Hours before leaving office, President Joe Biden continued his race to issue pre-emptive pardons for those he deemed to be “targets” of the incoming administration.
In a telling move, the outgoing Democrat threw a protective blanket over Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark A. Milley, as well as members of the House Jan. 6 committee – including their staff.
“These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions,” Biden said in a statement Monday.
(Video Credit: Fox News)
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,” Biden noted, saying the quiet part out loud.
The nation, he insisted, “owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”
Members of the Jan. 6 committee included Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), who was then a House member; former Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), Elaine Luria (D-VA), and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL); and current Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), and Bennie Thompson (D-MS).
Joe Biden using his last day in office to pardon Liz Cheney, among others, is the perfect expression of American political realignment and the rotted soul of the Democratic Party. pic.twitter.com/oziR9WeELh
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 20, 2025
The Associated Press noted:
It’s customary for a president to grant clemency at the end of his term, but those acts of mercy are usually offered to everyday Americans who have been convicted of crimes. But Biden has used the power in the broadest and most untested way possible: to pardon those who have not even been investigated yet. And with the acceptance comes a tacit admission of guilt or wrongdoing, even though those who have been pardoned have not been formally accused of any crimes.
“These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden said. “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.”
Biden “set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued,” the AP noted after the outgoing president announced last week that almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses would have their sentences commuted. This followed his move to commute the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row.
In his latest move, Biden said “These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”
PARDON: Biden has pardoned Michael Byrd for the murder of Ashli Babbitt. The pardon applies to every police officer interviewed by the J6 Committee for ALL crimes committed before, on, or after J6. pic.twitter.com/b4wuZrKeEz
— @amuse (@amuse) January 20, 2025
Rep. Bennie Thompson, who led the Jan. 6 committee, indicated last week that he would accept a preemptive pardon from the president if it was offered.
“Because there are a lot of people who take this person at his word, and I don’t want him to weaponize (the) government against people for doing their job,” Thompson told CBS News in an interview.
However, California Democrat Rep. Pete Aguilar had a different take, saying “We didn’t do anything wrong.” Former Rep. Adam Kinzingersaid said he could “understand the theory behind it because Donald Trump has clearly said he’s going to go after everybody,” but added, “The second you take a pardon, it looks like you’re guilty of something.”
“I’m guilty of nothing besides bringing the truth to the American people and in the process, embarrassing Donald Trump,” the so-called Republican told CNN.
Those preemptive pardons as well as the ones for Milley, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, sparked rage on social media.
Ask yourself this: Why would Joe Biden pardon Fauci if he wasn’t a criminal who should be locked up for his lies, negligence, & greed that killed innocent Americans?
Biden was already going out in shame and disgrace, but this is a new low. pic.twitter.com/GW8fHyVT6f
— Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) January 20, 2025
If you want to know who the guilty traitors are in our country … just look at Biden’s preemptive pardon list today.
— Catturd ™ (@catturd2) January 20, 2025
This sends a chilling message. You can do anything in the name of politics and you will be pardoned for your crimes when the administration is done. This can’t stand.
— Julie McBane (@julie_mcbane) January 20, 2025
It’s weird when you pardon people who haven’t been found guilty of a crime. Almost like saying “they committed a crime!”….
Also how many did he pardon? The entire phone book?— Josh Kaufman (@Josh13Kaufman1) January 20, 2025
Biden has set the precedent.
A President can use his powers to k@ll, imprison his enemies, hunt and prosecute American citizens without any consequences.
Preemptive pardons are now a powerful tool of the President.
— Spitfire (@DogRightGirl) January 20, 2025
Yeah, this is not good. Not good at all. A line has been crossed.
— Late4Dinner (@sampsonitemoobs) January 20, 2025
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