United States President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons on Monday, the last day of his administration. He pardoned former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley, as well as Congress members and staff who investigated the failed insurrection on January 6, 2021, and police officers who testified during the probe.
Biden justified his decision by saying that the pardoned individuals may be targeted by "baseless and politically motivated" investigations under the Trump administration. "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," he said in a statement. Incoming President Donald Trump previously called for probes into Fauci and Milley, who served during his first term in office, and often attacked the January 6 committee as a "witch hunt."
