President Joe Biden Preemptively Pardons Dr. Anthony Fauci, Liz Cheney

Posted on: January 20, 2025, 08:59h. 

Last updated on: January 20, 2025, 11:17h.

Update: President Biden pardoned his siblings, including his brother, Jim Biden, just moments before President Donald Trump was sworn in.


President Joe Biden on his final day in office issued more pardons, but this time the immunities were preemptive exonerations from possible future criminal prosecution.

Joe Biden pardon odds Fauci Cheney Schiff
Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies before a House Committee on Appropriations subcommittee on May 11, 2022. Fauci received a preemptive pardon from President Joe Biden on his final day in office, Jan. 20, 2024. (Image: AP)

On Monday, the outgoing 46th president of the United States said he had pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases who led the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the lawmakers and staffers from the House select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

The committee pardons include former Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY), Adam Kinzinger (D-IL), and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Before Monday’s news, bettors on wagering exchanges that offer contracts on political happenings didn’t have much zeal for any of the aforementioned being pardoned, as none had been charged with a federal crime.

Fauci and Cheney’s implied odds were around 30%. Schiff was longer at around 20%.

Our nation relies on dedicated, selfless public servants every day. They are the lifeblood of our democracy. Yet alarmingly, public servants have been subjected to ongoing threats and intimidation for faithfully discharging their duties,” Biden said.

“In certain cases, some have even been threatened with criminal prosecutions,” the president continued. “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.”

Bettors Win Big

Bettors who risked money on those pardoned are receiving nice returns on their peer-to-peer wagering exchanges like Kalshi and Polymarket. Each share on Fauci, Cheney, Schiff, and the others is being redeemed for $1, meaning a 70 cents to 80 cents profit.

Biden and many other Democrats believed President-elect Donald Trump would use his Justice Department to go after his political enemies and those he felt did him and/or the country wrong.

Fauci has faced accusations of lying to Congress about gain of function research at the Wuhan Lab in China where the COVID-19 virus is thought to have originated and if the NIH funded such studies.

“I really truly appreciate the action President Biden has taken today on my behalf,” Fauci said. “I have committed no crime … and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me.”

The J6 Committee, or U.S. House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, was heavily criticized by Trump. He called the members “Marxists” and “sick people,” and in December, told NBC News that the entire committee “should go to jail.”

Milley, who Trump nominated in December 2018 to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called Trump a fascist, while Trump has called Milley a traitor.

I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights,” Milley said in a statement. “I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety.” 

More to Come?

Biden can continue to issue presidential pardons until Trump is sworn into office today around noon. Bettors think the president’s oldest brother, Jim Biden, stands the best chance for last-minute legal freedom from possible future charges with implied odds of 21% on Polymarket and 24% on Kalshi.

Jim Biden worked closely with Hunter Biden on many business dealings over the years. Hunter received a pardon from his father in December for “all offenses he has committed or may have committed from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024.”