Biden Pardons Fauci, Milley, Jan. 6 Committee

President Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and members of the House committee that investigated the 2021 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours in the White House to guard against potential "revenge" by the incoming Trump administration, per the AP. Those on the panel included former Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both Republicans. The pardon extends to US Capitol and DC Metropolitan police officers who testified before the committee.

• "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."
• Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health for nearly 40 years and was Biden's chief medical advisor until his retirement in 2022. He helped coordinate the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and raised the ire of Trump when he refused to back Trump's unfounded claims. He has become a target of intense hatred and vitriol from people on the right, who blame him for mask mandates and other policies they believe infringed on their rights.
• Mark Milley, who is the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Trump a fascist and detailed Trump's conduct around the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
• The decision by Biden comes after Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

(More presidential pardon stories.)