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

Former President Joe Biden granted blanket pardons to five family members in the last hour of his presidency, the final acts of clemency that also included sweeping pardons for members of Congress who investigated Trump’s role in the assault on the Capitol four years ago.

Joe Biden’s preemptive pardons are a valid use of pardon power. But they break new ground as a shield for those the president seeks to protect, scholars say.

Outgoing President Joe Biden is under fire for his final act before leaving the White House on Monday. With just minutes left of his presidency, Biden issued preemptive pardons to his siblings and their spouses just before President Donald Trump took office on Monday.

Joe Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses on his way out of the White House on Monday -- the surprise finale in a series of unprecedented presidential actions by the Democrat, who has been known as an intuitionalist during his half-century in politics.