Outgoing President Biden issued a string of 11th-hour pardons Monday to everyone from Dr. Anthony Fauci to members of the House panel that probed the Jan. 6 riots — a move blasted as “disgraceful’’ by President Trump.
“Many are guilty of MAJOR CRIMES!” Trump fumed to NBC News’ Kristen Welker.
Trump, still fuming during a speech in Emancipation Hall after his later inauguration, ripped the House panel’s members as the “Unselect Committee of Political Thugs” — and signaled he was preparing to pardon many people for the non-violent crimes they committed at the Capitol in January 2021.
Biden has now issued the most pardons and acts of clemency of any commander-in-chief since the late President Jimmy Carter, with at least 65 pardons in all and thousands more sentence commutations.
Carter, who died in December, pardoned roughly 200,000 Americans for dodging the Vietnam War draft.
Some of the beneficiaries of Biden’s wide-ranging pardons included the truth-challenged former chief medical adviser Fauci, embattled retired General Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol — including Liz Cheney.
“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden said in a statement. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”
Biden, 82, lauded the nation’s “dedicated, selfless public servants,” but noted they have been subjected to “ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties.”
“In certain cases, some have even been threatened with criminal prosecutions, including General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, and the members and staff of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol,” the outgoing leader said.
“These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions,” he added.
Also on Biden’s preemptive pardon list was Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who was on the Jan. 6 Committee and will serve as a ranking member of the house judiciary committee in the 119th Congress.
Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, lambasted Biden for the pardon, slamming Raskin as someone who “will be remembered for his abuse of power, hypocrisy, consistent dishonesty, and unwavering loyalty to Joe Biden.”
Trump has apparently considered preemptive pardons for himself or family members — but never signed any — before leaving the White House after the Capitol riot following his first term in office.
