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President Joe Biden is reportedly weighing the possibility of issuing preemptive pardons for several high-profile figures who could face legal action under the incoming Trump administration. The move, first reported by US media, signals Biden’s intention to shield key allies and officials from potential political retaliation as Washington braces for a shift in power.
Anthony Fauci, the public health expert who steered the nation’s Covid-19 strategy, and Liz Cheney, the Republican congresswoman turned Trump antagonist, are reportedly among the individuals President Joe Biden is considering for unprecedented preemptive pardons. This bold move underscores the potential for escalating political battles as power changes hands.
President-elect Trump’s rhetoric has made it clear that he intends to seek retribution against those he claims undermined him during the 2020 election, fueling fears of political persecution.
In response, President Joe Biden has been exploring with his team the option of exercising his constitutional power to issue preemptive pardons—potentially even to individuals who have yet to face any formal charges—before he exits office on January 20
According to multiple outlets, including Politico, the New York Times, CBS News, and the Washington Post, anonymous sources familiar with the matter have confirmed that Biden’s team has been deliberating over preemptive pardons.
This comes on the heels of a highly controversial decision by the president on Sunday, when he pardoned his son Hunter, who was facing imminent sentencing in connection with tax fraud and a gun purchase—a move that sparked widespread debate.
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Democratic Representative Adam Schiff of California, who served as lead manager during the first Senate impeachment of Trump, and retired general Mark Milley might also be in line for preemptive pardons to shield them from Trump.
Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first term, later told journalist Bob Woodward that Trump was “a total fascist” and “the most dangerous person to this country.”
Overseeing such prosecutions would be the man who the president-elect has nominated to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Kash Patel. Patel, who held a high position in the Pentagon during the first Trump term, has said that as FBI chief he would “come after” those “who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.”
“WHEN I WIN,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform in September, “those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.”
Granting pardons toward the end of a presidential term is not unusual in the U.S., where such actions have become part of the political landscape. On January 20, 2021, his last day in office, President Donald Trump issued pardons to 74 people, each facing various criminal charges, drawing both praise and criticism for the scope of his decisions.
A month after Richard Nixon stepped down amidst the Watergate scandal in 1974, President Gerald Ford took decisive action, granting Nixon a “full, free, and absolute pardon” for any criminal offenses he might have committed while in office. This pardon, announced in September, stirred intense debate over the concept of presidential clemency and its impact on justice.
President Biden’s contemplation of issuing preemptive pardons — a strategic move to protect certain individuals from potential future prosecutions that may never come to fruition — could set a historic precedent. If carried out, this would be the first time in U.S. history that such a broad, anticipatory use of presidential clemency is considered.
