Biden issues preemptive pardons for Milley, Fauci and Jan. 6 committee members

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/20/politics/joe-biden-preemptive-pardons/index.html

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.

“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.”

“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.

Jesse Binnall, one of Trump’s primary private attorneys working on lawsuits related to January 6, pointed out on social media a major reason the legal community was skeptical of Biden’s preemptive pardons before Monday: It makes it easier to force testimony.

“The pardons are actually great news. No one who was just pardoned will be able to refuse to testify in a civil, criminal, or congressional proceeding based upon the 5th Amendment,” Binnall wrote.

The pardons also won’t protect those who received them from congressional investigation, or other types of investigation, such as tax inquiry, if those were to arise. The pardons would only protect them from federal criminal charges.