Biden’s Pardons Of Fauci, Cheney, Won’t Cover Lying to Congress: Analysts
During an interview on Tucker Carlson’s podcast earlier this week, journalist Matt Taibbi suggested that President Joe Biden’s preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), and others could potentially backfire under certain circumstances.
“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 may have granted preemptive pardons to individuals possibly linked to criminal activity.
Carlson then asked him to elaborate, prompting Taibbi to explain that, according to legal experts he has consulted, the pardons would prevent the recipients from invoking the Fifth Amendment if called 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 clarified.
He further elaborated on the issue: “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?”
“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?” he 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 is not alone in his assessment that these preemptive pardons for Fauci, Cheney, and members of Biden’s family might not shield them from future legal scrutiny.
Federal litigation attorney Jesse Binnall recently emphasized that Biden’s pardons do not protect these individuals from repercussions if they commit perjury while under oath should a GOP-led Congress compel them to testify. According to him, the pardons could be “great news” for those eager to see 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 wrote on X, before adding another striking point.
“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, who previously represented President Donald Trump, stated.
Other users on X proposed a possible workaround to the issue of political 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,” he wrote.
Among those who received pardons on Sunday night were former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Army Gen. Mark Milley, who had previously criticized Trump during his presidency, as well as all other members of the J6 committee.
Trump specifically addressed Biden’s decision to pardon Cheney while signing executive orders in the Oval Office last month.
“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, referencing the January 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.”