US President Joe Biden has issued pre-emptive pardons for people Republican successor Donald Trump has targeted for retaliation, including former Republican politician Liz Cheney, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and former White House chief medical advisor Anthony Fauci.
The pardon covers all politicians, including Ms Cheney, who served on the congressional select committee that investigated the 6 January 2021, storming of the US. Capitol by Trump supporters, as well as police officers who testified before it.
Mr Trump, who will return to the presidency today, has repeatedly called for the prosecution of his perceived enemies since winning the White House in November.
Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy.
— President Biden (@POTUS) January 20, 2025
Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties.
In certain cases, some have even been…
Mr Biden praised public servants as the "lifeblood of our democracy."
Without mentioning Mr Trump, he expressed alarm that some of them were subjected to threats and intimidation for doing their job.
"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," Mr Biden said in a statement.
Mr Milley said he was "deeply grateful" for Mr Biden's pardon.
Joe Biden has issued protective pardons to his two brothers Jimmy and Francis, his sister Valerie Owens, and their spouses. The information was made public when President Biden was in the rotunda of the Capitol for Donald Trumps swearing in ceremony
— seanwhelanRTE (@seanwhelanRTE) January 20, 2025
Mr Biden also pardoned five members of his family, saying he wanted to prevent them from being targeted by "baseless and politically motivated investigations".
Those pardoned are his two brothers James and Francis, and his sister Valerie, as well as her husband John. Also on the list is Sara, the wife of James Biden.
Mr Trump in December backed a call for the FBI to investigate fellow Republican Cheney over her role in leading Congress's probe of the 6 January 2021, assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.
Dr Fauci often clashed with Mr Trump during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Mr Trump's supporters have continued to attack the former senior health official.
Mr Milley was quoted in the book "War" by Bob Woodward, which was published last month, calling Mr Trump "fascist to the core" and Mr Trump's allies have targeted him for perceived disloyalty to the former president.
Reuters reported in November that the Trump transition team was drawing up a list of military officers seen as connected to Mr Milley to be fired.
Mr Biden praised both Mr Milley and Dr Fauci as long-time dedicated public servants who have defended democracy and saved lives. He said the select committee established to investigate the 6 January attack on the Capitol had fulfilled its mission with integrity.
Without identifying the individuals, he pardoned all members of Congress who served on the panel, their staff and the US Capitol and Washington DC police officers who testified before the committee.
Mr Biden said that those pardoned had done nothing wrong, but that simply being investigated or prosecuted could harm reputations and finances.
"I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics," he said. "But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing."
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In a statement, Mr Biden also commuted the life sentence imposed on Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who has served nearly five decades in federal prison for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.
Mr Peltier will serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement.
