U.S. President Joe Biden used his constitutional power Monday to preemptively pardon several individuals, including some of his relatives, just minutes before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.
Without naming Trump or the incoming administration, Biden said in a statement that he believes in the rule of law but warned about the threat of partisan politics and pointed to possible retribution as the main concern behind his decision to grant the preemptive pardons.
“I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden’s statement read. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”
Among those granted pardons is Trump’s former Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired General Mark Milley. Political differences between Trump and Milley that both men vented in public during Trump’s first term in office led to Trump’s supporters branding Milley as disloyal. Milley has reportedly referred to Trump as a “fascist.”
Citing “ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties,” Biden extended pardons to members and staff of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. That includes former Republican Representative Liz Cheney.
Biden also preemptively pardoned the U.S. Capitol and Washington police officers who testified before the committee.
“The Select Committee fulfilled this mission with integrity and a commitment to discovering the truth,” Biden said. The statement continued, “Rather than accept accountability, those who perpetrated the January 6th attack have taken every opportunity to undermine and intimidate those who participated in the Select Committee in an attempt to rewrite history, erase the stain of January 6th for partisan gain, and seek revenge, including by threatening criminal prosecutions.”
Biden also preemptively pardoned his former chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who retired in December 2023.
Fauci and his family have received threats from those who opposed his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the issuance of mask mandates.
There’s a history of U.S. presidents pardoning family members for specific criminal convictions. Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden in December for gun and tax offenses as well as for any offenses he may have committed “from January 1, 2014, through December 1, 2024.” But on Monday, Biden also pardoned other relatives who aren’t under investigation, including his brother, James Biden; James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden; his sister, Valerie Biden Owens; Valerie Owens’ husband, John Owens; and his brother, Francis Biden.
“My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” Biden’s statement said. “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”
Biden’s preemptive pardons contradict the stance he publicly shared on the matter on December 3, 2020, shortly before he took office. CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Biden’s opinion on Trump’s reported consideration of a wave of preemptive pardons before exiting the White House.
“Well, it concerns me in terms of what kind of precedent it sets and how the rest of the world looks at us as a nation of laws and justice,” Biden replied. He further underscored that his administration wouldn’t approach pardons in that way.
Trump has himself promised to pardon many of his supporters who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He has characterized those arrested as “patriots” who were wrongly prosecuted.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.
