PREVENTATIVE MEASURES

Biden Has Drawn Up Pardon List Over Fears of Trump’s Revenge

The precautionary pardon considerations stem from Donald Trump’s FBI director pick, who has supported pursuing the president-elect’s foes, according to a new report.

Blanket precautionary pardons are being considered for some of Donald Trump’s biggest political foes, according to a new report.

Biden officials have been looking at who Trump and his FBI director pick Kash Patel may go after once they take over the White House, the latest sign of concern from the Democratic Party ahead of his impending inauguration.

Some of those who are being considered for the precautionary pardon include newly-elected Sen. Adam Schiff, a Democrat who served on Congress’s Jan 6. Committee; former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney; and Anthony Fauci, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, according to Politico.

“I would urge the president not to do that,” Schiff said to Politico, who reported that the potential nominees know nothing. “I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”

Both Cheney and Fauci did not respond to requests for comment from Politico, the report noted.

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In the past, Trump has said on multiple occasions that his adversaries should go to jail. “Schiff is a sleazebag and traitor, and should be prosecuted for the damage he has done to our Country,” a January 2023 Trump statement read.

Earlier this year, Trump reposted a photo of Fauci, along with other political adversaries like Biden, Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi, all wearing orange jumpsuits. The caption read: “HOW TO ACTUALLY ‘FIX THE SYSTEM.’”

In regard to Cheney, Trump wrote in March: “She should go to Jail along with the rest of the Unselect Committee!”

Politico wrote that multiple senior aides are in on the discussion, including chief of staff Jeff Zients. President Joe Biden has not been in the blanket pardon conversations as of yet, zeroing in on his son Hunter Biden’s pardon, people familiar with the situation told Politico.

Hunter’s pardon seemed to have stemmed from worries of what Trump’s second term could mean for the son of the president.

“The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election,” Biden wrote in his statement.

During his own presidency, Trump granted a number of pardons to people deemed close allies, including Charles Kushner, father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon.

Others jockeyed for inclusion on the select list, but were ultimately rebuffed.

Those included former Trump legal adviser John Eastman—the author of a controversial “coup memo” outlining the discredited legal theory that then-Vice President Mike Pence could use his powers to reject the 2020 election results.

In the days after Jan. 6, 2021, Eastman emailed former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and proclaimed, “I’ve decided that I should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works.”

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Amethyst MartinezBreaking News Intern

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