Biden pardons ex-medical advisor Fauci, ex-general Milley

NEW YORK -- US President Joe Biden on Monday pre-emptively pardoned Anthony Fauci, retired General Mark Milley and the Jan 6 congressional committee members and witnesses in an extraordinary use of powers of the presidency in his final hours to guard against potential "revenge" by the incoming Trump administration.

"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," Biden said in a statement.

"Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment to our country," he added.

Biden's decision "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 Jan 6, 2021," reported The Associated Press on the development.

Fauci was a former White House chief medical adviser who served during the COVID-19 pandemic. Milley was the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

In addition to Fauci and Milley, among those receiving the pardons are all the members of the bipartisan House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, including former Representative Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming.