High-ranking and former Democrats President BidenHe himself warned of blanket, preemptive pardons before Biden eventually granted pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and their family members in the eleventh hour of his administration.
“I think the precedent of granting a blanket pardon, a blanket preventive pardon on the way out of the administration, is a precedent that we don't want to set,” the current senator said. Adam Schiff warned on ABC's “This Week” in December.
Biden ended his term in the Oval Office on Monday, when President Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. But hours before the inauguration, the White House announced pardons for Fauci, Milley, and participants in the select committee's Jan. 6 investigation — though those individuals were not identified by name.
Just 22 minutes before leaving office, Biden also pardoned his family, including his brother James P. Biden, his sister Valerie Biden Owens, his brother-in-law John T. Owens, and his brother Francis W. Biden. The former president had previously issued a comprehensive pardon to his adult son. Hunter BidenAfter being convicted in two separate federal cases last year.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to the president. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Biden said in a statement issued pardoning his family: “My family has been subjected to constant attacks and threats, motivated solely by the desire to harm me – the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe that these attacks will end.” .
Speculation has increased that Biden will issue a blanket pardon and pre-emptive pardons for those perceived to be pardoned Trump's political opponentssuch as former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, as well as Milley, Fauci, and members of the Biden family.
Democrats, from former President Bill Clinton to Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, have warned Biden against issuing such a pardon in the final days of his administration.
Biden pardons Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, and members of the J6 committee
Former President Bill Clinton speaks on stage on December 4, 2024 in New York City. (Eugene Gologorsky/Getty Images for The New York Times)
“If President Biden wanted to talk to me about this, I would talk to him about it. But I don't think I should give general advice about the pardon power. I think it's just that — it's very personal, but it is.” “He-I hope he doesn't.” Clinton said With a preventive pardon from “The View.”
Senator Dick Durbin speaks during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, December 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin also warned against such a pardon in an interview with CNN last month, saying: “When we talk about a preemptive pardon, where does it start and where does it end?”
Klobuchar echoed this sentiment that same month.
Senator Amy Klobuchar warned against preemptive pardons. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“I'm not a fan of this (preventive pardon),” 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 the idea of a preemptive pardon.”
Biden had also warned of a preventive pardon before taking office in 2020, at a time when speculation was rife that Trump would pardon his children and his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Hunter Biden pardon: Media takes latest blow to credibility with botched coverage of broken promises
“It worries me 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.
Ultimately, Trump did not pardon his adult children or the former New York City mayor.
President Biden signs proclamations establishing national monuments at the White House on January 14, 2025. (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)
After the 11-hour pardon for Milley, Fauci, the January 6 Select Committee staff and family, political leaders and lawmakers criticized the decision, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“One of Biden's biggest abuses of power was mandating mRNA shots by executive order (which Florida successfully blocked). Now, on his way out the door, Biden is pardoning his key henchman for that and many other abuses. The Swamp Protects Its Swamp “. DeSantis, a Republican, said Monday.
Biden commutes nearly 2,500 additional sentences in final days of presidency
Fauci was the national spokesperson for the country's pandemic response, including advising then-President Trump in 2020 on how to handle COVID-19 as it swept through communities.
Dr. Anthony Fauci appears before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on June 3, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevila/Getty Images)
But his support with the president has waned over time, with Trump criticizing 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 faulty recommendations.”
Fauci said Monday that he appreciated the pardon, although he stressed that he “did not commit any crime.”
“I really appreciate the action that President Biden took today on my behalf,” Fauci told an ABC News correspondent in Washington. Jonathan Carl.
He continued: “Let me be absolutely clear, John, I have committed no crime, and you know that, and there are no probable cause for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution against me.”
doctor. Fauci says he appreciates President Biden's pardon but insists no crime was committed
Gen. Mark Milley speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon, July 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Bals Sinita, File)
Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also has a controversial relationship with Trump and his supporters. He had described Trump as a “fascist” and “the most dangerous person for this country” ahead of the November election.
Who else would ask for forgiveness after saving Hunter from judgment?
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 has brought shame on us in Afghanistan and elsewhere!”
After the election, Milley appeared to walk back his description of Trump as a “fascist,” saying America would be “fine” under a second Trump administration.
Rep. Liz Cheney during her primary election night party in Jackson, Wyoming, August 16, 2022. (Reuters/David Stubbs)
Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman from Wyoming, and Democratic Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the House Select Committee on January 6, 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.”
Donald J. Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20, 2025. (Trump and Vance transition team)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Biden said in a White House statement: “Issuing this pardon should not be misconstrued as an admission that any individual was involved in any wrongdoing, nor should its acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt in any crime.” “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”
