The Biden administration is said to be considering issuing preemptive presidential pardons to the likes of former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and Dr Anthony Fauci in order to shield them from vindictive political prosecutions by Donald Trump’s incoming administration.
High-ranking aides to President Joe Biden are currently engaged in “a vigorous internal debate” over the prospect – according to Politico, citing senior Democrats – with the president-elect’s decision to nominate Kash Patel as his FBI director increasing the “sense of alarm” in recent days.
Patel has openly promised to pursue Trump’s critics, with Cheney and Fauci likely to be in the firing line.
Former GOP Rep. Cheney chaired the House committee that investigated the January 6 Capitol riot and campaigned with Kamala Harris during the election. Meanwhile, the retired physician led the federal response to the Covid-19 pandemic and became a hate figure among conspiracy-minded conservatives.
Another candidate said to be under consideration for a pardon is California Democrat Adam Schiff, a long-standing enemy of Trump who led the first impeachment investigation into the former president’s notorious quid pro quo approach to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2019.
The talks come after Biden pardoned his son Hunter Biden over the Thanksgiving weekend, drawing accusations of hypocrisy given that he had repeatedly vowed not to do so.
The White House officials now engaged in the discussions about issuing blanket pardons to Cheney, Fauci and Schiff are understood to be conscious that doing so would be “an extraordinary step” – given that none of them have been charged with a crime.
The decision might also appear to the American public like an admission of impropriety, playing into the anti-establishment critiques regularly offered by Trump and his supporters.
It is possible the recipients might choose to reject them on principle.
Schiff told the outlet: “I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”
According to Politico, the talks are still ongoing and are being led by White House Counsel Ed Siskel and Chief of Staff Jeff Zients.
Biden himself has not yet been drawn into the discussions, nor have any of the potential beneficiaries.
The possibility of issuing clemency in advance has reportedly received a mixed reception among Democrats on Capitol Hill.
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey and Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle are among those urging Biden to act if it becomes clear before Trump’s inauguration on January 20 that he is planning retribution against his political enemies, Politico reported.
“This is no hypothetical threat,” Boyle said in a statement.
“The time for cautious restraint is over. We must act with urgency to push back against these threats and prevent Trump from abusing his power.”
Presidents have commonly issued contentious pardons to allies before leaving the Oval Office, with Gerald Ford’s preemptive pardon of Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal one of the most famous.
