In an unprecedented decision, outgoing US President Joe Biden on Monday granted preemptive pardons to multiple critics of Donald Trump to shield them from “unjustified and politically driven prosecutions” by the new administration.
Dr Anthony Fauci, face of America’s Covid-19 response among those pardoned
Among those pardoned are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the figurehead of America’s Covid-19 response and Biden’s ex-chief medical adviser; retired General Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; as well as members and staff of the House committee that probed the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol.
Trump had earlier suggested that these legislators ought to be imprisoned for their involvement in probing him and the Capitol riot, which hurt 140 law enforcement officers and briefly interrupted the counting of Electoral College votes.
Biden’s decision arrives as President-elect Donald Trump, who is due to be sworn in later today, has pledged to respond to those who have sought to hold him responsible for his involvement in the effort by his supporters to reverse the 2020 presidential election.
“Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country,” Biden said in a statement. “These public servants have served our nation with honour and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.”
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Biden sets record of presidential pardons
Biden has established a presidential record for the highest number of individual pardons and commutations granted, finishing his final days in office with a surge of clemency decisions.
Last Friday, the 81-year-old Democrat declared the commutation of sentences for almost 2,500 individuals found guilty of non-violent drug crimes, a decision intended to tackle what he considered overly severe prison sentences.
