Biden issues pre-emptive pardons for Fauci, Milley, and 1/6 committee members

This is both very obviously the right thing to do, and a symptom of the extreme political degeneracy of this nation:

President Joe Biden on Monday issued pardons for Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members of Congress who served on the committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

The pardons, coming in the final hours of Biden’s president, amount to an extraordinary flex of presidential power. They serve to protect several outspoken critics of President-elect Donald Trump, including former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney, whom Trump has vowed retribution against.

“Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Biden wrote in a statement.

“Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties,” he went on.

Fauci served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Disease for decades, including during the outbreak of Covid in Trump’s first presidency. He has been subject to intense vitriol from the political right. Milley served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Trump’s first term and has warned Trump is a fascist.

Biden, in his statement, noted that the pardons did not denote guilt.

“The issuance of these pardons should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing, nor should acceptance be misconstrued as an admission of guilt for any offense. Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country,” he wrote.

Combined with Scott’s post below about how Trump just increased his “wealth” nine-fold by issuing an inherently worthless crypto-coin, whose only social function is to serve as a conduit for bribing him, I’ve reached levels of pure disgust that I didn’t think were possible. Commenter Alby:

Anyone who thinks Democratic messaging or Democratic policy positions are the reason they lost, I offer this quote from someone interviewed outside Trump’s rally yesterday.

Zacher said he voted for Trump mainly due to the economy, with inflation surging at points in the last four years. He also pointed to Trump’s charisma.

“His charisma, his energy,” he said. “To be honest if it wasn’t for Trump, I think politics is kind of in the back seat of a lot of people’s brains.”

Words of wisdom, Lloyd, words of wisdom.