US President Joe Biden has pardoned Dr Anthony Fauci, retired general Mark Milley and members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the Capitol, using the extraordinary powers of his office in his final hours to guard against potential “revenge” by the incoming Trump administration.
The decision by Mr Biden comes after Donald Trump warned of an enemies list filled with those who have crossed him politically or sought to hold him accountable for his attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss and his role in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 2021.
Mr Trump has selected Cabinet nominees who backed his election lies and who have pledged to punish those involved in efforts to investigate him.
Dr Fauci, who helped co-ordinate the nation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, raised the ire of Mr Trump when he refused to back his unfounded claims.
He has become a target of intense hatred and vitriol from people on the right, who blame him for mask mandates and other policies they believe infringed on their rights, even as tens of thousands of Americans were dying.
Mr Milley is the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and called Mr Trump a fascist and detailed Mr Trump’s conduct around the January 6 insurrection.