1 of 4 | Dr. Antony Fauci, former chief medical adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, received a preemptive pardon from outgoing President Joe Biden on Monday. File Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI | License Photo
Jan. 20 (UPI) — Outgoing President Joe Biden issued a slate of pardons Monday morning for people who may have been targets of President-elect Donald Trump’s Justice Department, as well as members of his family.
Shortly after Donald Trump became president, his actions were scrubbed from the White House website. His pardons and commutations are listed on the Department of Justice website.
Recipients of pardons include Trump’s former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, former chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci and lawmakers involved in the U.S. House Select Committee on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Biden said in a statement. “Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties.”
Hours later Biden announced the pardoning of his brother, sister-in-law, sister and brother-in-law: Sara Jones Biden, Valerie Biden Owens, John T. Owens, and Francis W. Biden.
“My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me-the worst kind of partisan politics,” Biden said. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.
“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage their reputations and finances.”
Like in the pardons of others, he said they “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.”
Trump reacted to Biden’s pardons during an appearance to an overflow crowd at the Capitol.
“Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley? Why are we doing that when he was pardoned, what he said, terrible what he said. Why are we helping some of the people? Why are we helping Liz Cheney? Liz Cheney is a disaster, she’s a crying lunatic, and crying Adam Kinzinger – he’s a super crier,” Trump said.
Trump has lobbed threats to prosecute Fauci for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pair publicly disagreed about the threat posed by the virus with Trump downplaying its seriousness while Fauci warned to take precautions, including masking and social distancing.
More than 1.2 million people have died from the virus as of Jan. 11, according to the U.S.