January 20.

Biden has set the presidential record for the most individual pardons and commutations issued. On Friday, he announced he would commute the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses.

Previously, he announced that he was commuting the sentences of 37 out of the 40 federal death row inmates, turning them into life imprisonment just weeks before Trump, an outspoken advocate for the expansion of the death penalty, takes office.

Biden pardons Fauci and Milley

President Biden announced early Monday morning pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, and the members of the House committee that investigated the January 6th attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to protect them from possible "revenge" by the incoming Trump administration.

Biden's decision comes after Trump warned of a hit list full of those who have politically opposed him or have sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his electoral defeat in 2020 and his role in the assault on the Capitol.

Trump has selected cabinet nominees who have endorsed his electoral lies and have committed to punishing those involved in efforts to investigate him.

These pardons cannot be revoked by Donald Trump, although in some cases Congress could initiate specific investigations.