Outgoing President Joe Biden confirmed that he may issue preemptive pardons before he leaves the White House.
“Mr. President, your term is not over yet. You’re still doing things every day. Some of your supporters have encouraged you to issue preemptive pardons to people like Liz Cheney and Anthony Fauci, who Trump has threatened to target. Will you do that?” USA Today’s Susan Page asked Biden.
“Well, a little bit of it depends on who he puts in what positions,” Biden responded, going on to describe a discussion he had with incoming President Donald Trump.
“I was very straightforward with Trump when he got elected. I invited him immediately to the White House. I spent two hours with him,” Biden said. “He talked about, he was very complimentary about some of the economic things I had done. And he talked about −he thought I was leaving with a good record, kind of thing. I tried to make it clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores.”
Trump did not respond to the suggestion, but “basically listened,” Biden said.
“So you haven’t decided yet,” Page said. “You’re still assessing this issue?”
Biden stated he has not decided whether he will issue preemptive pardons, but said, “I think there are certain people like, if he were to, I don’t want to name their names. I’ll tell you off the record. But there are other parties that we’re following through on to determine that, rectifying some of the, correcting powder-cocaine difference, things like that.”
Senator Adam Schiff (D-CA), former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) head Dr. Anthony Fauci have been listed as possibilities for those who may receive a preemptive pardon.
