Biden’s Pardons Of Fauci, Cheney, Won’t Cover Lying to Congress: Analysts
Journalist Matt Taibbi, in a conversation with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson on his podcast earlier this week, expressed concerns that President Joe Biden’s reported preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and others might 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 remarked, referring to speculation that Biden issued these pardons to individuals potentially entangled in criminal activities.
When Carlson requested further clarification, Taibbi explained that legal experts he consulted indicated that such pardons would remove the recipients’ ability to invoke the Fifth Amendment if 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,” he elaborated.
Taibbi went on to highlight insights from his discussions with legal professionals and Senate investigators.
“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,” he noted. “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?”
He continued, “So 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 suggested. “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 is not alone in suggesting that Biden’s preemptive pardons for Fauci, Cheney, and some of his family members might not shield them from all legal repercussions.
Federal litigation attorney Jesse Binnall recently pointed out that these pardons do not protect recipients from perjury charges if they provide false testimony under oath before a GOP-controlled Congress. He argued that in reality, the pardons could be “great news” for those seeking 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 stated on X, before making another sharp observation.
“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,” added Binnall, who previously represented President Donald Trump.
Other X users weighed in on how to counter the issue of partisan legal bias in Washington, 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,” he wrote.
Among those reportedly granted pardons Sunday night were former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Army Gen. Mark Milley—who had criticized Trump during his administration—as well as all other members of the J6 committee.
Trump directly addressed Biden’s pardon of Cheney while signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Monday, between inauguration day 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 assembled reporters, referencing 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?” he asked. “I mean, Liz Cheney is a disaster. She’s a crying lunatic and crying, crying.”