Joe Biden Pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci and Others Ahead of His White House Exit

Ahead of President-elect Donald Trump being sworn in on Jan. 20, 2025, Joe Biden pardoned those who investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, including Dr. Anthony Fauci. But what was Fauci pardoned for exactly? He isn't one of the House committee members who were named as individuals who were also pardoned, but Fauci was believed to be one of Trump's so-called enemies he sought to take action against in his second term as president.

During his campaign at the end of 2024 for president, Trump mentioned "enemies within" and that sparked conversation from both Democrats and Republicans about who these supposed enemies are. Apparently, Fauci is believed to be among them, and Biden's preemptive pardon was done in an attempt to keep the COVID response chief out of the political clutches of Trump before he officially took office. But what could Trump have done to go against Fauci, had he not been pardoned?

Fauci was one of the many who publicly spoke out against Trump following the Capitol riots and who Trump saw as someone in direct opposition to him. If Trump were to take legal action against those who opposed him following his loss of the 2020 election to Biden, then Fauci was expected to be among those individuals. Biden's pardon protects Fauci from potential prosecution.

"There is absolutely no basis for these threats," Fauci said in a statement about Trump's public threats against those who opposed him, per The New York Times. "Let me be perfectly clear: I have committed no crime and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me. The fact is, however, that the mere articulation of these baseless threats, and the potential that they will be acted upon, create immeasurable and intolerable distress for me and my family."

It's unclear what, if any, other action Trump plans to take against Fauci or the committee that investigated Trump's potential involvement in the Capitol riots. However, Biden's efforts to protect Fauci and others in their pardons was his last ditch effort as outgoing president to ensure that they aren't prosecuted.