Flashback: Biden told CNN he would not issue preemptive pardons before leaving office

President Biden antecedently pledged that helium would not contented preemptive pardons earlier leaving office, telling CNN that helium would instrumentality a "totally antithetic approach" to the justness strategy compared to then-President Trump.

In December 2020, CNN anchor Jake Tapper asked Biden if helium was acrophobic astir rumors that Trump would dole retired a question of preemptive pardons for immoderate of his closest confidantes.

"Well, it concerns maine successful presumption of what benignant of precedent it sets successful however the remainder of the satellite looks astatine america arsenic a federation of laws and justice," helium said.

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Biden issued respective preemptive pardons to salient critics of Donald Trump connected Monday. (Left to right: (Photo by: William B. Plowman/NBC via Getty Images), (Photo by Mandel Ngan - Pool/Getty Images), (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images),  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images))

Biden aboriginal attempted to separate betwixt however helium would govern versus the Trump administration.

"You're not going to spot successful our medication that benignant of attack to pardons," Biden said. "Nor are you going to spot successful our medication the attack to making argumentation by tweets. You know, it's going to beryllium a wholly antithetic mode successful which we attack the justness system."

Since then, Biden appears to person had a alteration of heart—issuing a plethora of preemptive pardons connected his mode retired the door.

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President Biden said helium was considering preemptive pardons based connected whom President-elect Donald Trump nominates for cardinal spots. (Getty Images)

Biden announced aboriginal connected Monday that helium was issuing preemptive pardons for Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members and unit of the now-defunct House prime committee connected the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Just earlier President Trump took the oath of bureau connected Monday, quality broke that Biden had besides issued pardons for 5 different members of his family.

Biden had teased the anticipation of issuing preemptive pardons weeks agone successful an interrogation with USA Today. At the extremity of his term, Biden's pardons person proven to beryllium immoderate of his astir arguable actions arsenic president, peculiarly the pardon for his son, Hunter Biden, past month.

Some Republicans person signaled that they want the pardons investigated.

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Joe Biden antecedently said helium would not manus retired preemptive pardons arsenic president.  (CNN/Screengrab)

Trump, the incoming president, has pardoned governmental allies similar Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn. However, dissimilar Biden's latest decision, some were charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) erstwhile those pardons were issued.

There is precedent for preemptive pardons, however. Former President Gerald Ford preemptively pardoned Richard Nixon aft the Watergate scandal.

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Fox News' Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.