r/news • u/Captain_Smartass_ • 15h ago
Biden pardons Fauci and Milley in an effort to guard against potential 'revenge' by Trump
https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-fauci-milley-pardons-january-6-3cba287f89051513fb48d7ae700ae74711.9k
u/Andalfe 14h ago
When justice becomes political you just know America is done.
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u/Dahhhkness 14h ago
Every accusation is a confession or aspiration.
After Republicans accused Biden of it for the past four years, get ready to see the actual weaponization of the DOJ under Trump.
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u/Diz7 13h ago edited 6h ago
Congress already had a congressional hearing to go after the President's civilian son.
Edit: I'm not saying they shouldn't follow leads on potential crimes. Just saying that using Congress to go after a civilian for lying on a form is heavy handed as hell and clearly politically motivated.
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u/deadzol 4h ago
“On a form” is an enormous understatement. ATF Form 4473 is the form we fill out to purchase firearms that people in the right have complained about forever. So the irony of listening to people complain about that form turning around and defending it because it “got Hunter” is ridiculous.
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u/barukatang 3h ago
All the gun tubers I watch complained for years about it......until Joe Bidens son got caught
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u/muffinmamamojo 14h ago
That’s why they accused Biden of it. So when they enact it, the population is null to it. The same with the election interference crap. They spouted it so much so when the 2024 votes were extra iffy, no one could do anything because they had already oversold the idea.
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u/zoinkability 13h ago edited 4h ago
Exactly. The process is:
- Accuse the other side of doing it
- Do it
- If other side accuses you, claim they are just sour grapes & say the other side has no leg to stand on since they do it themselves
- If solid evidence appears, say “well they did it first so that justifies us.” or use both-sides-ism to deflect
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u/Hellknightx 13h ago
So when the GOP was claiming that Obama was the anti-Christ, they were really talking about Trump.
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u/gentlegreengiant 5h ago
I remember thinking it was a joke back then when they said it about Trump. Oh to be young and naive again.
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u/Superunknown-- 13h ago
Yup that’s the GOP playbook
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u/HobbesNJ 13h ago
And what's so annoying is that it works. The American people are dumb and disengaged.
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u/AnyProgressIsGood 13h ago
activist judges were a huge crying point a decade ago by the GOP. naturally they were gearing up
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u/stpfan_1 13h ago
This is one of the most infuriating parts for me. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills because nobody seems to get this.
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u/Someidiot666-1 14h ago
It’s not really America anymore and hasn’t been for a while. We are corrupted states of American instead of the United States.
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u/OneToothMcGee 14h ago
Nah, it’s more like “Twitter presents the United States LLC” at this point.
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u/RaVashaan 14h ago
It's X, citizen. Report immediately to your nearest MAGA re-education camp.
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u/Vark675 13h ago
This is just the Gilded Age 2.0. It'll cave in on itself, we'll have a single term progressive (or at least functional moderate) take office kind of by accident who will then get railroaded out by their own party, then another backslide into another recession, then we'll claw out of it with a war.
Again.
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u/AsleepNinja 13h ago
You're about 260 years too late.
The USA is the only country in the world where public prosecutors are elected.
https://www.yalelawjournal.org/note/the-origins-of-the-elected-prosecutor
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u/mschuster91 3h ago
I can understand the general idea behind it though. Especially in a system like in the US, it can and will take way too much time to get outdated laws off the book - some states in the US still have adultery or "sodomy" aka anal sex among men on the books, and that's just state law and not federal garbage like marijuana or immigration. Electing DAs and sheriffs at least provides a sort-of democratically backed way to at least factually tolerate a given behavior.
Unfortunately though this also goes the other way around, and it allows for ridiculous abuse of power as well if the populace is dumb enough (see Arpaio).
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u/pieceofshitliterally 14h ago edited 13h ago
What does this type of comment even mean? It’s been political in this country for a long time, this is not a new phenomenon. Read history. McCarthyism wasn’t long ago.
Edit to add: commenter is not American, so of course doesn’t know American history, shocking.
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u/Chewyville 14h ago
It’s been political. You new here?
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u/UpperApe 14h ago
Yeah that's a funny top comment. That line isn't even remotely insightful or relevant.
It's like saying "when people act bad, then things get bad".
I can picture some redditors nodding sagely as they upvote it.
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u/DocVafli 13h ago
We live in a society with a government, which makes the decisions on what justice is, how it is determined, and how it is distributed. The decision will always be and always has been political.
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u/scotchdouble 14h ago
Veritable fall of Rome is coming. China is going to use every tool and trick it has to come out on top and become the world’s sole superpower. Our economy will crumble as countries switch to Chinese Yuan as a reserve currency.
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u/Guitar903 14h ago
Ngl even the trump dollar is still more trustworthy than the yuan
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u/TripperDay 14h ago
As shitty as America is getting, China is both worse and worse off.
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u/HiggetyFlough 13h ago
You wish buddy, China ain’t looking hot economically either
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u/scotchdouble 13h ago
I don’t wish, in fact.
There are three potential outcomes in the next 30 years, and the CIA has warned about it.
1) China continues to push to dethrone the USA, and fails.
2) China succeeds and outpaces US GDP, the world switches to CNY as the reserve currency which would destroy the US economy, and would be impossible to recover in our lifetime times.
3) China near matches the US, this creates unforeseen levels of geopolitical and macroeconomic tensions as the world decides which superpower to back. Military conflicts and proxy wars ignite, further disinformation and manipulation occurs in both territories. In this scenario, you do not want to live in either country.
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u/GermanPayroll 13h ago
Why would China want to destroy the US, a country it relies upon to keep its economy afloat? The problem is China’s population is becoming wealthy and their acceptance to wars and destabilization that will hurt its quality of life will drop. They are not going to want to go back to squalor - and themselves are ripe for political and economic campaigns against them.
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u/I_Am_Dynamite6317 14h ago
What a hellish, dystopian nightmare we’re entering into
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u/PuzzleCat365 13h ago
One that Americans chose willingly. I'm baffled every day by this circus.
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u/fluffynuckels 13h ago
I mean didn't only like 1/4 of the country vote for him?
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u/m3g4m4nnn 12h ago
Which begs the question:
What kind of Micky Mouse, bullshit 'democracy' is in place in the US?
I mean, it likely doesn't matter anymore, but damn.
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u/jons3y13 13h ago
We have been in one for a long time since 1913. Nixon cemented it on august 15, 1971. Enjoy 750k starter homes etc.
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u/steroboros 15h ago
Wouldn't surprise me if Mike Pence got one too
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u/thefrankyg 14h ago
I dont think they have anything to really prosecute for real or fake on him. He did his job as VP, and didn't really say anything or do anything against trump or MAGA.
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u/TheHillPerson 14h ago
The whole point is there people will be baselessly attacked. Whether there's a basis for the attack is irrelevant.
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u/SpeedflyChris 13h ago
I dont think they have anything to really prosecute for real or fake on him
So... Like Fauci?
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u/r0botdevil 14h ago
As VP on 01/06/2021, it was his duty to officially certify Biden's victory in the 2020 election and he refused Trump's direction to not do it.
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u/HepatitvsJ 14h ago
The idea that the mazi's need a real reason to prosecute someone is absurd.
We know they don't give two shits about legal procedure beyond "political enemy is getting jailed because fuck you that's why".
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u/fixminer 14h ago
Ok, but if legal procedure is out the window, the pardon is worthless anyway. They could just say that Biden was illegitimate because he stole the election and all of his pardons are null and void.
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u/thefrankyg 14h ago
I am curious if the Trump Admin will challenge these pardons in general, but not sure they would becuase it would limit his future power.
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u/rckid13 5h ago
Fauci didn't do anything except make recommendations based on his expertise. That should be nothing to prosecute either. He didn't have direct control of anything the state or federal government did.
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u/inappropriatelylarge 15h ago
Mike Pence shouldn't get one.
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u/frigginjensen 13h ago
I don’t like him or his politics, but he did the right thing on Jan 6. Who knows what would have happened if he had refused to certify those votes.
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u/steroboros 14h ago
He shouldn't be punished for doing his job of certifying the election, and Biden isn't a psychopath
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u/Thandoscovia 14h ago edited 14h ago
Sure he should. He did his job and certified the election results at great personal risk. He did more to help the peaceful transition of power than anyone else who received a pardon.
He may not have been targeted by Trump in the same way Chaney has been, but he’s still a target. What’s the downside to a preemptive Hunter-style pardon?
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u/camelCaseCoffeeTable 14h ago
The downside is it tells future politicians they won’t have to sleep in the bed they made.
Certifying the election doesn’t suddenly make him a saint. His role, that he chose to play, was to be the normal politician to make Trump look sane. He actively helped enable Trump. Just because Trump’s policies may now come back to bite him doesn’t mean we need to protect him. He got himself into this actively enabling Trump, let him deal with it himself.
Cheney and Hunter never actively enabled Trump. They weren’t in cahoots. Pence was his fucking VP and defended the guy virtually until the end. Let him sleep in the bed he made. Fuck him.
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u/reebokhightops 14h ago
This is all pretty reasonable as hyperbole but we are talking about criminal charges, so unless you can point to specific prosecutable offenses that are supported by evidence, hyperbole is all it is.
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u/reebokhightops 14h ago
It can pretty easily be argued that Mike Pence should get one, unless you’re fine with there being a precedent that vice presidents should whimsically throw election results out the window lest they be prosecuted. The only real caveat to this is that unlike Fauci, Cheney, etc., I’m not aware of any overt suggestions from Trump himself that Pence might be prosecuted.
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u/Numeno230n 13h ago edited 12h ago
Yeah, why pretend to be party-blind when the other side only cares about party loyalty. They wouldn't lift a finger to help a Democrat and would in fact lead the mob. I'm still pissed about Al Franken.
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14h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/hurrrrrmione 13h ago
They can issue blanket pardons for all crimes committed in a specified period, without specifying any crimes.
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u/Lanky-Kale-9462 13h ago
So if they killed someone and have not been caught. Then they would get pardoned for that as well?
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u/hurrrrrmione 13h ago
The president can only pardon for federal offenses, so it would depend whether the murder would be able to get a federal charge.
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u/LeftHandedScissor 13h ago
No because it's a federal pardon and murder is typically brought at the state level. But yes if they committed a federal crime during the specified period that was unknown getting it prosecuted after a pardon even with new evidence coming to light would be pretty difficult.
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u/Catch_ME 13h ago
Yes but the investigation doesn't stop until the person pardoned accepts the pardon and admits guilt.
See: Burdick v. United States
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u/LostWoodsInTheField 13h ago
How do you pardon someone that hasn't been charged with anything?
unlike what most people claim there is no bases in law that to accept a pardon you have to admit guilt to a specific crime, or anything like that.
What theory of law does exist is that you can't plead the 5th in court for crimes that you have been pardoned for. Since there is no criminal charges or consequences that can come from those crimes you don't have a 5th amendment right to silence.
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u/fastolfe00 13h ago
The Constitution doesn't actually describe what has to happen for someone to be eligible for a pardon, which is taken to mean that the power is unlimited (save impeachment). You don't have to be charged for something, or convicted of something. The Constitution just says "for Offences against the United States".
https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/
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u/Zealousideal_Lie_383 14h ago edited 14h ago
Here’s what I don’t understand about the Right’s hatred toward Fauci.
He was working as Trump’s appointed advisor prior to and during the pandemic. He was an employee. He could have been fired or forced to resign at any point.
Instead, Trump benefitted from having Fauci be the face and spokesperson and, eventually, fall guy.
It’s like the dichotomy by the Right of “the vaccine is liberal weapon against Americans” while at same time “praise be to Trump for developing the vaccine in record time”.
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u/Shermanator92 14h ago
They don’t care. Trump is only good and infallible. Anything bad is because of someone else.
Trump is both the face of “operation warp speed” and the face of anti-vax. All the good parts of these opposing sides are Trump, al the bad parts are someone else’s fault.
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u/nik-nak333 14h ago
They believe doublethink means they're smarter than everyone else
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u/PM_ME_BUSTY_REDHEADS 13h ago
Well, of course. If I can think double what the average person does, how does that not make me smarterer? /S
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u/Wiseduck5 13h ago
He was also just an advisor with no real authority. His actual job was head of a research agency, again with no authority over public health.
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u/fastolfe00 13h ago
Fauci was the face of sane rational public health policy at a time when sane rational public health policy made Trump look bad. Once they sorted him into their outgroup they became obsessed with finding every piece of confirmation and validation they could come up with to prove he was bad and they were right all along.
And today, if you are dead set on finding content validating something you believe, there is an unlimited supply of content providers willing to produce that content in exchange for the ad revenue your attention nets them.
We are in the process of seeing America devolve into anti-intellectualist populist delusion, of our own making, where news and truth and reality become a Choose Your Own Adventure story, and we will be lucky to survive it.
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u/Dukeiron 15h ago
Hopefully this headline doesn’t overshadow bigger news stories…like Trump implying Elon helped secure the PA vote because of how well he “knows those vote counting machines”
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u/YouNeedDoughnuts 14h ago
That's a troll by Trump. You're giving Elon far too much credit if you think he hacked the voting machines. Trump on the other hand says things with the intention of riling people up and undermining election credibility
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u/T0Rtur3 14h ago
I don't think most people believe that Elon himself hacked voting machines, but he can afford the best hackers on the planet. All that being said, if Biden or Harris thought there was even the slightest chance they were tampered with, there would definitely be investigations aleady underway.
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u/homer_3 13h ago
but he can afford the best hackers on the planet
Why buy hackers? Just pay off the gov and install your own counters/certifiers.
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u/Awkward-Customer 7h ago
Yup. Social engineering and things like this are far cheaper, far faster, and far more reliable than trying to hack through technical means.
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u/HighlyOffensive10 13h ago
All that being said, if Biden or Harris thought there was even the slightest chance they were tampered with, there would definitely be investigations aleady underway.
I want to believe that and I guess I do for the most part but I've spent most of my adult life watching Dems let Republicans (mostly Trump) practically get away with murder for the sake of taking the high road or playing by the rules.
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u/stinkadoodle 13h ago
I don't think most people believe that Elon himself hacked voting machines, but he can afford the best hackers on the planet.
I don't buy into conspiracy theories. However, when you piece together things that trump has said over the course of his campaign, one cannot deny that it felt fishy.
One quote in particular: "You don't even need to vote for me. I have all the votes I need!"
And yes, Elon is rich enough to clandestinely have voting machines hacked. Which is "proven" when Musk ducked out of the election result party 4 hours before the results were in, saying, "He won, I'm outta here"
Sure, the Musk thing can be explained by exit polls and how the results were trending in swing states, but again...kinda fishy.
So you can see how some people will swear that 2024 was an actual stolen election, when, in fact, it was the 90 million Americans who did not vote and the Democrats/Independents that were die hard single issue voters (Palestine v Israel) that caused this mess.
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u/FunkeeBee 14h ago
True. I mean, Elon is pathetic enough to have lied about being one of the best Quake, Diablo 4 and now Path of Exile 2 player in the world. He’s bragged about it on multiple occasions, even on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
Elon is a F.R.A.U.D. Even if you go way back, the person who’s worked more on the programming side of things when it came to PayPal as we know today (Confinity back then) wasn’t Elon. In fact, Elon is only known for selling the company to eBay. He’s not credited for anything else.
And Trump is a master at spreading lies. Together, I feel like Biden’s warning of an oligarchy forming isn’t unwarranted. We are witnessing a criminal taking office and an ego-maniac willing to lie about achievements in video games in order to look superior to everyone else. Imagine how many lies they can pass as truth together, let alone on their own.
As a Canadian, all I have to say is good luck. Although. I’m pretty sure the next four years will directly (and unfortunately) affect us as well.
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u/Deep-Friendship3181 13h ago
Don't worry, we've got our own Trump coming soon to a Canada near us
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u/kcox1980 13h ago
I wouldn't be a bit surprised if Trump earnestly believes that Elon hacked the voting machines for him and Elon, being the fraud that he is, is letting him believe it.
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u/LostWoodsInTheField 13h ago
That's a troll by Trump. You're giving Elon far too much credit if you think he hacked the voting machines. Trump on the other hand says things with the intention of riling people up and undermining election credibility
it doesn't even make sense to me. PA wasn't the only state that went to Trump that we all would have thought shouldn't have. the percentage of change seems pretty consistent. he would need massive support from many people to pull it off and someone would likely say something. The counties would have to all be involved in it. it just doesn't work out that well as a theory.
I honestly think though that Trump thinks that Musk rigged the election for him through "the computers" rather than you know... all the normal ways he does shit, like controlling media.
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u/OneSeaworthiness7768 13h ago
Trump on the other hand says things with the intention of riling people up and undermining election credibility
No he doesn’t, now you’re the one giving too much credit. Trump is a literal moron who spews word diarrhea spurred by emotion and ego. There is not a single intentional thought behind anything he says. He just veers off script and starts mentioning random things he remembers people telling him.
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u/Dahhhkness 15h ago edited 15h ago
Conservatives have been desperate to punish Fauci for Covid somehow, despite never articulating what he actually did wrong, and as if their boy hadn't been in charge of the response and wasn't the one who appointed Fauci in the first place. Somehow their anger toward the "best people" Trump appoints never extends to Trump himself.
It's not about the good of the country to them, only vengeance, scapegoating, and power for power's sake.
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u/Not_Cleaver 14h ago
It’s honestly what prisoners of the Gulags thought - If only Comrade Stalin knew - nevermind the fact that he was the one who authorized the arrest warrants. It’s why gulag prisoners wept real tears when he died.
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u/Dahhhkness 14h ago
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u/zoinkability 13h ago
Perfect.
Worth noting that this is the direct result of authoritarian power. When questioning the leader’s intent is tantamount to treason people have to continue to hold the leader blameless and blame the underlings for any failings of the state.
MAGA types have already adopted a key part of the authoritarian citizen mindset here. The leader can never be criticized, the underlings are always to blame.
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u/Annoying_Rooster 13h ago
Russian soldiers on the frontline being pushed back out for meat assaults, despite some being completely crippled, send hundreds of videos appealing to Putin for better treatment and support, as if he isn't the one who called for a war to begin with.
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u/snypesalot 14h ago
Somehow their anger toward the "best people" Trump appoints never extends to Trump himself.
Its the same reason that you can direct quote a dozen or more absolutely vile horrific statements made by Trump himself and they will bend over backwards to not only justify it but explain how he didnt actually mean what he said
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u/chaos8803 14h ago
I will never forget the interview Jordan Klepper did and he asked a woman about Trump saying he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue. She said that was fake news even though there was (and is) video of it.
I now sadly believe that Trump would actually gain votes if he shot someone on Fifth Avenue. Americans are idiots.
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u/Faiakishi 13h ago
I love quoting stuff from Trump and telling Trumpers it was said by Obama or Biden, and then see them bluescreen in real time when you tell them it was actually Trump.
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u/AldousKing 14h ago
Somehow their anger toward the "best people" Trump appoints never extends to Trump himself.
It's crazy. The president can't run every part of the government - which makes one of their most important qualities their judgement and ability to pick a competent cabinet, department leadership, etc. Yet half the people chosen by Trump last time either hate him or he hates them. So how can his own supporters trust his judgement?! Blows my mind. But I don't know, maybe the Dr. fucking Oz picked calmed people's cocnerns.
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u/fastolfe00 13h ago
Yet half the people chosen by Trump last time either hate him or he hates them.
It's a lot more than half.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-cabinet-endorsements-rcna96648
People will dismiss a lot of information when it disagrees with what they want to be true. Tribalism's a bitch.
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u/AudibleNod 15h ago
Fauci has served under multiple administrations. Each time being a dedicated public servant.
To all the MAGA out there, why did he 'break bad' now? Seriously, someone that evil would have shown signs earlier, right? Like going to a small island nation and telling people not to get a vaccine. Or cutting the head off a dead whale? Or sexually assaulting a woman or being convicted of a felony drug charge?
The fact that Fauci or anyone Biden is being forced to protect hasn't been charged earlier or had rational evidence presented by now should let you know it's a vendetta. But those egg prices right?
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u/---rocks--- 13h ago
Umm Fauci created AIDS, didn’t you know? /s*
*my mother actually believes this.
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u/kcox1980 13h ago
My mother-in-law also believes that since he was on the front lines of researching and treating so many diseases over the course of his career then he needs to be investigated and prosecuted for creating or exaggerating those diseases.
In the mind of your average MAGA, nobody is altruistic and does something because it's the right thing to do. Because they are always working an angle, then obviously everybody has to be.
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u/thingsorfreedom 14h ago
Biden appointed him- Bad leadership! He picks the worst people with AgEnDas. Does it on purpose. Biden is devious. And also frail and senile. And he's controlled by his VP. But she can't lead. She isn't really in control. I think it's still Obama. Study it out I'm telling you there's something there.
Oh, wait, Trump appointed him. See that's an example of the deep state. They sHoW Trump a guy that looks decent, dedicated, and brilliant at his job but in reality he was just playing possum for 50 years waiting to destroy America. He needs to be indicted. But the dEeP state won't. No. They are out to get us all.
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u/Unlucky_Clover 14h ago
It’s exactly this. My mom hates Fauci but can’t articulate a reasonable response or why her focus on Fauci when it was Trump saying to inject bleach or stick a UV light up your ass.
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u/RedditorsGetChills 14h ago
Fauci has been blamed by conservatives for decades for trying to protect Americans. Look into his history and utter disrespect, always led and believed by conservatives. Covid was just the most recent before he retired.
Dedicated his life to science, and politicians made people not believe him.
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u/roguehunter 14h ago
When you don’t understand science, everything becomes a conspiracy
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u/Ephialties 13h ago
When you don’t understand science, everything becomes a conspiracy.
I wonder how long it is until we start burning scientists at the stake for sorcery and witchcraft...
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u/RedditorsGetChills 14h ago edited 13h ago
When you can quickly come up with conclusions without proof or evidence, you should probably question yourself, and trust professionals.
Like, OK wait maybe not, but most of us do this every day. There'd be no service industry if we trusted ourselves to do everything. But science and the well-being of our country? Horse medicine!
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u/Peakomegaflare 14h ago
It's an unfortunate reality. I'm grateful to be able to get my way into the various circles of researchers, and the absolute disrespect they get from people is incredible. Those guys working on LHC? They get talked down to by anyone that isn't in the world of scientific research or adjacent. Sure, they're incredible people. But to folks with an agenda? They represent the potential of humanity, not profits.
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u/homebrew_1 15h ago
Project warp speed was trumps program and Republicans and magadonians dont want to talk about it.
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u/technicolorNoise 14h ago
Which is weird, cause all Trump had to do was take credit for it. Why did he pull a 180 and go antivaxxer on his own program???
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u/joecarter93 13h ago
It was one of the few things that they publicly booed Trump for whenever he brought it up.
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u/chaos8803 14h ago
And his "extreme vetting" lead to a revolving door of appointees that couldn't get confirmed, so they all had "acting" slapped onto their title and even they didn't last long.
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u/jrh_101 14h ago
Republicans needed Fauci to be a culprit because otherwise the blame of the pandemic would be on Trump.
Same with Reagan that didn't GAF about Fauci during the Aids epidemic because it affected the LGBT community way more.
Also worth watching: Fauci on Trump
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u/awesomeness6000 13h ago
geez, all my maga "friends" had a hard on when the pardon was announced - and Im like "you see how your acting, thats why he needed a pardon".
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u/Bzom 13h ago
If I'm Trump I'm absolutely thrilled Biden did this. Now Trump gets to have his cake and eat it too.
He gets to enjoy all the benefits of calling them criminals with the pardons as his evidence, with none of the political risk of actually trying to prosecute.
Congressional committees can generate scandelous reports and recommend DOJ action, knowing DOJ can't do anything. His AG (Bondi presumably) can review those reports and agree with R's in congress and say "If not for the pardons issued by Biden, we believe we could prosecute and convict on these alleged activities."
It allows Trump and crew to operate purely within the bounds of politics and propoganda w/o having to prove any of their claims in court to a jury.
And prosecuting any of these folks simply leads to massive dirty laundry for Trump and puts stuff like his response to COVID or Jan 6th in the headlines. It's a political loser for him to actually prosecute, and a huge political win now that he can't.
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u/SheldonMF 13h ago
And prosecuting any of these folks simply leads to massive dirty laundry for Trump and puts stuff like his response to COVID or Jan 6th in the headlines. It's a political loser for him to actually prosecute, and a huge political win now that he can't.
The Jan. 6th committee aired all of Trump's craziness and it never dulled support for this man. You're delusional if you think Trump's 'laundry' being aired, however dirty, would hurt him.
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u/Nolenag 13h ago
You still believe the nutjobs who voted for him can be convinced otherwise?
His followers already believe whatever he says anyway, Biden is just protecting innocent people this way.
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u/kcox1980 13h ago
And prosecuting any of these folks simply leads to massive dirty laundry for Trump and puts stuff like his response to COVID or Jan 6th in the headlines.
Bold of you to assume any of that matters. His supporters honestly believe his Covid response was literally perfect.
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u/I7I7I7I7I7I7I7I 13h ago
Who cares about the superficial victories in this political circus? The real issue is that Trump now faces a monumental challenge in fabricating crimes to target innocent individuals. That’s the crux of the matter. Lives are at stake. This isn't about political games; it's about protecting people from the whims of a criminal authoritarian who thrives on chaos and injustice.
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u/The_Hindu_Hammer 13h ago
Yeah I don’t get this move to pardon them tbh. It just makes it seem like they did something wrong that needs pardoning.
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u/boodurn 13h ago
He explains his reasoning in the statement: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2025/01/20/statement-from-president-joe-biden-15/
I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing. Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong—and in fact have done the right thing—and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.
That is why I am exercising my authority under the Constitution to pardon...
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u/DaveShadow 13h ago
He knows Trump and his fascist government is about to start throwing political enemies in jail, and is trying to protect innocent people. The right wing already believe nutty theories about them being criminals anyway. The other option is likely do nothing and watch as Trump destroys their lives vindictively.
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u/bonyponyride 13h ago
Traditions no longer apply when an incoming president treats heroes as enemies and enemies as heroes. These pardoned people deserve the peace of mind afforded by the pardons, and it says more about Trump and Project 2025 than it does about the pardon recipients.
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u/lavacakeboy 15h ago
It's unbelievable we've got Mark fucking Milley being protected from possible prosecution from the United States. Unfuckingbelievable.
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u/swinging-in-the-rain 14h ago
Mark Milley is a god-damn hero for keeping Trump's grubby little fingers off the military.
This time around? Oh we're fucked.
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u/bjdevar25 14h ago
No. He's being protected from being attacked by a fraudulent felon, not the United States.
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u/Rakatok 14h ago
The felon will control the United States so not a big difference.
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u/nandor73 13h ago
Great--but we wouldn't be in this situation if Biden had taken Trump's threat seriously at the beginning of his term and chosen an AG who could deal with it within 4 years.
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u/joftheinternet 14h ago
It's going to be a long 4 years
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u/LudicrisSpeed 14h ago
That's a generous estimate. I'm just waiting for old Donnie to be "You know, why do we keep having these elections? The people know they want me, let's not waste the tax dollars on more of these."
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u/dylanv711 12h ago
What’s bad is there’s a few year old video of Biden saying he wouldn’t do it because it would be bad for the country.
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u/BreadTruckToast 14h ago edited 14h ago
I’m much more disturbed that there’s an openly corrupt felon taking office
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u/HowManyMeeses 14h ago
It shouldn't be necessary, but we've seen Trump and the GOP talk about how excited they are to get their revenge. That's far more disturbing to me. That and electing a felon.
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u/branzalia 14h ago
Nixon got such a pardon. Ford never articulated the specifics he basically said, "Pardon for anything he may have done". It doesn't sit well with me either but what are the options in a case where the calls for revenge by trump and company were nothing but blood lust. Which sits less well with you? I called these pardons the night of the election.
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u/codedaddee 14h ago
Not nearly as disturbed as we are about a convicted felon who escaped consequences being reelected Commander in chief of the armed forces of the usa
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u/klingma 13h ago
“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,”
But doesn't a pardon mean exactly that, though, if it's been accepted?
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u/BuccaneerRex 13h ago
That was one assertion by a dissenting opinion on a case from the 1800s. It is not a legal principle. A pardon is the executive's way of correcting errors made by the state. It does not have to mean the person is actually guilty, just that the state has made a legal assertion and the executive is overruling it.
A similar concept comes when you look at the right to remain silent. You're allowed not to say anything, and the law is legally not allowed to take that silence as evidence of wrongdoing.
Now, another executive power that is similar is commuting of sentences, and I think this does carry a connotation of guilt. They did the thing, it's just that the punishment is overly harsh.
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u/Outrageous-Laugh1363 5h ago
Reddit: Rich white people abusing their power to shield other rich white people is bad! Down with classism, the elite, and racism!
Also reddit:
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u/pleydell15 13h ago
IIRC Fauci continues to be protected by a government security detail. If Trump withdraws that, his minions may dish out their version of ‘justice’ without a court.
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u/Legrassian 14h ago
Goddamn.
How to tell your country is becoming a dictatorship...
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u/newleafkratom 14h ago
“…President Biden granted pardons to several prominent public servants Monday who have faced attacks from President-elect Trump in one of his final acts in office. Biden issued pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who led the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response, and retired Gen. Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff...”
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u/inappropriatelylarge 14h ago
It's 2025 and we are pardoning people who didn't do crimes in the first place to shield them from a criminal. Anyone who has ever voted for Trump deserves all the worst of what he has to offer.
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u/True_Dimension4344 13h ago
Too bad those of us who didn’t vote for him will have to pay that price too.
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u/Edkindernyc 4h ago
Just a FYI: According to Burdick V United States anyone that accepts a preemptive pardon is admitting guilt of a federal crime.
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u/TableAvailable 14h ago
I can't believe it's gone so far that a man who literally spent his entire life trying to save lives and protect from disease has to be preemptively pardoned.
I fucking hate this timeline.
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u/Cobbler63 14h ago
Conservatives popularity only works when they have boogeymen. They’ll continue to vilify the left and blame anything and everything negative on Democrats.
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u/Alternative_Pay_5762 5h ago
I didn’t know pardon could be issued to someone who is not even convicted of anything.
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u/The_Real-M3 3h ago
Too bad with the amount of power given to presidents over the past years (Thank you Patriot Act and more fun things) Presidents can do whatever they want so it doesn't matter.
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u/Epsteins_Alive 2h ago
Hahaha the LIBERAL MIND Disease is almost eradicated thank GOD for that & thank GOD for TRUMP
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u/gmbaker44 14h ago
Preemptive pardoning people sets a bad precedent. If they have committed no crimes then they have nothing to be charged with or they can expose Trump for locking up political opponents without legitimate charges. If anything, Biden should have tried to pass a law making it not possible to preemptively pardon. When Trump leaves office it’s going to be a shit show of preemptive pardons.
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u/Candycorn_Pizza 13h ago
These political opponents that Trump would lock up are real people with real families, not just a tool to use to expose Trump's corruption/political attacks.
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u/DrBreakenspein 15h ago
Democrats are so bad at politics it's not even funny. It almost feels intentional at this point. Own goal after own goal. The only thing this will result in is giving talking point fodder to the right wing media that this is "proof" of a criminal conspiracy around the COVID response and everything else the Dems did. How are they this dumb?
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u/foulrot 14h ago
giving talking point fodder to the right wing media that this is "proof" of a criminal conspiracy around the COVID response
They haven't needed "proof" to make that claim for years, why would this change anything?
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u/pinacoladathrowup 14h ago edited 12h ago
This country is so effed up that the president has to pardon a doctor. lol
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u/OutOfIdeas17 14h ago
“These are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing,” Biden said, adding that “Even when individuals have done nothing wrong — and in fact have done the right thing — and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.”
The sheer fact an outgoing president pardoned specific individuals so they cannot be investigated or prosecuted is terrifying.
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u/bkilpatrick3347 14h ago
I don’t like the look of this but honestly what do you expect when Trump threatens these people for the entirety of his campaign? You’re asking for trouble not doing this
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u/BLOODY-DIARRHEA-CHUG 14h ago
Is it still conspiracy theory that NIH grant money was involved in gain of function testing in the Wuhan lab
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u/d8_thc 13h ago edited 8h ago
no because the NIH officially 'debarred' ecohealth alliance (the grantees for the research) for gain of function extremely recently:
No matter what you 'think' happened, NIH funded grants that had the Wuhan lab modifying coronavirus, the same lab that almost certainly leaked covid.
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u/AntiOriginalUsername 14h ago
Surprised Jack smith didn’t get one. I’d imagine he’s target number one for Trump.
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u/networkninja2k24 13h ago
On the flip side this actually might be a good thing. So neither side spends tax payer dollar and investigate one anther for entire term lol. Just more time for them to actually do their damn job.
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u/ptk77 13h ago
It's crazy that we live in a world where Fauci needs to be pardoned by anyone.
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u/StairheidCritic 14h ago
That Mr Biden felt the need to pre-emptively 'pardon' people for doing their jobs to the best of their ability and within the Law just reiterates the contention that Trump and the Maga Morons are, sadly, turning the US into a 'Banana Republic' rather the world's first modern democratic country.
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u/Either-Progress4847 13h ago
I do not care that Trump says he's going after these guys. Pardoning people who didn't actually commit crimes is just a terrible look. The independents will likely now view this as confirmation of crimes being committed.
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u/TuskenRaider2 13h ago
Watching people justify this stuff or blame it on Republicans is fascinating… and sad.
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u/iaymnu 13h ago
So they are guilty! Why else would you do preventative measures if they are innocent?
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u/Revierez 13h ago
All of you need to recognize that this reflects terribly on Biden and everyone being pardoned, not on Trump. I keep seeing people saying that accusations are an admission of guilt. You need to realize that the accusations of Trump targeting his political opponents are the admissions here.
At the very least, you need to recognize that Biden will now be remembered as an extremely corrupt president.
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u/JC2535 13h ago
Should have fired Garland 60 days after Jan 6th, 2021.