Biden Pardons Committee Investigating Capitol Attack, Fauci, and Milley
Anthony Fauci. X/ @Riley_Gaines_
January 20, 2025 Hour: 9:49 am
‘Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country,’ he said.
On Monday, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a preventive pardon to Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, and members of the committee investigating the Capitol attack. This was intended to shield them from any potential punitive actions by Donald Trump.
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“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. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country,” the outgoing U.S. president said.
The preventive pardons come just hours before Trump is set to assume the presidency of the United States for a second term at noon. For months, Trump has labeled certain American citizens as “the internal enemy” of the nation and “more dangerous than Russia, China, or others,” raising concerns in some political circles that the Republican leader might take action against his critics.
Dr. Fauci served during Trump’s first administration (2017–2021) as the director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases and coordinated efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci has been the target of numerous attacks by Trump supporters and extremist groups, including anti-vaccine advocates, who blame him for COVID-19 policies.
The committee investigating the January 6, 2020, Capitol attack, during which Trump supporters attempted to prevent Biden from assuming the presidency, consists of nine members of Congress: seven Democrats, including Representative Adam Schiff, and two Republicans.
The two Republicans are Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney. Cheney, who led the committee’s investigation, voted in favor of Trump’s impeachment and supported Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris during her election campaign.
Finally, retired General Mark Milley served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2019–2023) and has been particularly critical of Trump’s actions. Milley, who compared Trump to the Nazis, condemned Trump’s handling of the 2020 protests for African American rights, during which Trump reportedly asked Milley to authorize shooting at protesters.
The preventive pardon had been under consideration by the White House for some time. However, some of the individuals eligible for it, such as Representative Schiff, stated that they had done nothing wrong and did not need such a pardon.
This form of presidential immunity lacks clear precedent, with the only comparable case being President Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon in 1974, despite Nixon not being formally charged for the Watergate scandal.
The pardon issued during Biden’s final hours in office does not extend to federal and state prosecutors who have charged and investigated Trump in cases of election fraud, misuse of campaign funds—cases in which he was found guilty—or for the mishandling of classified documents.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE