President Joe Biden is considering preemptive pardons for certain individuals that may find themselves on President-elect Donald Trump's enemies list, Biden told USA Today in an interview published Wednesday.
Speaking exclusively to the outlet in a rare one-on-one interview that was conducted Sunday, Biden said he hasn't come to a decision with only 12 days before Trump officially takes office. "A little bit of it depends on who he puts in what positions," he said.
Biden reignited the debate on preemptive pardons last month when the president extended a full pardon to his son Hunter which not only covered his multiple convictions related to weapons charges and tax evasion, but to any federal crime that may have been committed since 2014. Such pardons have only be granted on three previous occasions but Biden said he is considering them for some individuals.
"I think there are certain people like, if he [Trump] were to, I don't want to name their names," Biden said when asked whom Trump might go after. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and former Rep. Wyoming Liz Cheney have been floated as names Trump might prosecute based on their roles in the January 6 Committee. Cheney has been accused by Trump of withholding exculpatory evidence and communicating with witnesses during the Congressional hearings about the Jan 6 riots on Capitol Hill.
In a December interview with NBC News, Trump was asked about preemptive pardons and responded, "Cheney did something that's inexcusable, along with [Rep. Bennie] Thompson and the people on the un-select committee of political thugs and, you know, creeps. So, the unselect committee went through a year and a half of testimony. They deleted and destroyed all evidence of — that they found. You know why? Because Nancy Pelosi was guilty. Nancy Pelosi turned down 10,000 troops," adding later, "honestly, they should go to jail."
In addition to Pelosi and Cheney, rumors have circulated that Biden may grant pardons to former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci and former Senator-elect Adam Schiff for his role in peddling the now debunked "Russia collusion" narrative. Fauci has been accused of misleading the public as to the origins of the COVID-19 public as well as encouraging lockdowns and other measures that angered conservatives.
Biden told the outlet that during his two-hour meeting with the president-elect in the oval office he tried to temper any inclination Trump may have for retribution. "I tried to make it clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive to go back and try to settle scores," he said.