Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called his preemptive pardon from former President Biden, announced Monday for all past members of the now-defunct House. Jan. 6 committee in the final moments of his presidency, “unnecessary” and “unwise.”
“I continue to believe that the grant of pardons to a committee that undertook such important work to uphold the law was unnecessary, and because of the precedent it establishes, unwise,” Schiff said in a statement. “But I certainly understand why President Biden believed he needed to take this step in light of the persistent and baseless threats issued by Donald Trump and individuals who are now some of his law enforcement nominees.”
Schiff was one of nine members of the committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, all of whom were offered preemptive pardons by Biden in a clemency action dated Sunday. Biden also pardoned the police officers who testified before the panel and the panel’s staff.
Those “full and unconditional” pardons cover any offenses tied to the “activities or subject matter” of the committee and are not restricted to a specific time period.
Though it’s typical for presidents to grant clemency at the end of their term, Biden has pushed the limits of the presidential pardon power by offering relief to individuals who have so far faced no investigation.
Biden’s decision comes after repeated vows from President Trump to go after his perceived enemies once back in office. In December, Trump suggested that the members of the House Jan. 6 committee “should go to jail.”
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) chaired the committee, and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) served as second-in-command as vice chair. Other members included then-Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), current Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
In a joint statement Monday, Thompson and Cheney said they were pardoned “not for breaking the law but for upholding it.”
“These are indeed ‘extraordinary circumstances’ when public servants are pardoned to prevent false prosecution by the government for having worked faithfully as Members of Congress to expose the facts of a months-long criminal effort to override the will of the voters after the 2020 elections, including by inciting a violent insurrection to thwart the peaceful transfer of power,” they said in the statement, posted to the social media platform X.
The clemency actions came amid a flurry of last-minute pardon announcements from Biden. The former president also preemptively pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley and several of Biden’s family members.
Biden said Monday morning that the pardons do not indicate the individuals “engaged in any wrongdoing,” even as his Justice Department suggested in recent court filings for Jan. 6 defendants — many of whom are expecting imminent pardons from Trump — that accepting a pardon comes with an implicit admission of guilt.
