WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and his senior aides are discussing the idea of issuing preemptive pardons to people who President-elect Donald Trump has scorned in recent years as he hinted at plans for retaliation, two sources familiar with the discussions confirmed.
While the discussions included certain names, including newly elected Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Dr. Anthony Fauci and former Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the process has not yet progressed to the point where there is consensus on a factual list, sources say.
Some Democrats and “Never Trump” Republicans have supported the idea of preemptive pardons to protect people under a new Trump presidency.
Politico first reported that Biden was considering taking action.
Previous presidents have granted such pardons, including George HW Bush for former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger for his role in the Iran-Contra scandal; Gerald Ford for former President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal; Jimmy Carter for draft dodgers in the Vietnam War; and Abraham Lincoln for ex-Confederate soldiers.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump made threatening comments about people he believed had slighted or wronged him.
During a speech with Tucker Carlson just days before the election, Trump said of Cheney: “She is a radical war hawk. Let’s put her there with a gun while nine barrels shoot at her, okay. Let’s see what she thinks about it. You know when the guns are pointed at her face – you know, they’re all war hawks when they’re in a nice building in Washington.
Cheney, an outspoken Trump critic, served on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which challenged Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. came light. Schiff also served on that committee and was the lead prosecutor in the first impeachment trial.
Near the end of the 2024 campaign, Trump said that many Democrats, including Schiff, who will move from the House of Representatives to the Senate in January, were “the enemy within.” Even during Trump’s first term, he made threatening statements about Schiff, saying he should be arrested for “treason” and that he would pay a “price” for his role in the first impeachment of Trump.
As for Fauci, he and Trump did not get along during the president-elect’s first term in the White House, when Fauci tried to help lead the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic. During that time, Trump publicly attacked Fauci, calling him a “disaster.”
The Biden White House is working on the president’s use of clemency powers in criminal cases. Advocates including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and civil rights attorney Ben Crump are encouraging the president to take action on a number of cases they believe are worthy of clemency. Announcements on these decisions are expected in the coming weeks.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
