The president had been reported to be considering issuing pardons to people who have not been charged with a crime.
President Joe Biden in a Jan. 5 interview confirmed that he is considering whether to issue preemptive pardons.
White House officials have said that Biden plans to issue additional pardons and commutations before his term ends.
Preemptive pardons would differ from many of those that Biden has already issued and those issued by other presidents in their final days in office. They would protect people from prosecution for charges that have not yet been brought.
Biden in late 2024 pardoned his son Hunter Biden, whom a jury had convicted of federal gun charges and who had pleaded guilty to intentionally failing to pay taxes.
The president granted his son protection against future charges as well.
“Some of your supporters have encouraged you to issue preemptive pardons to people like Liz Cheney and Anthony Fauci. … Will you do that?” USA Today’s Susan Page asked Biden during the interview.
The people who were suggested have drawn criticism from President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office again on Jan. 20.
Biden referenced a meeting with Trump at the White House in November 2024.
“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,” Biden said, recounting the conversation that they had.
Trump did not respond directly to that advice, according to the president.
“He didn’t. But he didn’t say, ‘No, I’m going to …’ You know. He didn’t reinforce it. He just basically listened,” Biden said.
“So you haven’t decided yet. You’re still assessing this issue?” Page asked.
“No, I haven’t,” Biden responded. “A little bit of it depends on who he puts in what positions.”
Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for the Trump transition team, told The Epoch Times that Biden is abusing his executive power to protect those who “led the unconstitutional and failed witch hunts against President Trump.”
Inquiries sent to the employers of Cheney and Fauci were not returned.
