In a round of last-minute pardons aimed at shielding allies from potential reprisals by President-elect Donald Trump, President Joe Biden granted clemency to a select group of individuals—but the move is not without complications for the recipients.
Former Wyoming Republican congresswoman and Jan. 6 Committee co-chair Liz Cheney and Dr. Anthony Fauci were among the limited list of pardon recipients, a gesture Biden’s aides say was intended to preempt acts of vengeance by Trump or his incoming administration.
However, legal experts were quick to point out that the pardons would not exempt either individual from having to testify under oath if subpoenaed.
Federal litigation attorney Jesse Binnall pointed out that Biden’s pardons do not shield Cheney Fauci from consequences if they lie under oath, should the GOP-controlled Congress subpoena them to testify. In his words, the pardons could be “great news” for anyone seeking to see the two prosecuted.
“The pardons are actually great news. No one who was just pardoned will be able to refuse to testify in a civil, criminal, or congressional proceeding based upon the 5th Amendment,” Binnall wrote on X, before dropping another truth bomb.
“And let’s just be realistic. Most of these disgusting individuals would probably have to be charged in Washington, DC, which doesn’t convict partisan leftists,” Binnall, also a former attorney for President Donald Trump, wrote.
Other X users offered a potential solution to the problem of liberal bias in DC, including retired U.S. Army officer, lawyer, and author Kurt Schlichter.
“This is key – the depositions and the actual testimony must take place outside of Washington DC. Washington DC is a biased venue that will not convict Democrats when they commit perjury. Accordingly, take this show on the road,” he wrote.
Others who received Sunday night pardons were former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Army Gen. Mark Milley, who later criticized Trump during his first term and all other members of the J6 committee.
Trump specifically addressed Biden’s pardon of Cheney while he was signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday in between inauguration day functions.
“I was going to talk about the things that Joe did today with the pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the unselect committee of political folks,” he told assembled reporters, referring to the Jan. 6 panel.
“Why are we doing this? Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley? Why are we helping Liz Cheney?” he asked. “I mean, Liz Cheney is a disaster. She’s a crying lunatic and crying, crying.”
Former Arizona state legislature candidate Josh Barnett (R) explained in a lengthy post on X that blanket presidential pardons don’t automatically cover every potential wrongdoing.
“A pardon typically grants forgiveness for a specific offense or set of offenses committed before the pardon was issued. However, if someone is found guilty of treason after receiving a pardon for previous crimes, the pardon does not extend to this new offense,” he said, perhaps a reference to Milley, who reportedly contacted his Chinese counterpart in the waning days of Trump’s first term and said he would “warn” him of any pending U.S. attack.
“A pardon only covers the crimes explicitly mentioned or implicitly understood to be covered by the pardon at the time it was granted. If the treason was committed or discovered after the pardon, it would not be protected by that pardon,” he added.
