WASHINGTON, D.C. – In the final hours of his presidency Monday, Joe Biden issued another round of presidential pardons to prevent the incoming Trump administration from seeking “revenge” against those who investigated the events of Jan. 6, like former U.S. Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and for some key leaders reportedly no longer in favor with Trump.
Those pardoned Monday, according to NPR, include “retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the members of Congress and staff who served on the January 6 committee, and others who he said were targets for ‘unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions” by the incoming administration.'”
Milley was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Trump’s first term and later called him “fascist to the core,” according to NPR, which also reports Trump said Milley should be executed.
Fauci was Biden’s Chief Medical Advisor and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He was prominent in the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Zika and HIV/AIDS health crises.
The pardons are preemptive orders which protect against any federal offense the persons may have committed while in office. Biden stated the pardons are not an admission any wrongdoing or crime.
Biden also said the people he pardoned Monday were public servants to whom we owe a debt of gratitude:
That is why I am exercising my authority under the Constitution to pardon General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee. The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.
President Joe Biden’s statement on latest pardons on X
On his POTUS account on X, Biden said prosecutions and investigations could damage a person’s reputation and finances:
Even when individuals have done nothing wrong—and in fact have done the right thing—and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.
President Joe Biden’s statement on latest pardons on X
You can read Biden’s full statement here on X.
