A post on X says that President Joe Biden granted clemency to an CCP agent that was caught with 47,000 files of child pornography.

Joe Biden granted clemency to a CCP agent who had 47,000 files of chiId p*rnography pic.twitter.com/hWVxMZmKBl

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) December 12, 2024

Verdict: Misleading

The man was deported as part of a prisoner swap, and there is no proof that he was a Chinese agent.

Fact Check:

As President Joe Biden’s term in office concludes, he pardoned 39 people and commuted the sentences of 1,500 prisoners that have been on home confinement since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Associated Press. The acts amount to the largest single-day clemency in U.S. history, the outlet reported.

Biden’s pardoning has been the subject of debate, including the pardon of his son, Hunter, who received a full pardon for the two criminal convictions on tax charges he is currently awaiting sentencing for. Others are urging the outgoing President to consider blanket pardons for those deemed to be enemies of President-Elect Trump, fearing retribution from the new administration.

A post on X claims that a CCP (Chinese Communist Party) agent was another recipient of Joe Biden’s pardons. It claims that this man had 47,000 files of child pornography. This is misleading, however, as it gets some facts wrong and needs more context.

The man, whose mugshot is shown in the viral X post, is named Shanlin Jin, and he did receive an Executive Grant of Clemency on November 22. His sentence was commuted and he was ordered to be deported back to his native China. He was caught in Texas with having “possessed and distributed more than 600 images and videos of child pornography,” which is far from the 47,000 stated in the post. He pled guilty to one count of possession of child pornography and was sentenced in 2022 to 97 months in prison.

No part of Jin’s complaint or sentencing documents claim that he was found with 47,000 files of illegal pornography, nor does it mention that he was a CCP agent in any way. There is no proof at press time that Jin has any ties to the Chinese government at all.

Jin, who was a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, was granted clemency as part of a prisoner swap with China. He was not pardoned, as himself and two other Chinese nationals were sent back to China in exchange for three American citizens, John Leung, Kai Li, and Mark Swidan.

This story was first reported by Lead Stories. A community note was placed on the viral post giving readers proper context.