During his final hours in office, US President Joe Biden issued a number of pre-emptive pardons to prevent what he called “unjustified… politically motivated prosecutions”.

The pardons were for public officials including Anthony Fauci - who led the American response to Covid-19 - and people who investigated the riot at the US Capitol building in 2021.

Biden said this did not imply any “wrongdoing” by the group, but they faced the threat of baseless investigations as his rival Donald Trump returned to the US presidency.

Biden’s pardons cover all members of the House Select Committee investigating the riot - which includes Liz Cheney - as well as their staff members and the officers who testified.

Biden also issued a pre-emptive pardon to Mark Milley, a former chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, who last year described Trump as “fascist to the core”.

  • @[email protected]
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    912 days ago

    They really don’t understand how conservative media works. These are effectively indictments and admissions of guilt and conspiracy to any conservative pundit the last four fucking decades.

    • @BlameTheAntifa
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      12 days ago

      And nevertheless still necessary to help protect these individuals from violent, institutional political persecution.

      Until we start relentlessly clearing government and society of authoritarians, paper-thin protections like this are all we have, and we are ever likely to have again.

    • @Madison420
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      212 days ago

      They know conservative media, this was going to happen regardless of the pardon but at least now there is a massive precedential hurdle in the way of actual prosecution. Investigate away, it won’t come to anything because it can’t.