LEILA FADEL, HOST:
In an extraordinary move, President Biden has preemptively pardoned several high-profile political targets of incoming President Donald Trump's. That includes Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of the congressional committee that investigated January 6. The move comes just hours before Trump is to be sworn in. NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith is here with us now to discuss. Good morning, Tam.
TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So presidents often issue pardons in their final days in office, but not like this. Let's start with who is getting pardons from Biden.
KEITH: There are several familiar names. Dr. Anthony Fauci, he was in many ways the face of the COVID pandemic in the United States. He's an infectious disease specialist. He's retired now from the National Institutes of Health. You know, he was encouraging people to wear masks and social distance, but Trump allies accuse him of covering up the alleged real causes of COVID. Retired General Mark Milley was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the first Trump administration. But he was also critical of Trump after retiring, describing him as fascist to the core.
Then there are the congressional committee that investigated January 6. But it's not just members of that committee. Biden is also pardoning staff who assisted the committee in its work and law enforcement officers who testified about what happened on the day four years ago when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol. Biden said in a statement that all of them are public servants who, quote, "do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions."
FADEL: You know, Tam, earlier in the program, I asked Republican Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida in the House about these preemptive pardons. And he said, quote, "you're not allowed to destroy evidence in a congressional hearing." Is there any truth to the insinuation that the select committee destroyed evidence?
KEITH: No, and this has been repeated by Trump and his allies. The reality is that that evidence has been properly archived with the National Archives. Not all of it was released publicly because it was sensitive.
FADEL: Now, Trump takes office later today. Was there any indication that the people you mentioned would face prosecution?
KEITH: Well, certainly, over the past four years, Trump has said a lot of things. And his pick for FBI director, Kash Patel, has called for many of these people to be investigated and prosecuted. But that was all before Trump was sworn in again. You may remember that Trump said Hillary Clinton should be locked up in 2016.
FADEL: Right.
KEITH: And she still walks free. Pam Bondi, Trump's pick for attorney general, testified last week that there wouldn't be political prosecutions on her watch - that she would follow the law and the Constitution, and she would represent the American people and not the president. But Biden's message here is he is not willing to take the risk that these people would be targeted or investigated, because even investigations that lead nowhere can irreparably damage reputations and finances. He said that these are exceptional circumstances, and he couldn't in good conscience do nothing.
FADEL: But, you know, don't pardons typically require an admission of guilt?
KEITH: Yes, and at least a couple of members of the January 6 committee had previously said that they weren't interested in a pardon for that very reason. Biden insisted in his statement that the issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment of wrongdoing or an admission of guilt. You know, one thing we're also watching later today related to pardons is what the next president is going to do. Trump has, as recently as last night, said that he plans to pardon at least some of the people who've been convicted of crimes related to January 6. But we don't know whether that will include people convicted of violent offenses or attacking police. He's been hard to nail down on that.
FADEL: NPR's White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Thank you, Tam.
KEITH: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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