Biden says his pardons are not an admission of guilt. His own DOJ said otherwise.
With just minutes left to his term on Monday, Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons to members of his family and disgraced officials past and present.
Lies and corruption
Former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, and all the members of the January 6th Committee, received presidential pardons.
Fauci was the lead architect of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which included devastating lockdowns, isolation, social distancing, forced masking, and forced experimental vaccination. Despite his repeated claims that they were based on sound science, none of these measures actually were. This caused a historic public distrust in the medical establishment.
Gen. Mark Milley (Ret.) tried to undermine Trump’s presidency as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. By his own admission, he secretly assured the Chinese Communist Party he would warn them before any US attack. On January 8th, 2021, he wrested control of the government from Trump by secretly ordering senior Pentagon officials to refuse presidential orders without his own approval.
The January 6th Committee weaponized congressional power to violate the civil rights of thousands of Americans who were present at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Committee members fabricated evidence and suppressed exculpatory footage from the protest to vilify President Trump and his supporters.
Biden: Accepting a pardon is not an admission of guilt
When Biden issued the pardons, he emphasized that accepting them is not an admission of guilt.
“The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country,” he wrote.
Biden’s DOJ: Accepting a pardon is an admission of guilt
Last month, however, Biden’s Department of Justice said otherwise. According to Politico, DOJ officials who were prosecuting a January 6th defendant told US District Judge Carl Nichols that accepting a presidential pardon is an admission of guilt.
“[A] pardon at some unspecified date in the future . . . would not unring the bell of conviction,” the federal prosecutors said. “In fact, quite the opposite. The defendant would first have to accept the pardon, which necessitates a confession of guilt.”
Fauci echoed Biden’s denial of guilt but did not say he would reject the pardon.
“I really truly appreciate the action President Biden has taken today on my behalf,” Fauci told ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl. “Let me be perfectly clear, Jon, I have committed no crime, you know that, and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me.”
Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), who served on the January 6th Committee, also has not rejected his pardon despite recently saying that accepting one is an admission of guilt.
“The second you take a pardon, it looks like you’re guilty of something,” Kinzinger said, maintaining that he committed no crime.
