Thank You Biden for Pardoning Fauci, Milley, and the Jan 6 Committee
Now we need more public servants to step up and protect our sacred democracy
My Fellow Democracy Defenders,
President Joe Biden has protected our best public servants from Trump’s fascism.
As I predicted and urged weeks ago, he has pardoned Dr. Fauci, General Milley, and the January 6 Committee including the brave
.The only thing they are guilty of is serving our country and constitution.
My partner and I have both been ordered to return to the office by the MAGAts, which will put our immunocompromised child at risk. We are fearful of what each new day brings. Will we even have jobs by the end of the week? Will the released Jan 6 insurrectionists start attacking us in the streets? I will keep you updated.
In the meantime, your support would be greatly appreciated.
Reading Biden’s statement about the pardons gives me hope:
Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy. Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties.
In certain cases, some have even been threatened with criminal prosecutions, including General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, and the members and staff of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions.
General Milley served our nation for more than 40 years, serving in multiple command and leadership posts and deploying to some of the most dangerous parts of the world to protect and defend democracy. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he guided our Armed Forces through complex global security threats and strengthened our existing alliances while forging new ones.
For more than half a century, Dr. Fauci served our country. He saved countless lives by managing the government’s response to pressing health crises, including HIV/AIDS, as well as the Ebola and Zika viruses. During his tenure as my Chief Medical Advisor, he helped the country tackle a once-in-a-century pandemic. The United States is safer and healthier because of him.
On January 6, 2021, American democracy was tested when a mob of insurrectionists attacked the Capitol in an attempt to overturn a fair and free election by force and violence. In light of the significance of that day, Congress established the bipartisan Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol to investigate and report upon the facts, circumstances, and causes of the insurrection. The Select Committee fulfilled this mission with integrity and a commitment to discovering the truth. Rather than accept accountability, those who perpetrated the January 6th attack have taken every opportunity to undermine and intimidate those who participated in the Select Committee in an attempt to rewrite history, erase the stain of January 6th for partisan gain, and seek revenge, including by threatening criminal prosecutions.
I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics. But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing. Baseless and politically motivated investigations wreak havoc on the lives, safety, and financial security of targeted individuals and their families. Even when individuals have done nothing wrong—and in fact have done the right thing—and will ultimately be exonerated, the mere fact of being investigated or prosecuted can irreparably damage reputations and finances.
That is why I am exercising my authority under the Constitution to pardon General Mark A. Milley, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the Members of Congress and staff who served on the Select Committee, and the U.S. Capitol and D.C. Metropolitan police officers who testified before the Select Committee. 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.
My piece from December 7:
And thank you for giving clemency to Leonard Peltier who after 50 years in prison for a crime he did not commit will be finally be released from prison
How very nice that President Biden did (part of) the right thing at the last minute. (He should have pardoned the other 60 or so people on $kash's Enemy List.) But to read the Editor's Response to Biden's pardons gave me a chill all the way into my bones. Here it is. (Caps mine.) If this doesn't leave you shaking in your boots, I don't know what will.
EDITORS PAGE, Washington Post, January 21, 2025
Biden issued preemptive pardons to retired Gen. Mark A. Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, his former chief medical adviser; and members of the House select committee that investigated Jan. 6 as well as the police officers who testified at their hearings. “I believe in the rule of law,” Biden wrote. “But these are exceptional circumstances.”
THIS IS NOT THE WAY THE RULE OF LAW WORKS. IT IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE POSSIBLE TO DREAM UP “EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES” TO JUSTIFY GIVING ASSOCIATES GET-OUT-OF-JAIL-FREE CARDS. IT IS TRUE THAT TRUMP HAS PLEDGED VENGEANCE AND RETRIBUTION AGAINST HIS PERCEIVED ENEMIES WHICH HAVE INCLUDED MILLEY, FAUCI, THE HOUSE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, AND WHAT HE CALLS, WITHOUT EVIDENCE, BIDEN’S “CRIME FAMILY”. IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT PROSECUTORS CAN HARRASS PEOPLE WITHOUT BRINGING CHARGES, FORCING THEM TO INCUR SIGNIFICANT LEGAL COSTS. BUT THE CONSTITUTION GIVES EVERY DEFENDANT THE RIGHT TO A SPEEDY TRIAL BEFORE A JURY OF OF PEERS, THE OPPORTUNITY TO AVOID SELF-INCRIMINATION, AND THE RIGHT TO APPEAL. TRUMP HAS AVAILED HIMSELF OF THESE RIGHTS, AND SO CAN ANYONE HE PURSUES.