President Joe Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley, and the lawmakers and staff who served on the January 6 committee on Monday during his final hours in office before President-elect Donald Trump reenters the White House.
The outgoing president issued the last-minute pardons to prevent his successor from enacting retribution against his political opponents.
“Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families,” Biden said in a statement Monday morning.
The preemptive pardons are unprecedented because they shield many of the president-elect’s top enemies from criminal prosecution before they have even been investigated, though Biden insisted the pardons shouldn’t be taken to imply guilt on the part of the recipients.
“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,” he added. “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”
The January 6 committee was lambasted by House Republicans for pursuing a politically motivated investigation of Trump’s actions on the day that Congress certified Biden’s 2020 election win. The panel was largely led by Democrats, with then-Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger as the only two Republican members.
The House Administration Committee’s oversight subcommittee released a report last year, seeking to undermine the January 6 committee and its star witness, White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, whose dramatic account of Trump’s actions were contradicted by other witnesses.
Biden also pardoned the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the January 6 committee.
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and former chief medical adviser to the president, has been criticized by Republican lawmakers over his role in instituting COVID-19 lockdowns and masking measures in 2020.
Testifying under oath before Congress on multiple occasions, Fauci insisted that the NIH had not funded gain-of-function research of the kind conducted in Wuhan, China, where the Covid pandemic emerged. Internal documents revealed that the agency had in fact funded research at the Wuhan lab designed to make viruses more transmissible, efforts that fit the traditional definition of gain-of-function research.
One of his fiercest critics, Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.), repeatedly grilled Fauci on Capitol Hill and argued the doctor lied to Congress about the Wuhan lab funding. Paul has urged the Justice Department to prosecute Fauci for perjury.
Fauci retired at the end of 2022 and largely remains out of the public spotlight, although he testified before the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic last year. There, he defended his decision-making during the pandemic and said he had kept an “open mind” about the origins of Covid-19.
In a statement released Friday, Fauci said he appreciated Biden’s pardon but insisted he had done nothing wrong.
Paul felt differently, saying Biden’s pardon of Fauci “forever seals the deal” on “who bears responsibility” for the pandemic and vowing he “will not rest” until the “coverup” is exposed.
“Fauci’s pardon will only serve as an accelerant to pierce the veil of deception,” Paul posted on X. “Ignominious! Anthony Fauci will go down in history as the first government scientist to be preemptively pardoned for a crime.”
Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Trump a “total fascist” the month before the November election and said the then-GOP nominee was the “most dangerous person to this country.” Their feud began years ago.
The retired general drew the ire of Trump after he didn’t back the then-president following January 6. He also faced heated criticism from GOP congressmen after he dismissed conservatives’ concerns that teaching critical race theory in the U.S. military is “woke.”
“I want to understand white rage, and I’m white,” Milley said in 2021, noting that the crowd that partook in the January 6 Capitol riot was mostly white.
“What is it that caused thousands of people to assault this building and try to overturn the Constitution of the United States of America?” he added. “What is wrong with having some situational understanding about the country we are here to defend?”
Responding to Biden’s pardon, Milley said he was grateful now that he no longer has to worry about “retribution” from Trump or his allies.
Biden set the presidential record for most individual’s pardons and commutations. On Friday, he reduced the sentences of nearly 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. And last month, he converted the sentences of 37 of the 40 men on federal death row to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Trump vowed to “vigorously pursue the death penalty” following Biden’s commutations.
David Zimmermann is a news writer for National Review. Originally from New Jersey, he is a graduate of Grove City College and currently writes from Washington, D.C. His writing has appeared in the Washington Examiner, the Western Journal, Upward News, and the College Fix.
Reprinted with permission from National Review – By Davis Zimmermann
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of AMAC or AMAC Action.
Preemptive pardons are apparently legal (after a tertiary glance without doing a deep dive) albeit very rare. With that being said, Mark Milley is getting away with high treason even after admitting to direct communication with the CCP, Fauci is getting away with murder with his Covid BS, and Pelosi, Schiff, Cheney et al getting away with perjury.
This is just the tip of the iceberg as Biden has pardoned hundreds, if not thousands, of violent criminals.
Today’s Democrat Party is the epiome of blatant hypocrisy. And yet the outgoing Biden DOJ prosecutes and jails a 76 year old grandmother for praying outside an abortion clinic. Even a fairly astute 5th grader can see through the BS. The Obama/Biden nightmare seems to be over but now is not the time to sit back on our laurels. The far Left will do everything and anything to de-rail the incoming administration.
Don’t let your guard down.
Semper Vigilans.
Merriam Webster definition of a Pardon: the excusing of an OFFSENSE without exacting a penalty; a release from the legal penalties of an OFFENSE; forgiveness for a fault, OFFENSE.
Notice the theme? A pardon exists BECAUSE of the EXISTENCE OF AN OFFENSE.
I NEVER want to hear another Dem say one word about their “protection of the rule of law” or “no one is above the law” OR “we must protect our democracy”.
The pardons for Fauci, Milley, and Chaney is an admission that these people lied and did evil deeds. An innocent person does not need pardoning before any legal actions is taken against them. Look at Trump who fought against all the dirt and legal actions taken against him.
It was so obvious that the attacks on Trump were phony. Everyday for over 12 years, the legacy media and politicians on both sides of the aisle (Clinton, Pelosi, Schumer, Schiff, Chaney, Romney, etc.) lied over and over again about Trump. These people are the worst type of persons who pursue their goals regardless of whether they are true or not.
On the day of Judgement, these people should be concerned as they stand before God for a review of their lives. Yes, our government is very corrupt with our top leaders willing to lie and commit evil deeds.
Pardons are given to guilty people. Corrupt to the end, find those responsible for Biden’s parting gifts.
Preemptive pardon = guilt.
This is something that Trump should change about the Presidential powers!! They shouldn’t be allowed to pardon those who haven’t even been investigated!! The preemptive pardon’s optics aren’t good, Joe, since you have preemptively pardoned everyone who has been so hateful and interruptive into Trump’s life for the past 10 years, not because he committed massive crimes but simply because they hate him!!!
Here’s a translation of the Biden Pardons. “I’m guilty, my family is guilty, all my associates are guilty and everyone I named is guilty. So, I pardon them. Now F You, I’m leaving. This is justice Joe Biden style.”
I almost find it hard to believe that Brandon actually had the nerve to make this statement.” Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of the targeted individuals and their families” What about the many baseless and POLITICALLY motivated investigations that he and the democraps brought against Trump. On his way out he had to show us one more time what a evil, worthless, and crooked piece of crap he is.
Get this garbage nullified by SCOTUS!
These were all done by the staff behind the curtain that were running this country. Get the names of every last one of them and make them public.
Biden’s pardons are very incriminating to say the least. Has pardoning ever been done in this fashion? The head Criminal pardoning the criminals.
Pardoning the J6 committee is simply dirty politics. Pardoning Dr. Fauci is criminal negligence. Pardoning General Milley is abetting treason. Pardoning Hunter is nepotism.
Dr. Fauci, Hunter Biden, and Mark Milley should be deprived of their citizenship and exiled to their compatriots in Communist China.
Without any shred of doubt, we just got rid of the most corrupt, criminal, and treasonous administration in this nation’s history. And of course, Braindead Joe is issuing pardons to his fellow corrupt, criminal, treasonous America haters so they won’t be prosecuted for all of their crimes. Calling this a disgrace doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Even though there would be no punishment, they should be investigated anyway and the truth exposed.
He’s a scumbag and I’m glad he’s gone. These “pardons” are typical of his behavior during his entire term. I’m glad he’s gone. We will be fighting people just like him for the next 4 years, so don’t let your guard down just because he’s gone.
Is the pardoning and pre pardoning an acknowledgement that the crime has been committed, if so will all those pardoned and pre pardoned people remain in their positions all forgiven and forgotten, business as usual ? Is this the Justice transformed America style? Those who orchestrated and participated in production of Jan 6 insurrection need to be brought to justice, person who shot Ashley needs to be brought to justice, after all did nor George Lloyd, known criminal get his “justice’?
Now, Crooked Joe has “pardoned” his siblings who sold out our country for filthy lucre! They are just like a Mafia family and Joe is the “don.” Congress needs to call all of them before a committee and ask questions which MUST be answered due to their having no culpability under the 5th Amendment. Then, if they lie, that is a NEW crime, not under Crooked Joe’s pardons!
It is obvious that the affected individuals (Fauci, Milley, Cheney and others) who were preemptively pardoned requested Biden to be pardoned; because it is also obvious, that this idea did not originate in the president and that the pardoned recipients felt guilty about their wrong doing. They know that there is clear evidence of abuse of power in the events of January 6 of 2021, at the Capitol. Many americans were and still are erroneously punished.
He also pardoned his whole family!!!! The Slezeball…
What is the legality of “preemptive” pardons?
I guess king biden wanted to doom all the mid-term democrats. I hope it works. So long Schumer.
These people know what they did. If there is a way to reverse these asinine “pardons”, President Trump’s team will find it. However, there is much work to be done to turn this country around. Let’s not spend too much time on this. Hopefully karma with kick them all in the ass during the next couple of years. Personally, I’d love to see Fauci pass while on a ventilator that he didn’t want.
UNCONSCIOUSABLE AND OUTRAGEOUS COVERING UP THEIR CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY KILLIG MILLIONS. President Trump will charge ALL of those demorats with other oftheir crimes historically. Karma baby!!!!
I’ve described Jie Biden in the past as a racist white, elitist, back-slapping country club good old boy douche bag… and after the literally last minute criminal pardons, now I can add skulking rat excrement to that list. But I say… let’s move forward and be thankful we’re rid of him!
Biden is R—en! He saved these Monsters and his own criminal family!
If those pardons “should not be mistaken as an acknowledgement of wrongdoing….” when Biden, whose entire life has been DEVOTED TO WRONGDOING, is the VERY SAME PERSON WHO PROVIDED THE PARDONS… shouldn’t his pardons be treated as evidence to support the issuance of arrest warrants?
Robert Hur’s Oct23 assessment of Biden’s mental capacity: Hur’s report stated that his investigation “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice-presidency when he was a private citizen.” and, “the evidence does not establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” and “at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” and “it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him—by then a former president well into his eighties—of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”
Given that Biden has no idea what he is doing and clearly has not been in charge for most if not all of his term, why can’t that fact be used to invalidate everything he has done as president?
Congress must conduct a thorough investigation and set the record straight.
The last four years were the most corrupt administration we have ever had. Not surprised by all the pardons but did Biden pardon himself? I don’t remember reading that but taking him to court would be a waste. Anyone with a brain knows Joe did not write or dictate any of the aforementioned statements. I thank God for giving us another chance to right the wrongs that were committed by the democrats and Biden’s handlers. Pray for President Trump.
Is this even legal? I’m sure it’s headed to the USSC.
Now we just need to make sure that these pardoned criminals do not have any influence in the operation of our Federal Government or even get jobs in animal control (Dog Catcher).
I am so glad that biden, that fake piece of garbage so called president is finally gone. Now,the hard work begins to get our Nation back to normal (if possible). If anyone can do it, President Trump can!
How can you pardon someone before they are even charged with a crime? BUT the fact that IF they accept the pardon, they admit guilt. If called to testify, they must comply & they cannot invoke the 5th amendment AND most importantly, the pardon does not apply to charges brought at the State level – this should be VERY interesting!!
In December 2020 Biden said preemptive pardons are not democratic and he would never do that. He also said he would not pardon his son. Maybe he should have pardoned the entire media.
Since we all know that Biden lost his marbles a long time ago, his last minute pardons should be considered null and void. These as well as the pardons which he gave to his family members should also be revoked. I truly believe that none of these should have been pardoned.
All of these clowns can still be tried at a state level. That is why all of Trumps cases had been tried at a state level, so he couldn’t be pardoned. All red states should try every one of these criminals and serve sentences one after another in each state. That will give them a longer time in prison.
This corrupt, degenerate, lying, walking corpse didn’t know what, where, when, why, or who he pardoned. His full-blown Communist, America-despising advisors/staff basically included everyone who voted for him, put their names on the papers, dumped them in front of him and said “SIGN THESE YOU INCOMPETENT, DUMBA$$ PUPPET”. And he did.
It was great to see him fly out of Washington today but President Trump started to pull back a lot of what Biden has done. Biden’s plane left early today but then who needs him let him go home and see who he can free like no one any more.
If somebody had kept their big yap shut about seeking revenge until after the inauguration, these preemptive pardons wouldn’t have been offered.
Oops.