President Biden’s top aides are reportedly weighing the idea of issuing pre-emptive pardons to current and former government officials ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next month.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Dr. Anthony Fauci are among those being discussed as potentially needing a pardon before Trump takes office, according to Politico.
Fauci has been accused by Republicans and watchdog groups of lying to Congress about the origins of COVID-19 and his use of a private email account to do government business.
Cheney, an outspoken critic of the president-elect, was a leading figure in the House of Representative’s investigation into Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol Building.
Schiff, a congressman elected to the US Senate last month, has long peddled accusations about the Trump campaign’s alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 election cycle.
The pardon discussions have been spearheaded by White House counsel Ed Siskel and have involved other top West Wing officials, including chief of staff Jeff Zients, but Biden, 82, has not yet been involved in the deliberations, the outlet reported on Wednesday.
One of the concerns being weighed is whether doling out blanket pardons to people who haven’t been charged with a crime would suggest impropriety.
White House officials are also aware that those being offered pre-emptive pardons may reject them.
The discussions were sparked after the White House was lobbied by congressional Democrats, according to Politico, and stem from fears that Trump, 78, will launch criminal investigations into his political enemies that could result in indictments when he assumes office.
On the campaign trail, however, Trump downplayed having any interest in retribution.
“The country doesn’t want that,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity in June, referring to potential indictments against Biden after he leaves office.
Trump also noted in several public appearances that he opposed prosecuting his 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton during his term of office, despite his supporters clamoring for him to “lock her up.”
The president-elect, who regularly denounces what he calls the “weaponization” of the Justice Department under the Biden-Harris administration, even suggested on the campaign trail that he would be open to pardoning the president’s son, Hunter.
Hunter, 54, received a blanket pardon from his father on Sunday, absolving him of offenses committed between Jan. 1, 2014, and Dec. 1, 2024, including any crimes for which he has not been charged.
The pardon came after repeated declarations by the White House and the president that Hunter would not be receiving one.
The first son pleaded guilty in September to nine criminal counts related to $1.4 million in unpaid taxes and was found guilty of three federal gun charges in June after he was charged with possession of a firearm while addicted to illegal drugs.
The president claims he issued the pardon because Hunter was “treated differently” by his own Justice Department.
The White House did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
By Victor Nava
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