In an extraordinary move hours before leaving office on Monday, President Biden said he was issuing pardons to retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the members of Congress and staff who served on the Jan. 6 committee and the U.S. Capitol and Washington, D.C., police officers who testified before that committee.
Biden said the preemptive pardons were needed because of threats of “unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions” by the incoming administration.
“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,” Biden said in a statement issued hours before President-elect Donald Trump takes the oath of office.
Biden said “exceptional circumstances” had prompted the pardons. “Even when individuals have done nothing wrong — and in fact have done the right thing — and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances,” he said.
It is not clear that the incoming Trump administration intends to prosecute the individuals. Pam Bondi, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, said last week during her confirmation hearing that there wouldn’t be political prosecutions on her watch. But Trump’s nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, has called for many of Trump’s opponents to be investigated or prosecuted.