President Biden's White House is reportedly considering preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). .
White House Counsel Ed Siskel is coordinating talks about a possible pardon with several other senior Biden aides, including Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, according to Politico, a Democratic official familiar with the discussions. This was reported as a story by
Earlier this week, the president granted a sweeping pardon to his son Hunter for crimes or potential crimes from the past 11 years, but was reportedly not involved in the deliberations, according to Politico.
The conversation also includes whether Fauci, Schiff and Cheney would accept pre-emptive pardons, which could suggest wrongdoing and further exacerbate criticism by President-elect Trump's team.
“I urge the president not to do that,” Schiff told Politico. “I think that would come across as defensive and unnecessary.”
After Biden spares Hunter his sentence, who else will pardon him?
Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic at the Rayburn House Office Building on June 3, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, but there was no immediate response.
President Trump's appointment of Kash Patel as the next FBI director has reportedly facilitated talks on a preemptive pardon amid concerns about the possibility of future investigations and prosecutions once the new administration takes office in January. are.
Pennsylvania Representative Brendan Boyle, who hosted Mr. Biden in the battleground state of Pennsylvania before the election, called on the president to grant a blanket pardon when Mr. Patel's nomination was announced, but did not specify who would be eligible. Ta.
“By choosing Kash Patel to head the FBI, Trump has made it clear that he is more focused on solving personal crimes than on protecting the American people and upholding the rule of law. Patel openly published his “enemies list'' in his book. He will name those he and Mr. Trump plan to investigate and prosecute, and target those who resisted Mr. Trump's lies, abuses of power, and baseless attempts to overturn the 2020 election. is not a hypothetical threat,” Boyle said in a statement. “The people they're targeting include law enforcement officers, military personnel, and people who have spent their lives protecting this country. These patriots are facing political pressure for doing the right thing. We don't have to live in fear of retribution. That's why I'm calling on you.''President Biden should issue a full pardon to those unfairly targeted by this vindictive plan. ”
Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), vice chair of the special committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, at the Canon House of Representatives Office Building on Capitol Hill on Dec. 19, 2022. Attend the last public meeting held. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
NY Times warns Hunter Biden pardon could give Trump ammunition in January 6 pardons would 'taint' Biden's record
Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts also spoke out in favor of preemptive pardons last week, citing former President Gerald Ford's preemptive pardon of Richard Nixon.
“If it is clear by January 19th, [revenge] If that's the president's intention, I would encourage President Biden to grant preemptive pardons to people, because that's what our country really needs next year,” Markey told WGBH.
Mr. Schiff and Mr. Cheney both led the Jan. 6 task force investigating the U.S. Capitol riot.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) speaks during the final meeting of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol at the Canon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Dec. 19, 2022. state). (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), faced new scrutiny this week in light of the more than 500-page final report submitted by a House subcommittee that has been investigating the government's response to the coronavirus. are receiving. Pandemic. The report reveals that the novel coronavirus most likely originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China, and that Fauci was among the top scientific community in early 2020 to declare the lab leak. played an important role in undermining the theory,” which was then addressed to the general public. The report says his Congressional testimony to Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, misled the public about National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for the Coronavirus Research Institute's gain-of-function research.
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He went on to criticize what research Fauci and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are doing, saying that the 6-foot social distancing rule imposed on Americans is “in some ways just emerging.” It cites a history of testimony that says it does not uphold high-quality scientific standards. (CDC) was conducting a review before announcing the policy. He also gave similarly vague testimony when asked if science supports requiring masks to be worn in K-12 public schools.
