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In one of his final acts as president of the United States, Joe Biden preemptively pardoned Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney and Mark Milley.
The move comes as President-elect Donald Trump vows to retaliate against a range of foes once he returns to the White House on Monday.
Trump has threatened Fauci, the president’s former chief medical adviser, with legal action over his role in overseeing the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has a long-standing feud with Trump, warning before last year’s election that Trump was “a fascist through and through.”
Cheney is a prominent Republican who opposed Trump in last year’s presidential election and served as vice chairman of the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol.
Biden said he was pardoning members of Congress and staff on the committee, as well as police officers who testified.
“It is shocking that public servants are subject to continued threats and intimidation for faithfully carrying out their duties,” Biden said in a statement.
This is a development story
