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Joe Biden issued pre-emptive pardons to Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney, Mark Milley and members of his own family shortly before relinquishing the US presidency to Donald Trump, who has vowed retribution against political foes.
The outgoing president’s last-ditch move to protect high-profile figures and family members from possible future prosecution comes after Biden made sweeping use of his powers of clemency in the run-up to his departure from the White House.
Trump allies, including Steve Bannon, his former strategist, and congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, have called for Fauci, the former chief medical adviser to the president, to be prosecuted over his role in overseeing the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The incoming president himself has repromoted a social media picture of Fauci wearing an orange jumpsuit, along with other political opponents.
Milley, a former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, has a long history of animosity with Trump, warning in the run-up to last year’s election that he was a “fascist to the core”.
Milley on Monday said he and his family were “deeply grateful” for Biden’s action, adding: “After 43 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.”
Cheney, a prominent Republican, campaigned for Kamala Harris during last year’s presidential election and served as vice-chair of the congressional investigation into the January 6 2021 storming of the US Capitol.
Trump repromoted a post on his Truth Social site last year that accused Cheney of treason and said: “RETRUTH IF YOU WANT TELEVISED MILITARY TRIBUNALS”.
Biden said he was pardoning the members of Congress and staff who served on the committee as well as police officers who testified to it.
“Alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties,” he said.
Later in the morning, Biden also issued pre-emptive pardons to his sister Valerie Biden Owens and her husband John Owens, his brothers James Biden and Francis Biden, and James’s wife Sara Jones 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,” the outgoing president said moments before Trump was sworn in. “Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end.”
Last year, the outgoing president issued a pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, to spare him from possible prison sentences in connection with federal gun and tax convictions, as well as any other potential crimes he might be investigated for since 2014.
Trump is expected to launch his second term with pardons for some of the rioters convicted in connection with the assault on the Capitol as they attempted to halt the certification of Biden’s victory.
The incoming president has vowed to shake up US law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Justice and the FBI, raising concerns he will try to use them more proactively to target his political and personal opponents.
Trump frequently criticised what he characterised as the “weaponisation” of the justice department against himself in recent years. He faced federal indictments on charges related to his mishandling of classified documents and his role in trying to overturn the election results.