PARTING SHOT

Biden Burns Trump One Final Time With Last-Minute Pardons

The Democrat used one of his last acts in office to thwart his successor’s potential plans for vengeance.

President Joe Biden pardoned several potential targets of the incoming Donald Trump administration mere hours before the transfer of power on Monday.

Biden issued pre-emptive pardons for Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol—including former Rep. Liz Cheney.

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“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.”

While presidents typically grant clemency to those convicted of crimes at the end of their terms, Biden’s latest use of the powers of his office is exceptional in that he’s using it to protect people who haven’t been investigated or even charged with a crime.

“These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden said. “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 in fact have done the right thing—and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.”

Last month, Biden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden—despite previously insisting he wouldn’t do so—in such a way that spared him not only from potential jail time over his federal gun and tax convictions but also from possible charges relating to any crime he “may have committed” between 2014 and 2024. The Democrat also commuted the sentences of dozens of death row inmates, a move explicitly intended to frustrate Trump’s plans to resume executions.

It’s not clear how much Biden’s latest pardons will undermine the plans of the incoming Trump administration.

As recently as last month, Trump was saying Cheney and other members of the House Jan. 6 committee “should go to jail.”

Fauci, who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, clashed with Trump during the COVID pandemic. He remains a hate figure among MAGA supporters, with the likes of Elon Musk still targeting the medical expert in mocking posts.

“It feels good and I’m grateful to the president for doing it,” Fauci told CNN’s Jim Acosta of his pardon, adding that he didn’t know it was “real” until Sunday night. “I have done nothing wrong,” Fauci said. “Certainly nothing criminal.”

Milley, who served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first administration, has been the subject of Trump’s wrath for years. In 2023, Trump suggested that Milley deserved to be executed for taking a phone call from China after the Jan. 6 riot in which he reassured Chinese officials that the U.S. wasn’t about to attack.

Milley told CNN in a statement that he too is “deeply grateful” for the pardon from Biden.

“After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights,” Milley said. “I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.”

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Dan Ladden-HallBreaking News Editor

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