Washington
President Joe Biden on Monday issued an extraordinary slate of preemptive pardons for prominent critics of President-elect Donald Trump and members of his own family, using executive prerogative as a shield against revenge by his incoming successor while also guaranteeing his closest relatives aren’t subject to future prosecutions
Biden issues preemptive pardons for Trump critics and Biden family members
President Joe Biden on Monday issued an extraordinary slate of preemptive pardons for prominent critics of President-elect Donald Trump and members of his own family, using executive prerogative as a shield against revenge by his incoming successor while also guaranteeing his closest relatives aren’t subject to future prosecutions.
Clemency for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, was announced early Monday morning. Later, minutes before Trump was to be inaugurated as the nation’s 47th president, Biden also issued pardons for members of his family.
The pardons, coming in the final hours of Biden’s presidency, amount to a stunning flex of presidential power that is unprecedented in recent presidential history. They serve to protect several outspoken critics of the incoming president, including former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, whom Trump has vowed retribution against.
But they also protect his close family members and potentially establish a precedent the new president will use to protect his own allies from criminal prosecution.
My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me—the worst kind of partisan politics. Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end,” Biden said in a statement released as the inauguration ceremony was underway at the US Capitol.
“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,” the outgoing president said.
A statement earlier in the day said Biden “in good conscience” could not stand aside with the threat of reprisals by the incoming president against his adversaries.
“These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden wrote in a statement about the initial batch of pardons, issued hours before he was set to welcome Trump to the White House for tea before attending his swearing-in. “Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety and financial security of targeted individuals and their families.”
Biden: Protection outweighs implication
Biden had been weighing issuing the pardons in the waning days of his presidency, concerned Trump would enter office and immediately seek to prosecute his adversaries. In his statement, he spelled out his rationale, saying “alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties.”
In doing so, he is taking a step that’s unprecedented in presidential history. Preemptive pardons on such a sweeping scale have never previously been issued. When President Gerald Ford pardoned his predecessor, Richard Nixon, the 37th president was facing a real threat of prosecution. None of those on Biden’s list appeared at risk of imminent legal action, but Biden believed the threat was real enough that protection was necessary.
Lawmakers stunned, pardonees ‘grateful’
Multiple members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the attack on the Capitol were stunned to learn of the decision, according to multiple sources. They did not receive a heads-up that it was happening and one person said they still do not even know what the pardon is for, the sources said.
Biden said Trump’s rhetoric weighed on his decision
Earlier this month, the president told reporters one factor weighing in his decision is whether Trump telegraphed any of his intentions for possible prosecution of his political opponents in the days leading up to his inauguration.
“It depends on some of the language and expectations that Trump broadcasts in the last couple of days here as to what he’s going to do,” the president said when asked about what pardons and commutations he’s considering.
“The idea that he would punish people for not adhering to what he thinks should be policy as it related to his well-being is outrageous,” Biden said. “But there’s still consideration of some folks, but no decision.”
In an interview with USA Today, Biden said he told Trump during their Oval Office meeting shortly after the president-elect’s November victory that “there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores.”
Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger and California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff have said they do not want preemptive pardons.
Jesse Binnall, one of Trump’s primary private attorneys working on lawsuits related to January 6, pointed out on social media a major reason the legal community was skeptical of Biden’s preemptive pardons before Monday: It makes it easier to force testimony.
“The pardons are actually great news. No one who was just pardoned will be able to refuse to testify in a civil, criminal, or congressional proceeding based upon the 5th Amendment,” Binnall wrote.
The pardons also won’t protect those who received them from congressional investigation, or other types of investigation, such as tax inquiry, if those were to arise. The pardons would only protect them from federal criminal charges.
CNN’s Katelyn Polantz, Manu Raju, Sarah Ferris, Haley Talbot, Jamie Gangel, Dana Bash, Kaitlan Collins and Pamela Brown contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional reporting and reaction.
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