President-elect told NBC that it was disgraceful President Biden issued pardons to Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) and other members of the House panel that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 attack.
“It is disgraceful. Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES! DJT” Trump texted NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker.
Biden issued the pardons on Monday morning, before leaving office later that day and said he was doing so to protect the public servants who have faced attacks from Trump. Trump is set to be sworn in later on Monday.
“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 members of the House Jan. 6 committee have been a frequent target of Trump’s ire. Biden also chose to pardon the U.S. Capitol Police and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee.
Additionally, Biden issued pardons for Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who led the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response, and Milley, the former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Biden was considering preemptive pardons for those who have been critical of Trump since the president-elect won the 2024 race and decided to issue them as one of his final acts of his presidency.
The pardons are for potential targets of a Trump administration that could include FBI nominee Kash Patel, who has made public remarks about going after Trump’s enemies, as well as Trump ally, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, in the Justice Department.
