Biden issues preemptive pardons for Fauci, Milley, Jan. 6 committee members

In his final hours in office, President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Biden used the extraordinary powers of his office to guard against potential "revenge" by the incoming Trump administration. 

President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn into office later on Monday morning. 

This combination of file pictures created on December 5, 2024 shows (L-R) US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley on April 21, 2023; US Representative Adam Schiff on January 15, 2020; Dr. Anthony Fauci on December 9, 2022 and US Represen

Trump warns of enemies list

The backstory:

Biden's decision comes after Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Biden's pardons included members and staff of the Jan. 6 committee, including former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both Republicans, Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the committee.

For his part, Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him.

What they're saying:

"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. "Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country."

Biden pardons Fauci, Milley

The backstory:

Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health for nearly 40 years and was Biden’s chief medical advisor until his retirement in 2022. Fauci helped coordinate the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and raised the ire of Trump when he refused to back Trump’s unfounded claims. 

Fauci has become a target of intense hatred and vitriol from people on the right, who blame him for masking mandates and other policies they believe infringed on their rights.

Mark Milley, meanwhile, is the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and called Trump a fascist and detailed Trump’s conduct around the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.

Dig deeper:

Presidents typically grant acts of clemency at the end of their term, but they are usually offered to everyday Americans who have been convicted of crimes. Biden has used the power in the broadest and most untested way possible: to pardon those who have not even been investigated yet. 

And with the acceptance comes a tacit admission of guilt or wrongdoing, even though those who have been pardoned have not been formally accused of any crimes.

"These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing," Biden said. He added that "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."

Biden pardons his siblings and their spouses

President Joe Biden on Monday pardoned his siblings and their spouses.  The action came as Biden and others stood at the U.S. Capitol to see Donald Trump inaugurated.

He issued blanket pardons for his brother James and his wife, Sara, his sister Valerie and her husband, John Owens, and his brother Francis. In December 2024, Biden pardoned his son, Hunter, for tax and gun crimes.

Biden said his family had been "subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics," the Associated Press reported.

Biden sets record for most pardons, commutations issued

By the numbers:

Biden has set the presidential record for most individual pardons and commutations issued. On Friday, he announced he would commute the sentences of almost 2,500 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. Last month, he announced the commutations of sentences for roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed in home confinement during the pandemic, as well as the pardoning of 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. 

Last month, Biden also commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 people on federal death row, converting their punishments to life imprisonment.

Additionally, Biden pardoned his son Hunter, not just for his convictions on federal gun and tax violations, but for any potential federal offense committed over an 11-year period, as the president feared Trump allies would seek to prosecute his son for other offenses.

The Source: This story was reported using information shared by the White House on Jan. 20, 2025. It was reported from Cincinnati, and the Associated Press contributed. 

Joe BidenNewsU.S.Capitol RiotNews