President Biden granted pardons to several prominent public servants Monday who have faced attacks from President-elect Trump in one of his final acts in office.
Biden issued pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who led the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response, and retired Gen. Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The president also pardoned members and staff of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack in addition to the U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee.
“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.
The pardons come just hours before Trump, who has repeatedly vowed revenge on his perceived enemies, is set to return to the White House.
Biden in recent weeks indicated that he would consider granting pardons to individuals who might be targeted by the incoming administration. He said in his statement Monday morning that the pardons do not indicate the individuals “engaged in any wrongdoing.”
The exact language of the pardons is not yet known.
Fauci, the face of the nation’s pandemic response, was criticized by Trump and his allies for efforts to refute Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about the virus and urging Americans to be vaccinated.
Milley is a vocal critic of Trump and has called him a fascist. Trump has suggested the retired general should be “court-martialed” after reporting that Milley suggested the military would not go along with any purported coup planned by Trump to stay in power.
The House Jan. 6 committee, which ended its work in December 2022, has been a frequent target of Trump’s ire. 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-Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.), Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), current Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and now Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).
Biden said in his statement that the committee fulfilled its mission to discover the truth about the Capitol attack “with a commitment to discovering the truth.” But Trump in December suggested that the members of the House Jan. 6 committee “should go to jail.”
It’s unclear whether all members will accept the pardons Biden has offered them. Thompson indicated that he would accept a pardon from the White House for his leadership role on the committee, but other members have said in recent weeks that they do not believe they need them.
Several police officers who testified to the committee were also preemptively pardoned. The officers that testified were former U.S. Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn, Aquilino Gonell and Caroline Edwards, and former D.C. Metropolitan police officers Michael Fanone and Daniel Hodges.
During a press call earlier this month, Fanone and Gonell indicated that they had not discussed pardons with Biden’s White House and felt they did not need them.
It’s typical for presidents to grant clemency at the end of their term, but Biden has stretched the limits of the presidential pardon power by offering pardons to individuals who have so far faced no investigation.
“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden said. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”
Biden’s Justice Department wrote 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 or wrongdoing, despite Biden’s insistence that these do not.
Updated at 8:21 a.m.
