President Joe Biden on Monday issued preemptive pardons 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, using extraordinary executive prerogative as a shield against revenge by his incoming successor, Donald Trump.
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.
“These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden wrote in a statement, 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 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.”
The recipients of Biden’s pardons have all faced intense criticism from Trump and his allies.
Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Disease for decades, including during the outbreak of Covid in Trump’s first presidency, and Milley served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first term and has warned Trump is a fascist.
Biden, in his statement, noted that the pardons did not denote guilt.
“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. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country,” he wrote.
As he weighed preemptive pardons over the past several days, the president has made clear in conversations with aides that he does not believe those who received them were guilty of any crimes – and voiced concern that pardoning them could connote guilt, according to people familiar with the conversations.
Ultimately, Biden put aside those concerns with the view that providing protection would outweigh the potential implication of guilt.
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.
In a statement to CNN, Milley said he and his family were “deeply grateful” for Biden’s action.
“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,” Milley said. “I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.”
Some of those who were issued the last-minute pardons did not get a heads-up, a person familiar tells CNN.
Uzbekistan is moving into a new phase in the development of Islamic finance, with the country’s first Islamic banking licence iss...
Russia and Ukraine have begun a regional ceasefire to allow the start of a humanitarian effort in the Russian-occu...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged gas producers to boost global supplies and invest in infrastructure, while signalling potential energy c...
Uzbekistan summoned Iran’s ambassador following claims by several Iranian diplomatic missions that the historical and architectural heritage of Samarkand belongs to Persian or Iranian-Islamic civilisation, Tashkent's Foreign Ministry said.
Serbia's Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat after a student-led protest movement took the majority of seats in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Russia and Ukraine have begun a regional ceasefire to allow the start of a humanitarian effort in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, both sides said on Tuesday, but they continue strikes elsewhere, including the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Russian strikes hit several parts of Ukraine overnight, injuring at least six people and targeting energy and port infrastructure, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said U.S. warnings about imminent Russian ballistic missile attacks had resumed.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council says senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye will travel to Tehran to discuss regional security.
Russia and Ukraine have begun a regional ceasefire to allow the start of a humanitarian effort in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, both sides said on Tuesday, but they continue strikes elsewhere, including the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged gas producers to boost global supplies and invest in infrastructure, while signalling potential energy cooperation with U.S. partners during a major gas summit in Moscow on Tuesday.
Hundreds of people rallied in Paris on Monday (26 October) against racism and the far right following a deadly shooting last week that authorities have described as “terrorist and racist”.
UK prosecutors have charged two men over an incident in September at RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force base in south-west England used by U.S. forces. British counter-terrorism police said the pair are suspected of assisting Iran.
Thousands of people along India's eastern coast have been evacuated to safety, and some train services have been cancelled, one day before a severe cyclone was scheduled to make landfall, bringing gusting winds and heavy rain.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment