By Doina Chiacu, Jeff Mason, Nandita Bose and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Outgoing President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons on Monday for several of his immediate family members and people that incoming President Donald Trump has targeted for retaliation, including Republican former lawmaker Liz Cheney and Mark Milley, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The pardons, issued in Biden's last hours as president, cover the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters, as well as all lawmakers, including Cheney, who served on the congressional committee and police officers who testified before it. They also covered Anthony Fauci, who served as White House chief medical advisor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just before he handed over the office to Trump on Monday, Biden also pardoned five members of his family, saying he wanted to protect them from politically motivated investigations.
He also commuted the life sentence imposed on Native American activist Leonard Peltier, over the objections of his own law enforcement officials including his FBI director. Peltier will serve the remainder of his sentence in home confinement.
Trump, who was sworn in as president at noon, has repeatedly called for the prosecution of his perceived enemies since winning the White House in November.
Biden praised public servants as the "lifeblood of our democracy." Without mentioning Trump, he expressed alarm that some of them were subjected to threats and intimidation for doing their job.
"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," Biden said in a statement.
Biden's last pardons included his siblings — James Biden, Frank Biden and Valerie Biden Owens — as well as their spouses, John Owens and Sara Biden.
"My family has been subjected to unrelenting attacks and threats, motivated solely by a desire to hurt me — the worst kind of partisan politics," Biden said. "Unfortunately, I have no reason to believe these attacks will end."
Speaking at the Capitol after his swearing-in, Trump questioned Biden's pardons of Cheney and Milley, referring to "pardons of people that were very, very guilty of very bad crimes, like the unselect committee of political thugs."
"I think it was unfortunate that he did that," Trump said of Biden's last-minute pardons of his family members.
In December, Biden pardoned his son Hunter after repeatedly saying he would not. Hunter is a recovering drug addict who became a target of Republicans and pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.
Biden commuted the life sentence imposed Peltier, 80, who has been imprisoned for nearly five decades for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents. The move came over long-time FBI opposition.
Former FBI director Christopher Wray sent Biden a letter on Jan. 10 expressing his "vehement and steadfast opposition" to the commutation of Peltier's sentence. "Granting Peltier any relief from his conviction or sentence is wholly unjustified and would be an affront to the rule of law," Wray said.
The U.S. Constitution gives a president broad pardon powers for federal offenses. While pardons are typically given to people who have been prosecuted, they can cover conduct that has not resulted in legal proceedings.
Trump in December backed a call for the FBI to investigate Cheney over her role in leading Congress' probe of the Jan. 6 assault.
Cheney and Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson, the committee's vice chairs, expressed gratitude to Biden for recognizing the threats and harassment they and their families have endured.
"We have been pardoned today not for breaking the law but for upholding it," they said in a statement.
Fauci often clashed with Trump during the pandemic, and Trump's supporters have continued to attack the former senior health official.
Fauci told Reuters the White House had reached out about the issue a month ago and he had not sought the pardon. "I appreciate the president reaching out and trying to protect me from baseless accusations," Fauci said. "I've done nothing wrong and this is no admission of any guilt."
Milley, who was Trump's top military advisor between 2019 and early 2021, said in a statement he was "deeply grateful" for Biden's pardon.
'EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES'
Trump's rivalry with Milley ran deep.
In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack, Milley called Beijing to reassure China of U.S. stability. Trump, in a social media post, described the phone call as "an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH."
Some of Trump's supporters, seeing Milley as disloyal, demanded he be called back to active duty and tried for treason.
Milley took a veiled jab at Trump during his 2023 retirement speech, saying U.S. troops take an oath to the U.S. Constitution and not a "wannabe dictator."
Trump later in the day lashed out at him with a series of insults, calling Milley "slow moving and thinking" and a "moron."
Milley was quoted in the book "War" by Bob Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD), published last year, calling Trump "fascist to the core." Trump's allies have targeted him for perceived disloyalty to Trump.
Reuters reported in November that the Trump transition team was drawing up a list of military officers to be fired, citing perceived connections to Milley.
Pete Hegseth, Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon, repeatedly lashed out at Milley in his latest book, using profanities.
Biden praised both Milley and Fauci as longtime dedicated public servants who have defended democracy and saved lives. He said the select committee established to investigate the Jan. 6 attack had fulfilled its mission with integrity.
Without identifying the individuals, he pardoned all members of Congress who served on the panel, their staff and the U.S. Capitol and Washington, D.C., police officers who testified before the committee.
Biden said that those pardoned had done nothing wrong, but that simply being investigated or prosecuted could harm reputations and finances.
"I believe in the rule of law, and I am optimistic that the strength of our legal institutions will ultimately prevail over politics," he said. "But these are exceptional circumstances, and I cannot in good conscience do nothing."