1 of 4 | Dr. Antony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, received a preemptive pardon from outgoing President Joe Biden on Monday. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI |
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Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Outgoing President Joe Biden issued a slate of pardons Monday morning for people who may have been targets of President-elect Donald Trump's Justice Department, as well as members of his family.
Shortly after Donald Trump became president, his actions were scrubbed from the White House website. His pardons and commutations are listed on the Department of Justice website.
Recipients of pardons include Trump's former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, former chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and lawmakers involved in the U.S. House Select Committee on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy," Biden said in a statement. "Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties."
Hours later Biden announced the pardoning of his brother, sister-in-law, sister and brother-in-law: Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden.
"My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me-the worst kind of partisan politics," Biden said. "Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.
"I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances."
Like in the pardons of others, he said they "should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense."
Trump reacted to Biden's pardons during an appearance to an overflow crowd at the Capitol.
"Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley? Why are we doing that when he was pardoned, what he said, terrible what he said. Why are we helping some of the people? Why are we helping Liz Cheney? Liz Cheney is a disaster, she's a crying lunatic, and crying Adam Kinzinger - he's a super crier," Trump said.
Trump has lobbed threats to prosecute Fauci for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair publicly disagreed about the threat posed by the virus with Trump downplaying its seriousness while Fauci warned to take precautions, including masking and social distancing.
More than 1.2 million people have died from the virus as of Jan. 11, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Throughout my career, I have been motivated by one simple goal: to improve the health and lives of humankind," Fauci said in a statement. "I believe and hope that my legacy is that of a dedicated and accomplished physician/scientist and public health official who, with the help of many teams of skilled and distinguished colleagues, saved millions of lives in the United States and around the world."
Trump threatened that Milley should be executed in a 2023 post on social media, alleging that he was improperly communicating with Chinese leaders.
"[Milley] was actually dealing with China to give them a heads up on the thinking of the President of the United States," Trump wrote. "This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!"
Milley was at odds with Trump over his approach to protests in the summer of 2020, following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. Milley has expressed regret over the military presence in Washington, D.C., responding to protests on U.S. soil. Trump threatened a broader military response.
"My family and I are deeply grateful for the President's action today," Milley said in a statement Monday. "After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our Nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights."
Members of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police who defended the Capitol from the mob of Trump supporters on Jan. 6 were also pardoned. Specifically those who testified before the select committee.
"I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing," Biden said. "Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong -- and in fact have done the right thing."
Sen. Adam Schiff, a former member of the House Select Committee, told CNN he said preemptive pardons "I continue to think they were not necessary."
Taylor Budowich, Trump's incoming deputy chief of state for communications and personnel, criticized the pardons, writing on X: "Joe Biden's final act as President will go down as the greatest attack on America's justice system in history. With the stroke of a pen, he unilaterally shielded a group of political cronies from the scales of justice. This is yet another dangerous and unreversible erosion of American norms."