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Biden acts to protect Trump foes with last-minute pardons

Those pardoned include former US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, former US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Anthony Fauci

WASHINGTON, January 20. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden has pre-emptively pardoned a number of individuals to protect them from potential legal action from his successor Donald Trump, who will take office later on Monday, the outgoing US leader said in a statement.

Those pardoned include former US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, former US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease Director Anthony Fauci, members of the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack that took place in early January 2021, as well as Capitol and District of Columbia police officers who testified in the case.

"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," Biden said in a statement. "Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country."

"Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties," Biden added.

The US media wrote earlier that before leaving his office the outgoing president may preemptively pardon several officials who could be in the black books of the incoming administration.

Biden announced the pardon of his son Hunter in a statement in late December 2024. Biden Jr. was found guilty of gun and tax evasion charges by federal courts in Delaware and California, respectively. Despite previous promises not to intervene, the senior Biden explained the pardon by saying his son had been unfairly "singled out."

Trump, who will replace Biden in the White House on January 20, 2025, slammed the outgoing leader’s decision as "an abuse and miscarriage of justice."