Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra warns against using the pardon process to follow the whims of the White House, saying it “sinks my heart” to think about. He believes the power to pardon should be respected and not used to please whoever is in office. When asked directly if he meant that President Biden should not pardon Dr. Anthony Fauci, Becerra declined to clarify, saying he would not try to interpret the question.
Fauci, the former chief medical advisor to the president and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was targeted by President Trump and some of his supporters, who accused him of working to evade public records laws and lying to Congress about the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump’s nominees for director of the FBI and attorney general have expressed support for using the Justice Department to go after those they believe unfairly targeted him.
Becerra’s comments come after President Biden said in an interview that he was considering preemptive pardons for people like Fauci, who was a key figure in the Biden administration’s pandemic response. Democrats are split on the issue, with some calling for Biden to use his clemency power to protect public officials from political targeting, while others argue it would be a precedent-setting move.
Legal experts note that Biden has the authority to issue preemptive pardons, citing a precedent set by former President Gerald Ford, who granted a blanket pardon to Richard Nixon for any crimes committed while in office. However, the HHS did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.