Biden’s Pardons Of Fauci, Cheney, Won’t Cover Lying to Congress: Analysts
Journalist Matt Taibbi, during an interview on former Fox News star Tucker Carlson’s podcast earlier this week, remarked that former President Joe Biden’s decision to issue preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and others could ultimately have unintended consequences.
“The thing is, about these pardons, they’re a mistake. If you want to know what’s happening, they just made it a lot easier for us to find out,” Taibbi stated, addressing speculation that Biden had preemptively pardoned individuals potentially involved in criminal activities.
When Carlson pressed for clarification, Taibbi explained that, based on discussions with legal experts, the pardons might prevent the recipients from invoking the Fifth Amendment should they be summoned to testify before Congress.
“Now, once the pardon’s delivered, the person can’t plead the Fifth. If they are brought before a grand jury, they can’t take the Fifth anymore, or if they’re brought before a congressional committee, they can’t evoke their right against self-incrimination, so they have to say something,” Taibbi elaborated.
He continued, emphasizing insights from legal professionals: “And this is what’s so interesting because I’ve been talking to criminal defense attorneys, people who are former Senate investigators, some current Senate investigators, and they all kind of said the same thing. It’s so illogical to give somebody a pardon if you’re trying to cover up things that the only reason you would really do it is if there are very serious crimes involved, right?”
“That’s a red flag for us. When we see somebody getting a pardon, we think, well, why would they do that unless there’s something really bad there, right?” Taibbi continued. “So either it’s a mistake where they just stupidly made it easier for everybody to investigate, or there’s something we don’t know about [and] that is interesting.”
Taibbi isn’t the only one suggesting that Biden’s preemptive pardons for Fauci, Cheney, and Biden’s family members might not shield them from all legal scrutiny.
Federal litigation attorney Jesse Binnall recently pointed out that Biden’s pardons do not protect recipients from perjury charges if they lie under oath when subpoenaed by the GOP-controlled Congress. He suggested the pardons might actually be “great news” for those seeking legal accountability.
“The pardons are actually great news. No one who was just pardoned will be able to refuse to testify in a civil, criminal, or congressional proceeding based upon the 5th Amendment,” Binnall posted on X, before adding another pointed remark.
“And let’s just be realistic. Most of these disgusting individuals would probably have to be charged in Washington, DC, which doesn’t convict partisan leftists,” Binnall, a former attorney for President Donald Trump, added.
Others on X suggested a workaround for the potential judicial bias in DC, including retired U.S. Army officer, lawyer, and author Kurt Schlichter.
“This is key – the depositions and the actual testimony must take place outside of Washington DC. Washington DC is a biased venue that will not convict Democrats when they commit perjury. Accordingly, take this show on the road,” Schlichter advised.
Among others who received Sunday night pardons were former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Army Gen. Mark Milley, who had been openly critical of Trump during his administration, as well as all other members of the J6 committee.
Trump directly addressed Biden’s decision to pardon Cheney while signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday between inauguration events.
“I was going to talk about the things that Joe did today with the pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the unselect committee of political folks,” he told reporters, referring to the Jan. 6 panel.
“Why are we doing this? Why are we trying to help a guy like Milley? Why are we helping Liz Cheney?” Trump questioned. “I mean, Liz Cheney is a disaster. She’s a crying lunatic and crying, crying.”