Flashback: President Biden has announced that he will not issue the first pardon

President Biden previously promised not to issue a pardon before leaving office, telling CNN that he would take a “completely different approach” to the justice system compared to former President Trump.

In December 2020, CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Biden if he was worried about rumors that Trump would issue a wave of pardons to some of the people close to him.

“Well, I’m worried about what kind of example it sets for the whole world to see us as a nation of laws and justice,” he said.

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Biden later tried to distinguish between how he would govern compared to the Trump administration.

“You will not see in our administration a pardon,” said Biden. “And you’re not going to see in our administration the way we make policy with tweets. You know, it’s going to be a completely different way of looking at the justice system.”

Since then, Biden appears to have had a change of heart — issuing a series of pardons before walking out the door.

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President Biden said he is considering pardons first based on who President-elect Donald Trump appoints to key positions. (Getty Images)

Biden announced early Monday that he is issuing the first pardon for Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Retired Mark Milley and members and staff of the defunct House select committee on the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Shortly before President Trump took the oath of office on Monday, news broke that Biden had also pardoned five other members of his family.

Biden teased that he might issue a pardon weeks ago in an interview with USA Today. At the end of his term, Biden’s pardons proved to be some of his most controversial actions as president, especially the pardon of his son, Hunter Biden, last month.

Some Republicans have indicated that they want a pardon investigation.

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Joe Biden previously said he would not issue the first pardon as president. (CNN/Screengrab)

Trump, the incoming president, has pardoned political associates such as Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn. However, unlike Biden’s recent decision, both were charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) when those pardons were issued.

There is precedent for early remission, however. Former president Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon before the Watergate scandal.

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Anders Hagstrom of Fox News contributed to this report.