Issued by the outgoing US President Joe Biden He preemptively pardoned – today, Monday – people targeted by his Republican-elected successor Donald Trump With a vengeance, they include former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and former White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci.
The amnesty also includes all legislators who were members of the committee Congress Involved in investigating a building break-in Capitol On January 6, 2021, by Trump supporters and police officers who testified before the committee.
Immediately, Trump commented on Biden’s decision by saying: “The pardon issued by Biden is shameful, and many of its beneficiaries committed major crimes.”
Trump – who will return to the presidency later on Monday – has repeatedly called for the prosecution of those he describes as his enemies since he won a second term in the White House last November.
Biden praised public employees and described them as “the lifeblood of our democracy,” without mentioning Trump, expressing his concern that some of them were subjected to threats and intimidation for doing their work.
“These public servants serve our nation with honor and distinction, and they do not deserve to be the targets of unwarranted and politically motivated prosecutions,” Biden said in a statement.
In December, Trump supported the FBI’s call (F.B.I) to investigate Republican politician Liz Cheney regarding her role in leading the congressional investigation into the attack by his supporters on the US Capitol in 2021.
Disagreements and accusations
A dispute often occurred between Fauci and Trump during the “Covid 19” pandemic, and supporters of the president-elect continued to attack the former senior health official.
Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley was quoted in Bob Woodward’s book “The War” – which was published last month – as describing Trump as “a fascist to the core,” and Trump’s supporters targeted him, accusing him of disloyalty to the former president.
Reuters reported last November that Trump’s transition team was drawing up a list of military officers seen as being linked to Milley to be fired.
Commenting on Biden’s decision, Milley said that he was grateful to the outgoing US president for the pardon he issued, and therefore he would no longer be concerned about being exposed to “retaliation.”
For his part, Dr. Anthony Fauci expressed his appreciation for the pardon issued by Biden, and stressed that he did not commit any crimes and there is no basis for bringing him to trial.
“I truly appreciate the work that outgoing President Biden has done for me,” Fauci told ABC News, adding: “I have not committed any crime, and there is no potential basis for any claim or threat of a criminal investigation or prosecution.”
ظهرت في الأصل على www.aljazeera.net