Yes, this really just happened.
"In an extraordinary use of presidential power."
Goodness, the Associated Press doesn't even try to be objective these days.
President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential 'revenge' by the incoming Trump administration.
(Translation: Joe Biden doesn't want Trump doing what Joe Biden's people did to Trump.)
'The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense,' Biden said in a statement. 'Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.'
You can read a full statement by Biden's social media interns here.
These pardons are unique in and of themselves, since pardons are generally reserved for general Americans convicted of crimes, not to shield political allies from investigation.
The framing (blaming Trump), which the hacks at the Associated Press are more than willing to run with, also ignores what these individuals have done.
Fauci oversaw U.S. tax funding of a virology lab in Wuhan, China, that was making animal viruses more contagious to humans in clear violation of U.S. law. When one of those viruses got loose, it killed MILLIONS of people and plunged the world into chaos for years. Fauci covered up his involvement and positioned himself as "the science," using his authority as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and medical advisor to the president to control national policy that violated Americans' liberty and rights. He then made the rounds on media to justify that tyranny with bad science and lies. Here's just a sample if anyone needs a reminder:
Gen. Mark Milley was the most senior officer in the U.S. military as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, serving as the principle tactical advisor to the president and secretary of defense. The debacle of the Afghanistan withdrawal falls squarely on his shoulders as much as Biden's. While such incompetence would get you fired a thousand times over in the private sector, not a single person has been held responsible for handing over tens of billions of dollars in military equipment to the Taliban, in addition to the loss of American lives in the withdrawal and the failure of a multi-trillion-dollar war to free Afghanistan that killed thousands of American sons and daughters over two decades. As the cherry on top, Milley also went viral for telling Congress that he wants to understand "white rage."
The House J6 Committee spent years using the disgraceful events of January 6, 2021 to frame Trump and his voters (over half the nation) as violent extremists. This narrative was amplified by the media, which compared their countrymen to Nazis and terrorists. The committee erased over 100 encrypted files before Republicans took the House majority in 2022. It also reportedly edited footage to make Trump voters at the Capitol seem angrier and more violent. In 2024, a House investigation found that Liz Cheney, the former vice chair of the J6 Select Committee, should be investigated for tampering with a witness.
Biden is also extending pardons to members and staff of the Jan. 6 committee, including former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both Republicans, as well as the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the committee.
Using Trump's "revenge" as an excuse to prevent investigations, and therefore accountability, on behalf of the American people is a sight to behold.
What a way for Joe Biden to go out.
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