Outgoing President Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Anthony Fauci, Mark Milley and the committee that investigated the events of January 6.
In one of his final acts as president of the United States, Joe Biden preemptively pardoned several people who Donald Trump and his allies consider their enemies and have threatened retaliation. These pardons were granted a few hours before Joe Biden welcomed Donald Trump to the White House for tea before the latter’s inauguration.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Health who helped oversee the country’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, retired general Mark Milley, who has criticized Mr. Trump and including the latter suggested execution, and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol, including Liz Cheney, were all pardoned by the outgoing president.
« These are exceptional circumstances and I cannot, in good conscience, do nothingMr. Biden wrote in a statement Monday. Unfounded and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety and financial security of those targeted and their families. The granting of these pardons should not be interpreted as an acknowledgment that an individual has committed any wrongdoing, nor as an admission of guilt for any crime. Our nation owes a debt of gratitude to these public servants for their tireless commitment to our country. »
In the United States, Mr. Fauci has long been at the center of conspiracy theories circulating about Covid-19. According to the right, he is the mastermind of a nefarious plot aimed at triggering the pandemic in the United States. Countless conservatives, including many elected officials, have called for him to be investigated. Mr. Trump also criticized him.
General Mark Milley, who retired in 2023, is in conflict with Trump, particularly over January 6. In 2023, Trump called it ” wreck ” on Truth Social, while ranting about a call Milley made to reassure a Chinese general following the Capitol attack. Milley said several Trump officials knew about the calls, but Trump did not like the matter being reported in the book Peril the Bob Woodward.
Milley was grateful for Biden’s pardon on Monday. “ After forty-three years of faithful uniformed service to our nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend my remaining time fighting those who unjustly seek revenge for what they perceive to be an insulthe declared. I do not want to subject my family, friends, and those with whom I have served to the distractions, expenses, and anxiety that will result. »
-Mr. Trump has also long attacked elected officials who investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol and who ultimately voted to criminally charge Mr. Trump. He explicitly said these lawmakers and former lawmakers should be in prison, and reposted a meme on Truth Social that said Liz Cheney was guilty of treason and suggested she be put through a military tribunal on television.
Joe Biden, however, did not pardon former special adviser Jack Smith, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, or any other person directly involved in the criminal investigations into the future president.
Ryan Away
Translated by the editorial staff
