President Biden announced early Monday before leaving office that he would be preemptively pardoning several people who could be targeted with President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, General Mark A. Milley and members of the House Jan. 6 committee and their staff.
“These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.
The president noted that the 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.” He added that the nation instead “owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country.”
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.