Biden pardons Fauci and Milley just hours before Trump takes office

Outgoing US President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley, and members of the House of Representatives committee that investigated the January 6 attack on Congress.

Biden used his extraordinary power in his final hours as president to protect them from potential retaliation by the Trump administration, which will officially take office this afternoon.

Biden's decision comes after Trump warned of a crowded enemies list of people who had opposed him politically, or had attempted to hold him accountable for his efforts to undo his loss in the 2020 elections and his role in the attack that occurred on the US Congress on January 6, 2021.

Trump has chosen cabinet members who supported his claims for the 2020 election and who have vowed to punish those who tried to investigate Trump.

"These apologies should not be confused as an admission that any individual committed any wrongdoing, nor should their acceptance be interpreted as an admission of guilt for any criminal offense," Biden said in a statement.

"Our nation owes these public servants a great debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country," he said.

It is customary for a president to pardon convicts at the end of his term, but these acts of mercy are usually offered to ordinary Americans who have been convicted of a crime.

But Biden has used this power in the broadest way possible: to pardon those who have not yet been investigated. And with the granting of a pardon comes a tacit admission of guilt or wrongdoing, even though those pardoned have not been formally charged with any crime.

Fauci was director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US for nearly 40 years and Biden's top health adviser until his retirement in 2022.

He helped coordinate the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and incurred Trump's wrath when he refused to support his baseless claims.

Fauci has been the target of hate and vicious attacks from right-wingers who blame him for mandatory mask-wearing and other policies they believe have restricted their rights, even as tens of thousands of Americans are dying.

Mark Milley is the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and called Trump a fascist and detailed Trump's behavior during the deadly uprising of January 6, 2021.

Biden has also pardoned members and staff of the January 6 committee, including former representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both Republicans, as well as officers from the U.S. Capitol Police and the Washington Metropolitan Police who testified before the committee.

Biden has promised a smooth transition of power, inviting Trump to the White House and saying the nation will be fine, even as he warned during his farewell speech about a growing oligarchy.

He has spent years warning that a Trump return to the presidency would be a threat to democracy. His decision to break political norms with the preliminary pardons was motivated by those concerns.