It was just moments before Joe Biden's presidential term ended when he announced pardons for his siblings and their spouses.

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

Joe Biden in the final minutes of his presidency on Monday issued pardons to five more members of his family—his brother James and wife Sarah, his younger sister Valerie Biden Owens and husband John T. Owens, and his brother Francis Biden—after he says they were "subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats" motivated by a desire to hurt him.

President Joe Biden pardoned his family members, including his businessman brother James and political adviser sister Valerie, in his final moments in office before Donald Trump returned to power. Biden justified his preemptive pardons,

In a sweeping final act before leaving office on the day of Donald Trump's inauguration, President Joe Biden on Monday pardoned his siblings and their spouses, citing what he described as "unrelenting attacks and threats" aimed at his family in an effort to undermine him politically.

Biden made it clear that his decision to preemptively pardon these individuals was no indication of any guilt on their part

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

Watch as President Trump is sworn in to serve as the 47th president as he takes the presidential oath administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. President Donald Trump criticized his predecessor’s preemptive pardons to the Jan.