President Joe Biden recently confirmed that he is still considering preemptive pardons for the political enemies of President-elect Donald Trump, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.)
In an interview with USA Today in the Oval Office over the weekend, Biden acknowledged that he had not yet made his final decision regarding whether to issue preemptive pardons before Trump takes office on January 20.
During the interview, which was released in print on Wednesday, Biden claimed that he attempted to convince Trump not to pursue political retribution against his enemies as part of his meeting with the president-elect at the White House following the 2024 election in November.
“I tried to make clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores,” Biden told USA Today. “He didn’t say, ‘No, I’m going to…’ You know. He didn’t reinforce it. He just basically listened.”
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Biden also claimed that his final decision regarding whether or not to issue preemptive pardons before the end of his administration would depend “a little bit” on the individuals chosen by Trump to serve in key positions under the incoming administration.
USA Today noted that the president-elect has nominated Kash Patel, the former chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, to serve as the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to serve as attorney general.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) previously encouraged Biden to issue preemptive pardons ahead of Trump’s inauguration.
“I think that without question, Trump is going to try to act in a dictatorial way, in a fascistic way, in a revengeful [way his] first year … towards individuals who he believes harmed him,” Markey told Boston Public Radio after Trump’s landslide election victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in November. “If it’s clear by January 19th that [revenge] is his intention, then I would recommend to President Biden that he provide those preemptive pardons to people, because that’s really what our country is going to need next year.”
USA Today reported that if Biden does decide to issue preemptive pardons, it will be a historic move as only three U.S. presidents have previously issued preemptive pardons.
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