Did Presidents Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush pardon family members? No, that's not true: Neither former president pardoned a member of his family. While Carter's brother Billy and Bush's son Neil were involved in controversies during their relatives' presidencies, neither needed a pardon because they weren't charged with crimes.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Threads on December 2, 2024. The post said:
Jimmy Carter pardoned his brother Billy Carter who took over $200,000 from Libya as its foreign agent.
George H.W. Bush pardoned his son Neil Bush for his role in the S&L scandals of the 1980s.
Nobody thinks those pardons defined either presidency.
Joe Biden's pardon of Hunter Biden won't either.
This is what the post looked like on Threads at the time of writing:
(Source: Threads screenshot taken on Tue Dec 3 16:31:13 2024 UTC)
The post didn't provide any proof to back up its assertions that Carter and Bush pardoned family members, and there's no evidence for the claims.
Office of the Pardon Attorney
The Office of the Pardon Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice catalogs "Clemency Recipients" (archived here) by the president who granted them.
Billy Carter, full name William Alton Carter, is not on the pardon list (archived here) for President Jimmy Carter.
Neil Bush, full name Neil Mallon Bush, is not listed among the pardons granted (archived here) by President George H.W. Bush.
Hunter Biden, full name Robert Hunter Biden, is included in the list of granted pardons (archived here) by President Joe Biden. Hunter Biden was pardoned on December 1, 2024.
Billy Carter
Carter admitted to receiving $220,000 from the Libyan government. However, a Senate investigation found that his actions didn't influence U.S. government decisions. While Carter wasn't charged with a crime, he was required to register as a foreign agent for Libya.
Neil Bush
In a report published on June 20, 2023, The Associated Press said this about Neil Bush:
Neil Bush, one of President George H.W. Bush's six children, was an outside director at a failed savings and loan association that came under scrutiny of federal regulators in the 1990s. He did not face criminal charges but did agree to help settle a civil case brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as one of a dozen defendants in a negligence suit.
Neil Bush had faced accusations of conflict of interest through his position at Silverado Banking, Savings and Loan Association in Denver, which he repeatedly denied. He asserted that he was unfairly targeted because he was a son of a president.
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