Joe Biden has issued preemptive pardons to Covid response chief Anthony Fauci and the members of the January 6 riot investigation to prevent what he called “unjustified… politically motivated prosecutions”.

According to BBC, the outgoing US president said: “Our nation owes these public servants a debt of gratitude for their tireless commitment.”

Trump, who will be inaugurated today January 20, regularly clashed with Dr Fauci during the pandemic and has suggested he would take action against those who tried to hold him accountable for the Capitol Riot.

Biden also issued a pre-emptive pardon to Mark Milley, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who last year described Trump as “fascist to the core”.

Biden said the pardons should “not be mistaken as an acknowledgement” that any of those covered “engaged in any wrongdoing”.

Democrats had warned the outgoing president against such action. Adam Schiff, a California senator, said Biden could set a “precedent” for “each president hereafter on their way out the door giving out a broad category of pardons.”

Dr Fauci told US media that he “truly appreciated” Biden for taking action, adding that the possibility of prosecution has created “immeasurable and intolerable distress” on his family.

“Let me be perfectly clear, I have committed no crime and there are no possible grounds for any allegation or threat of criminal investigation or prosecution of me,” he added.

General Milley, 66, thanked Biden in a statement and stated that he did not wish spend the rest of his life “fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights”.

“I do not want to put my family, my friends, and those with whom I served through the resulting distraction, expense, and anxiety,” he said.

Biden’s pardons cover all members of the House Select Committee investigating the 6 January riot, their staff members, and the officers who testified.