President Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, and others who some speculated may have faced investigations under the incoming Trump administration on Monday.
Biden’s pardons come just hours before he is set to depart the White House and President-elect Trump takes the oath of office once again. The pardon also applies to a litany of people involved in the January 6 select committee investigation.
In addition to the named individuals, the pardon applies to, “Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee.”
Notably, Special Counsel Jack Smith, former FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland are not included in the pardon, despite speculation that they may face backlash from the incoming administration.
HUNTER BIDEN PARDON: MEDIA TAKES LATEST BLOW TO CREDIBILITY WITH BOTCHED COVERAGE OF BROKEN PROMISE
Dr. Anthony Fauci received a pardon from President Biden just hours before President-elect Trump takes office. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Fauci accepted the pardon in a statement shortly after Biden announced the move, claiming he was subject to “politically motivated threats of investigation and prosecution.”
“Let me be perfectly clear: I have committed no crime and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me. The fact is, however, that the mere articulation of these baseless threats, and the potential that they will be acted upon, create immeasurable and intolerable distress for me and my family. For these reasons, I acknowledge and appreciate the action that President Biden has taken today on my behalf,” Fauci wrote.
Milley thanked Biden in a similar statement on Monday.
“My family and I are deeply grateful for the President’s action today,” he wrote. “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.
“I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety,” he added.
Condemnation of the move began to pour in almost immediately on Monday. Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., blasted Biden’s legacy minutes after the order dropped.
“The guy who claimed he would ‘protect norms’ continues to bulldoze them and the Constitution until the bitter end. Biden truly is one of the worst Presidents in American history and will only be remembered as the guy between Trump’s two terms,” Schmitt wrote on X.
HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HIS MISTAKES WERE ‘EXPLOITED’ FOR POLITICAL SPORT, SAYS HE WON’T TAKE PARDON FOR GRANTED
President Biden pushed to block President-elect Trump from going after political opponents. (Left: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Right: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Biden had teased the possibility of issuing pre-emptive pardons weeks ago in an interview with USA Today. Biden’s pardons at the end of his term have proven to be some of his most controversial actions as president, particularly the pardon for his son, Hunter Biden.
Biden had repeatedly vowed that he would not intervene on his son’s behalf, but he issued a blanket pardon regardless. The president later claimed that he had broken the promise after finding out Hunter had paid his back taxes.
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Biden’s pardon of Hunter was defended in some corners as a natural move from someone protecting his own family, but many prominent figures derided it as a craven flip-flop that would damage the White House and the president’s legacy.
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“Everyone looks stupid,” Pod Save America co-host and ex-Obama aide Tommy Vietor said at the time. “Everyone looks like they are full of s—. And Republicans are going to use this to argue it was politics as usual when Democrats warned of Trump’s corruption or threat to the rule or the threat to democracy.
Fox News’ David Rutz contributed to this report
