WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden said he remained undecided on whether to issue pre-emptive pardons to protect some public figures who have been threatened with retaliation by his Republican successor Donald Trump.
In an interview released Wednesday, Biden told USA Today he was considering the pardons for people such as former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney and former top U.S. health official Dr. Anthony Fauci before he leaves the White House on Jan. 20.
Biden said he had urged Trump in a White House meeting last month not to carry out threats to investigate or prosecute people who criticized him or participated in his impeachment trials.
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“I tried to make clear that there was no need, and it was counterintuitive for his interest to go back and try to settle scores,” Biden was quoted as saying.
Asked how Trump responded, Biden said: “He didn’t say, ‘No, I’m going to …’ You know. He didn’t reinforce it. He just basically listened.”
The president, a Democrat, said his decision on the pardons would be based “a little bit” on Trump’s picks for top administration posts.
Trump has vowed retribution against his rivals. In December, he backed a call for the FBI to investigate Cheney, a fellow Republican, over her role in leading Congress’s probe of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.
Fauci often clashed with Trump during the coronavirus pandemic and his supporters have continued to attack the former senior health official.
Biden aides have been discussing pre-emptive pardons for Trump targets, Reuters reported last month. Besides Cheney and Fauci, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, who led the first impeachment effort against Trump and retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, were among those being considered for pre-emptive pardons.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
