Summary

In his final hours as president, Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons to Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and members of the Jan. 6 Committee, aiming to shield them from potential retaliation by the incoming Trump administration.

Trump has hinted at targeting those who opposed him or investigated his actions.

Biden stressed that the pardons do not imply wrongdoing but protect reputations and finances from politically motivated investigations.

This unprecedented move reflects concerns about threats to democracy under Trump’s return to power.

  • dhork@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Watch him try and do it anyway, challenging the pardons in court saying pe-emptive pardons shouldn’t count, only to backtrack when he realizes it means it will make the blanket pardon he wrote for himself invalid too.

    • cynar@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      He’s likely trying to throw down as many speed bumps as possible. Individually, they won’t do much. Each will act as a distraction, a slight delay. Against most people in his position, they would be useless. Trump isn’t most people however. He will bite and get distracted by the chew toy. It’s likely about all Biden can do to limit the damage a little.

  • HappySkullsplitter@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    What a world we live in where we have to preemptively issue presidential pardons to people who have not only not committed any crimes but have served the public’s interest for their entire lives

    • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      The current right wing wave we are experiencing in the world is decidedly and aggressively anti-intellectual and anti-establishment. Fauci represents both of these.

    • crossover@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Trump’s political game works by creating enemies. A virus is too abstract of an enemy, so instead he creates enemies of those adjacent. Fauci, China, WHO, governors of Democratic Party states etc.

    • btaf45@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I still don’t know what Fauci did to have so much anger for him for this long lol.

      Conservatives hate science and scientists. Think about how much anger conservatives had towards Galileo and Darwin.

  • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I’m sure idiots taking revenge on Fauci for, uh, following the science is going to really lower the costs of housing and groceries!

  • nialv7@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Had to give Trump credit for baiting Biden into doing this. He just had to issue some empty threats, and in return, Biden gave him and his supporters endless ammunition…

    Like, in today’s America courts’ decision hardly change people’s mind anymore (see: Trump), what’s the worst thing Trump can do? Put them in jail? If he did that to Fauci, we will see Fauci as a hero. Had Biden not pardon them, they might be prosecuted by the court, but now, they will definitely be prosecuted by the mob.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Not sure what good that will do. Trump patently doesn’t give an F about law, only about how he thinks he’s being perceived. So if he can find a way to prosecute anyone, even of it’s just in the court of public opinion, in such a way that he thinks it makes him stronger and wrecks their lives he will do it.

  • T00l_shed@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    It doesn’t matter, they will crucify Fauci if they want to, law and order aren’t a part of the US

    • btaf45@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      None of those people committed any crimes. None of them could have been convicted of any crimes and probably couldn’t have been charged with any crimes that wouldn’t have resulted in the lawyers getting disbarred for misconduct. But they likely all would have had to waste their money on their own lawyers. Biden spared them from the nonsense.