President Joe Biden has pre-emptively pardoned Covid response chief Anthony Fauci and the members of the January 6 riot investigation to prevent what he called “unjustified… politically motivated prosecutions”.
The outgoing president said: “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment.”
Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on January 20, regularly clashed with Dr. Fauci during the pandemic and has suggested he would take action against those who tried to hold him accountable for the January 6 Capitol riot.
Joe Biden also issued a pre-emptive pardon to Mark Milley, a former chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, who last year described Donald Trump as “fascist to the core”.
Joe Biden’s statement said that the pardons should “not be mistaken as an acknowledgment” that any of those covered “engaged in any wrongdoing”.

Democrats had warned the outgoing president against such action. Adam Schiff, a Senator for California, said Joe Biden could set a “precedent” for “each president hereafter on their way out the door giving out a broad category of pardons”.
Anthony Fauci told media that he “truly appreciated” Biden for taking action, adding that the possibility of prosecution has created “immeasurable and intolerable distress” on his family.
“Let me be perfectly clear, I have committed no crime and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me,” he added.
General Mark Milley, 66, thanked Joe Biden in a statement and stated that he did not wish spend the rest of his life “fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights”.
“I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety,” he said.
Joe Biden’s pardons cover all members of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 riot, as well as their staff members and the officers who testified.
Former US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn said he was “eternally grateful” to Joe Biden, „not just for this pre-emptive pardon, but for his leadership and service to this nation”.
„Unfortunately, the political climate we are in now has made the need for [a pardon] somewhat of a reality,” he said.
„I, like all other public servants, was just doing my job and upholding my oath.”
Donald Trump in December backed a call for the FBI to investigate fellow Republican Liz Cheney over her role in leading Congress’s probe.
The incoming president is set to pardon some of those convicted of crimes related to the riot.
“You’re going to see something tomorrow,” Donald Trump said on January 19, in reference to the January 6 rioters.
“I think you’ll be very, very happy.”
On the campaign trail, Donald Trump railed against “enemies from within”, and has endorsed several figures who have vowed retribution against his foes to join his cabinet.