Corrupt to the end. Not to mention incompetent to the end, too.

In what can only be described as Joe Biden's Last Stunt, the outgoing president has issued what appear to be the final pardons of his one-and-done term. While declaring that no one should take the pardons as an admission of guilt, Biden issued full pardons to former NIAID head Anthony Fauci, General Mark Milley, and every member of the House Select Committee on January 6. That includes Liz Cheney, whose actions on the committee had drawn some significant scrutiny in terms of potential witness tampering:

Joe Biden Inaguration Day: "...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…

— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) January 20, 2025

President Biden issued pardons for officials who have clashed with President-elect Donald Trump, using his final hours in the White House to help people he fears could face retribution by the incoming administration.

The White House said the president had issued pardons for retired Gen. Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci and members and staff of the House committee that investigated the Jan 6., 2021, Capitol riot, as well as police officers who testified before the committee. ...

“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Biden said in a statement. “But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing.”

Punchbowl had reported on the potential pardons for the J6 committee members last week. Chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told Punchbowl that he'd discussed the matter with White House counsel in December. In a sense, Thompson seemed as confused about the matter as Biden apparently is today:

Thompson noted that members have some legal protection under the Speech or Debate Clause, a constitutional privilege that prevents lawmakers from executive-branch action over legitimate legislative activities.

Yet Thompson is concerned that Trump could use other means to strike back at Jan. 6 committee members beyond pressuring the Justice Department to prosecute them.

So ... what does a pardon do for that anyway? All a pardon does is prevent federal prosecutors from filing charges for any criminal allegations. It might prevent the DoJ from pursuing any civil litigation against the members personally as well, but what kind of lawsuits would Trump and Pam Bondi pursue? These pardons look like nothing more than a PR stunt, since the DoJ would never get an indictment to stand, not even against Cheney for the alleged witness tampering. Any 'crimes' committed would have happened under the official aegis of the House of Representatives, and that chamber would have sole jurisdiction in dealing with it. This is nothing but cheap virtue signaling. 

The pardons for Fauci and Milley are somewhat more meaningful, but that makes them even more corrupt. Milley could have faced an investigation for claiming to coordinate with a hostile foreign power (China) to undermine Trump's legitimate presidential authority -- at the very least for insubordination. And Fauci might have faced a myriad of charges, including perjury before Congress for repeatedly lying about the work he funded in China for gain-of-function research, the origins of the COVID-19 virus, and so on. 

This is nothing more than The Swamp Protecting Its Own. The American people deserve real accountability for the lies and deceit they endured, along with needless restrictions on their liberty, that Fauci largely authored. Biden refused to provide that accountability during his term, and now wants to continue the cover-up past his term. That's not only shameful but also utterly corrupt. It sends the signal that bureaucrats can use falsehoods to infringe on the liberty and commerce of its citizens with no consequences whatsoever.

And of course, these pardons have other consequences. Now that these recipients no longer have to fear prosecution for their testimony, they can no longer apply the Fifth Amendment to avoid that testimony, either. They can all be subpoenaed in larger investigations into issues such as the pandemic, the January 6 prosecutions, and so on -- and once subpoenaed, they have to testify and do so fully and honestly. The only legal risk that these recipients still have is potential perjury charges, as well as criminal contempt if they refuse to comply with a subpoena. That's also true of the J6 committee members if the House decides to subpoena them -- and this DoJ will be just as eager to enforce congressional contempt referrals as Biden's DoJ was to enforce them against Trump administration officials such as Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro. 

Trump and the new House may choose not to follow that path, of course. It would probably be advisable to avoid it and just move forward. But that potential certainly exists, and none of these recipients should breathe easier for now.