Republican lawmakers are reacting furiously to President Biden’s 11th-hour decision to pardon several allies who President-elect Trump and his circle have threatened retribution against, made hours before ceding power to the new commander in chief.
‘Implication is that they needed the pardons,’ Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on X, formerly Twitter. ‘So, let’s call them all before Congress and demand the truth. If they refuse or lie – let’s test the constitutional ‘reach’ of these pardons with regard to their future actions.’
Biden announced early on Monday that he was issuing preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and members and staff of the now-defunct House select committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., now the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee after Republicans swept the Senate and White House in November, pledged to investigate Fauci in particular with his new leadership power. Fauci has already been the subject of multiple inquiries and public attacks by Paul, who accused him of mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic, along with other government officials. Fauci has consistently defended his actions, stating that they were solely guided by science.
‘If there was ever any doubt as to who bears responsibility for the COVID pandemic, Biden’s pardon of Fauci forever seals the deal. As Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, I will not rest until the entire truth of the coverup is exposed,’ Paul wrote on X. ‘Fauci’s pardon will only serve as an accelerant to pierce the veil of deception.’
Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., said in his own statement: ‘Joe Biden just issued preemptive pardons for Mark Milley, Anthony Fauci, and Members of Congress and staff of the sham J6 Committee. In its final hours, the most CORRUPT Administration in American history is covering up Democrats’ trail of criminal activity.’
‘Sneaking this through in the last hours of his presidency only makes them look more guilty. What’s he so desperate to hide? It’s been clear to any honest observer that there is plenty to investigate,’ said Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Western Caucus.
On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, praised the decision and accused Trump of abusing his power.
‘As someone who strongly advocated for these pardons, I applaud President Biden for making this bold and righteous decision. Trump has repeatedly abused power to serve his own interests and threatened to punish his political opponents,’ Boyle said in a statement. ‘These pardons are essential to protecting the public servants and law enforcement who defended our democracy and worked tirelessly to keep us safe.’
Trump has previously threatened retribution against his critics when he returned to the White House, though he’s also clarified at times that he believed his second term would be retribution enough.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., who leads a subcommittee investigating the Jan. 6 committee’s probe, called for the criminal prosecution of the former panel’s vice chair, ex-Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., in a 128-page report. Cheney said the report ‘intentionally disregards the truth and the Select Committee’s tremendous weight of evidence, and instead fabricates lies and defamatory allegations in an attempt to cover up what Donald Trump did.’
The incoming president has pardoned political allies like Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, though unlike Biden’s latest decision, both were charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) when those pardons were issued.
There is precedent for preemptive pardons, however. Former President Gerald Ford preemptively pardoned Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal.
Fauci said in a statement regarding the pardon, ‘Despite the accomplishments that my colleagues and I achieved over my long career of public service, I have been the subject of politically motivated threats of investigation and prosecution. There is absolutely no basis for these threats. Let me be perfectly clear: I have committed no crime and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me. The fact is, however, that the mere articulation of these baseless threats, and the potential that they will be acted upon, create immeasurable and intolerable distress for me and my family. For these reasons, I acknowledge and appreciate the action that President Biden has taken today on my behalf.’
Milley said he and his family were ‘deeply grateful’ for Biden’s decision.
‘After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our Nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights. I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety,’ Milley said. ‘It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our great country in uniform for over four decades, and I will continue to keep faith and loyalty to our nation and Constitution until my dying breath.’
Fox News Digital has reached out to the members of the Jan. 6 committee who are still serving in Congress for comment.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report