Joe Biden’s White House is reportedly considering issuing “preemptive” pardons for certain Democrat and government officials who President-elect Donald Trump suggested could be investigated when he takes office in January.
Top White House officials are “deeply concerned” certain government officials, like January 6 committee members and public health officials like former NIAID Director Anthony Fauci, “could find themselves facing inquiries and even indictments” when Trump returns to power, according to Politico.
Column: The Biden White House is discussing preemptive pardons for current and former officials in Trump’s crosshairs, writes @jmart. https://t.co/3XqsNgCqCx
— POLITICO (@politico) December 4, 2024
The Biden officials are particularly worried about Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel as his FBI Director, who has publicly affirmed his commitment to investigating Deep State activities.
From Politico:
President Joe Biden’s senior aides are conducting a vigorous internal debate over whether to issue preemptive pardons to a range of current and former public officials who could be targeted with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, according to senior Democrats familiar with the discussions.
Biden’s aides are deeply concerned about a range of current and former officials who could find themselves facing inquiries and even indictments, a sense of alarm which has only accelerated since Trump last weekend announced the appointment of Kash Patel to lead the FBI. Patel has publicly vowed to pursue Trump’s critics.
The White House officials, however, are carefully weighing the extraordinary step of handing out blanket pardons to those who’ve committed no crimes, both because it could suggest impropriety, only fueling Trump’s criticisms, and because those offered preemptive pardons may reject them.
The outlet went on to single out Fauci, as well as January 6 Committee members Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Those who could face exposure include such members of Congress’ Jan. 6 Committee as Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and former GOP Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Trump has previously said Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!” Also mentioned by Biden’s aides for a pardon is Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who became a lightning rod for criticism from the right during the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, Schiff, now Senator-elect, warned Politico that a preemptive pardon by Biden would backfire and only fuel speculation that he and others broke the law in the first place.
“I would urge the president not to do that,” Schiff said. “I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) first called on Biden to issue preemptive pardons last week, claiming Trump is hellbent on “revenge” against those who persecuted him with the numerous lawfare cases and January 6 investigation.
“If it’s clear by January 19 that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year,” Markey said.
The outlet went on to admit that Biden’s recent blanket pardon of his son Hunter Biden spanning back 11 years underscores “how worried” the administration is about the Trump White House investigating and prosecuting its officials.
“That the conversations are taking place at all reflects the growing anxieties among high-level Democrats about just how far Trump’s reprisals could go once he reclaims power,” Politico reported.
“The remarkable, 11-year breadth of Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter illustrated how worried the White House is about Trump officials seizing any potential openings for prosecution.”
But why does Politico claim Schiff, Cheney and Fauci in particular are in Trump’s “crosshairs”?
The January 6 Committee withheld and even destroyed evidence to advance their false narrative that Trump orchestrated an “insurrection” against the federal government on January 6, 2021.
In response to these revelations, Trump earlier this year asserted Cheney “should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!”
Fauci has been revealed to have lied to Congress about the NIH and NIAID’s role in providing taxpayer funds to risky gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, implemented dubious and arbitrary COVID restrictions during the plandemic, and worked to cover up the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, Biden has the authority to issue this type of pardon, which would be similar to former President Gerald Ford’s pardon of outgoing former President Richard Nixon before he was formally charged over the Watergate scandal in 1974.
President-elect Trump in his announcement nominating Patel as his FBI Director pointed out he played a “pivotal role” in exposing the Russia collusion hoax and will work to “bring back Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity to the FBI.”
🚨 President Donald J. Trump announces Kash Patel as the next Director of the FBI pic.twitter.com/x2t42K3tdd
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) November 30, 2024
Alex Jones responds to the bombshell report:
BREAKING: Biden White House considering preemptive pardons for those in Trump’s crosshairs, including Adam Schiff, Liz Cheney & Anthony Fauci – Politico pic.twitter.com/uephrgU8eC
— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) December 4, 2024