WASHINGTON ― President Joe Biden said Friday he will not issue a preemptive pardon for himself as he considers pre-pardoning adversaries of President-elect Donald Trump who he fears could be targeted with politically motivated investigations by the Trump administration.
“For myself?” Biden told reporters when asked whether he’s ruled out pre-pardoning himself and other family members. “What would I pardon myself for? No, I have no contemplation of pardoning myself for anything. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Biden, who pardoned his son Hunter Biden from tax invasion and gun felonies last month, told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview earlier this week he still assessing whether he will take an unprecedented step to pre-pardon potential Trump targets like former Rep. Liz Cheney, Anthony Fauci and others.
Trump and some of his allies have suggested they will seek to legally punish his political opponents and others who have investigated his alleged crimes.
President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Biden spoke on today’s jobs report and the state of the economy.
The possibility of preemptively pardoning people who have not been charged of any crimes raises a host of legal concerns that could sway Biden not to take action.
Ten days before he leaves office, Biden took several questions from reporters after giving remarks touting his jobs record as president including an employment rate that fell from 4.2% to 4.1% in December.
More: Regrets, precedent and legacy: 7 takeaways from Biden’s exclusive interview with USA TODAY
Biden calls Meta’s decision to scrap fact-checking ‘shameful’
Biden blasted this week’s move by Meta Platforms, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, to scrap fact-checking programs on Facebook, Instagram and Threads, three of the world’s biggest social media platforms with more than 3 billion users globally, ahead of Trump’s return to the White House.
“Telling the truth matters,” Biden said, calling the publication of falsehoods “contrary to everything America is all about.”
“We want to tell the truth. We haven’t always done it in our nation. But we want to tell the truth,” he added. “And the idea that a billionaire can buy something and say, ‘By the way, from this point on, we aren’t going to fact-checking anything.’ And, you know, when you have millions of people going online and reading this stuff ‒ I think it’s really shameful.”
President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Biden spoke on today’s jobs report and the state of the economy.
Meta is also loosening guidelines on discussions around topics such as immigration and gender identity.
In place of a formal fact-checking program to address dubious claims posted on Meta’s platforms, Zuckerberg instead plans to implement a system of “community notes” similar to that used on Elon Musk-owned X.
More: Why Meta went MAGA: Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s reset with Donald Trump
‘I think I would have beaten Trump’
Revisiting the 2024 election, Biden reiterated he thinks he would have defeated Trump had he not dropped out of the race last July amid pressure from top Democrats following a disastrous debate performance against Trump. He made similar remarks in a recent interview with USA TODAY.
“I don’t think so,” Biden said when asked whether he regrets his initial decision to run for reelection. “I think I would have beaten Trump, could have beaten Trump. And I think Kamala could have beaten Trump.”
“I thought it was important to unify the party. And when the party was worried about whether or not I was going to be able to move ‒ even though I thought I could win again ‒ I thought it was better to unify the party.”
As for his post-presidency plans, Biden suggested he will be active and visible. “I’m not going to be out of sight or out of mind,” he said.
Contributing: Reuters
Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden says he won’t pardon himself before leaving White House
