Biden in Final Hours Pardons Cheney, Fauci and Milley to Thwart Reprisals

President Biden moved just hours before leaving office on Monday to guard some of President-elect Donald J. Trump’s most high-profile adversaries against a promised campaign of “retribution” by issuing pre-emptive pardons to head off politically driven prosecutions.

Among those receiving the pardons were Gen. Mark A. Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the longtime government scientist; and 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.

“I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “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,” he added.

In issuing the pre-emptive pardons, Mr. Biden effectively turned the president’s constitutional power of forgiveness into a protective shield against what he maintains would be politically motivated vengeance. No other president has employed executive clemency in such a broad and overt way to thwart a successor he believes would abuse his power.

His action offered a dramatic testament to how radically power will shift in Washington at noon when Mr. Trump takes the oath to succeed Mr. Biden. In the morning, the outgoing president used his pardon authority to protect those who investigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. In the afternoon, the incoming president has said he will pardon many of those who mounted the attack.

Mr. Biden emphasized that he did not issue the pardons because any of the recipients actually committed crimes. “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,” he said.

Throughout his campaign last year, Mr. Trump threatened to prosecute Democrats, election workers, law enforcement officials, intelligence officials, reporters, former members of his own staff and Republicans who do not support him, often without identifying any specific criminal activity.

General Milley, Ms. Cheney and Dr. Fauci were among those singled out by name by Mr. Trump and his allies. Mr. Biden also extended pardons on Monday to the entire staff of the Jan. 6 investigating committee as well as to the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers who testified during the inquiry.