Donald Trump seems to have finally found common ground with his predecessor, Joe Biden, following years of trolling and criticism of the former president.
Trump said he “respects” Biden’s decision to pardon Dr. Anthony Fauci even as Congressional Republicans press forward with aggressive inquiries into how he handled the COVID-19 pandemic.
Debate has also ensued over the validity of Biden’s pardon because he used an autopen, although several other presidents have used the device in the past.
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Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he “respects” former President Joe Biden’s decision to grant Dr. Anthony Fauci a preemptive pardon.
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, Trump acknowledged the former president’s constitutional authority to grant clemency while reacting to Fauci’s dramatic appearance before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where the retired public health official invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than 100 times.
“The most powerful thing a president has, they say, is the power of pardon,” Trump said, per The Hill. “So he was pardoned by Biden, and I respect that. I know how powerful it is. … They say it’s literally the most powerful thing a president has.”
Trump Questions Whether Fauci’s Pardon Is Valid
4However, Trump raised lingering questions about the validity of the executive order, saying the “only thing you can think about” regarding Biden’s pardon of Fauci is his use of an autopen.
Debate has persisted among White House officials over whether the former president’s use of the device could invalidate the pardon, although several previous presidents have also relied on autopens for official documents.
“He probably didn’t sign this one,” Trump said. “So, I can’t tell you what the law is. I’ve heard that you have to have a lot of proof, you need to have letters, you need to have all sorts of things.”
The billionaire politician then added, “Maybe there’s something on the autopen. Other than that, the power of pardon is very powerful.”
Fauci Pleads The Fifth More Than 100 Times
4Trump’s remarks came as Fauci faced a grueling three-hour Senate hearing chaired by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and questions surrounding the virus’s origins.
During the session, Republican lawmakers repeatedly questioned the 85-year-old former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) about the origins of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related matters.
However, Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights a record 111 times, effectively refusing to answer the senators’ questions.
“On the advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer based upon my rights under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution,” he said, per the BBC.
Fauci Claims Paul Is Trying To Set Him Up
4Ahead of the hearing, Paul, one of Fauci’s most outspoken critics, released thousands of pages of the former health official’s private pandemic-era diary entries.
In his opening statement, Fauci said he believes the Kentucky senator is trying to entrap him and eventually prosecute him for perjury.
Explaining why he declined to answer lawmakers’ questions, Fauci pointed to Paul’s “obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, his repeated slanderous comments about me, and recently his publicly releasing my unredacted personal diary aimed at embarrassing and intimidating me.”
“The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, ‘behind bars,’” Fauci explained.
The Fifth Amendment is commonly invoked to avoid self-incrimination during criminal investigations, grand jury proceedings, civil cases, and police questioning.
However, Fauci’s situation is unusual because Biden’s pardon shields him from federal prosecution for his official conduct between 2014 and 2025. Republicans argue that protection removes any fear of prosecution over that period, although Fauci could still face legal consequences if he made false statements to Congress, which he believes Paul is trying to elicit.
Trump Slams Fauci’s Fifth Amendment Move
4Commenting on the hearing, Trump said Fauci’s decision to plead the Fifth was “terrible.”
“I inherited Fauci. He was here from the 1980s, so I had him for a period of time. I disagreed with him on a lot. I would’ve had to close down the whole country if I listened to him,” Trump said.
Republican senators also criticized Fauci’s reliance on the Fifth Amendment, with Paul announcing that his committee will consider whether to hold the former health official in contempt of Congress during its August 5 meeting.
“It’s against the law to obstruct an investigation of Congress. There will be repercussions for your refusal to testify,” the Kentucky senator said, per Politico.
