Biden issued preemptive pardons despite warnings from Democrats, including himself

High-profile Democrats and former president bidenBiden himself warned of blanket, preemptive pardons before Biden finally granted passes to Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of their family in the 11th hour of his administration.

“I think that the precedent of granting general pardons, general preventive pardons when leaving an administration, is a precedent that we do not want to set,” said the now senator. Adam Schiff warned in December on ABC’s “This Week.”

Biden ended his term in the Oval Office on Monday, as President Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. But hours before the inauguration, the White House announced pardons for both Fauci and Milley and for those involved in the Jan. 6 select committee investigation, although those individuals were not identified by name.

And just 22 minutes before leaving office, Biden also forgave his family, including his brother James B. Biden, his sister Valerie Biden Owens, his brother-in-law John T. Owens and his brother Francis W. Biden. The former president had previously granted a general pardon to his adult son, hunter bidenafter he was convicted in two separate federal cases last year.

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“My family has been subjected to relentless attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to harm me – the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” Biden said in a statement forgiving his family. .

Speculation had increased that Biden would grant general, preventive pardons to those considered to be Trump’s political enemiessuch as former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, as well as Milley and Fauci and members of the Biden family.

Democrats, from former President Bill Clinton to Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., warned Biden against granting such pardons in the waning days of his administration.

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“If President Biden wanted to talk to me about it, I would talk to him. But I don’t think he should give public advice about the pardon power. I think it’s also, it’s a very personal thing, but it’s – I hope he doesn’t do that. ” Clinton said of preventive pardons on “The View.”

Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin also warned against such pardons in an interview on CNN last month, noting, “When we talk about a preemptive pardon, where does it begin and where does it end?”

Klobuchar echoed that sentiment that same month.

“I am not a supporter of these (preventive pardons),” she said. “I didn’t like the pardon of the president’s son. I didn’t think it was wise. But I’m also very concerned about this idea of ​​preventive pardons.”

Biden had also warned against preemptive pardons before taking office in 2020, at a time when there was speculation that Trump would pardon his children and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

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“I’m concerned in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world views us as a nation of law and justice,” Biden said in an interview with CNN in December 2020.

Trump ultimately did not pardon his adult children or the former mayor of New York City.

Following the last-minute pardons for Milley, Fauci and the Jan. 6 Select Committee staff and his family, political leaders and lawmakers criticized the decision, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“One of Biden’s biggest abuses of power was forcing mRNA injections by executive order (which Florida successfully blocked). Now, on his way out the door, Biden forgives the chief henchman for that and many other abuses. The swamp protects his own,” DeSantis, a Republican, said Monday.

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Fauci was the national spokesman for the country’s pandemic response, including advising then-President Trump in 2020 on how to handle COVID-19 as it spread through communities.

But his favor toward the president waned over time, and Trump criticized him and fellow pandemic task force adviser Dr. Deborah Birx as “two self-promoters trying to reinvent history to cover up their bad instincts and recommendations.” erroneous”.

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Fauci said Monday that he appreciates her pardon, although he emphasized that he “has not committed a crime.”

“I really appreciate the action that President Biden has taken today on my behalf,” Fauci told ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent. jonathan carl.

“Let me be perfectly clear, Jon, I have committed no crime, you know, and there are no possible grounds for any accusation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution against me,” he continued.

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Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also has a contentious relationship with Trump and his supporters. He had called Trump a “fascist” and “the most dangerous person to this country” just before the November election.

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Trump has repeatedly criticized Milley since leaving office, including after the failed US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, when he called Milley a “loser who embarrassed us in Afghanistan and elsewhere!”

After the election, Milley appeared to walk back his characterization of Trump as a “fascist,” saying that the United States “will be fine” under the second Trump administration.

Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming, and Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Jan. 6 House Select Committee, were also targets of Trump’s ire. Biden did not mention Cheney or Thompson by name in his statement, instead pardoning “staff who served on the Select Committee.”

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“The granting of these pardons should not be confused with an acknowledgment that any individual participated in any crime, nor should the acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any crime,” Biden said in a White House statement. “Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to these public servants for their tireless commitment to our country.”