By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-01-08 17:21:37 | Updated at 2025-01-14 11:50:38
5 days ago
President Joe Biden confirmed that he's yet to make a decision about issuing preemptive pardons to Trump enemies including former Rep. Liz Cheney and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The 82-year-old president sat down with USA Today's Susan Page who asked him where he stood on the issue.
Politico reported last month that White House aides were discussing the pardons though had yet to take their pitch to the president.
Among those mentioned in the story were Cheney - a top anti-Trump Republican - Fauci and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, who has since said he doesn't want to be pardoned.
'Well, no, I have not,' Biden answered when Page asked if he'd made a decision. 'Well, a little bit of it depends on who he puts in what positions,' the president also offered.
Trump has named former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to head the Justice Department after former Rep. Matt Gaetz pulled out of the confirmation process ahead of the release of a House Ethics Committee investigation on the Florida lawmaker.
The president-elect has chosen Kash Patel to lead the FBI.
Patel has said he would go after Trump critics.
President Joe Biden (right) told USA Today in a new interview that he's yet to make a decision on issuing preemptive pardons to Trump enemies including former Rep. Liz Cheney (left). He awarded Cheney the Presidential Citizens Medal during a ceremony on January 2
Biden said he implored Trump during their White House sit-down after the election not to go after his political enemies.
'I was very straightforward with Trump when he got elected. I invited him immediately to the White House,' Biden said. 'I spent two hours with him.'
Biden then claimed that Trump 'was very complimentary about some of the economic things I had done' and told the Democrat he had a 'good record' - the opposite of what the Republican told supporters on the campaign trail.
'I tried to make it clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores,' the president said.
Page asked Biden is Trump said what he would do.
'Well, he didn't,' the president answered. 'But he didn't say, "No, I'm going to ..." You know. He did't reinforce it. He just basically listened.'
Biden then detailed a scenario where he might go ahead with a preemptive pardon, but did so off-the-record, with that part of the interview transcript redacted.
He also said more traditional pardons were still being considered.
Politico reported last month that Biden's aides were discussing preemptive pardons for a number of people in President-elect Donald Trump's crosshairs, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led both the Trump and Biden COVID-19 response
'But there are other parties that we're following through on to determine that, rectifying some of the, correcting powder-cocaine difference, things like that,' Biden said.
The president has just 12 days left to make decisions on pardons.
He's been in Los Angeles since Monday with his official schedule scrapped due to the horrendous wildfires tearing through parts of the area.
Biden will return to Washington, D.C. later Wednesday to attend President Jimmy Carter's funeral on Thursday.
The president will then depart for Rome for his last official visit with Pope Francis.
