Earlier on Monday, now former President Joe Biden issued preemptive pardons for Mark Milley, Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members of the January 6 Select Committee. There had been rumors that such pardons were at least being considered, though one of those J6 members, now-Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), has something of a curious reaction.
During President Donald Trump's first term, Schiff spoke out considerably about pardons, including after the 2020 election, not long before Trump was on his way out.
Notice Adam Schiff’s silence now that he is the lying crony receiving the pardon in the scenario and the person doing the pardoning is Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/Z91tulef9G
— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) January 20, 2025
If the President issues a pardon in a case in which he or his family are implicated, the American people need to know whether it is part of an attempt to obstruct justice. This bill would make that possible and serve as a powerful deterrent. pic.twitter.com/kvIeORqvC3
— Adam Schiff (@AdamSchiff) April 19, 2018
Donald Trump has repeatedly abused the pardon power to reward friends and protect those who covered up for him.
— Adam Schiff (@SenAdamSchiff) November 25, 2020
This time he pardons Michael Flynn, who lied to hide his dealings with the Russians.
It’s no surprise that Trump would go out as he came in —
Crooked to the end.
Such a post about Trump "has repeatedly abused the pardon power to reward friends and protect those who covered up for him" is particularly rich, given that Biden pardoned his family members just moments before Trump was inaugurated for his second term.
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Footage circulated on Monday of Schiff warning about pardons for members of his own party.
"To people of their own party or of their own administration, that I think would tend to encourage people to feel they're not beholden to the law because the outgoing president will give them a prospective pardon," Schiff mentioned. "So I think it's unwise policy. And I would urge the president not to go down that road."
🚨Adam Schiff said he thought 11th hour blanket pardons to members of the president’s party was a bad idea:
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) January 20, 2025
"I think it's unnecessary. But I also think it's unwise. I don't want to see a precedent where you start to have presidents on the eve of leaving office, issuing blanket… pic.twitter.com/xsG92sEwjA
Even when the preemptive pardons for Schiff and others were just a rumor, Schiff spoke out against it. It turns out he's still saying he feels that way.
As Schiff told CNN's Manu Raju on Monday, he sees the pardons as "not necessary."
"I continue to think they were not necessary," he told Raju. He, like Biden himself said as president-elect in December 2020, said he was concerned about precedent, but then claimed, "I understand why the president did it."
There's also a mention of how Schiff did not talk to Biden about the pardon in advance, and that he was surprised by it.
We'll see what kind of an effect this has on Schiff and other members of what Trump has referred to as the unselect committee.
Sen. Adam Schiff, a former member of the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack, told me that he thinks the preemptive pardons issued to members of the panel by Joe Biden were unnecessary.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 20, 2025
"I continue to think they were not necessary," he said
Schiff said he…
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