Biden Preemptively Pardons Anthony Fauci, January 6 Committee, Family Members

In his final hours in office, former President Joe Biden issued “preemptive” pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark A. Milley, and all members of Congress who served on the January 6 Committee, their staff and the police who testified before the committee.
Then, just 15 minutes before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, Biden issued preemptive pardons for five immediate family members: his younger brother James and James’ wife, Sara; his younger sister Valerie Owens and her husband, John; and his younger brother Francis.
In announcing the pardons of Dr. Fauci, General Milley and the January 6 Committee, then-President Biden said in a statement:
Toward the end of the statement, he explained that the acts of clemency did not mean those individuals had done anything wrong:
Dr. Fauci’s pardon declared “A Full And Unconditional Pardon”:
“Fauci told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl he accepted the pardon and is grateful for it,” reported Good Morning America. Karl quoted Dr. Fauci saying:
General Milley also thanked President Biden, as Fox News reported:
Milley’s pardon likewise goes back to January 1, 2014, and includes but is “not limited to any offenses under the United States Code or the Uniform Code of Military Justice … arising from or in an any manner related to his service as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army or Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.”
In a statement, Biden explained his reasons for preemptively pardoning the members of Congress who served on the January 6 committee, their staff, and police officers who testified before the select committee:
Hours after those pardons, in his final minutes before leaving office, Biden announced a “Full And Unconditional Pardon” for his family members:
In a statement about these final acts of clemency, Biden explained:
He added, “The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that they engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense.”
Photo from Getty Images.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Johnston is a culture and policy analyst for Focus on the Family and a staff writer for the Daily Citizen. He researches, writes and teaches about topics of concern to families such as parental rights, religious freedom, LGBT issues, education and free speech. Johnston has been interviewed by CBS Sunday Morning, The New York Times, Associated Press News, The Christian Post, Rolling Stone and Vice, and is a frequent guest on radio and television outlets. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from San Diego State University with a Bachelors in English and a Teaching Credential. He and his wife have been married 30 years and have three grown sons.