Fauci said he would accept an advance apology from Biden

Former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Anthony Fauci told The Hill he wants to accept the apology President Biden offered him in advance on Monday.

Fauci said in an email that the White House approached him about a pardon about a month ago and that he did not want one.

Still, he is “very thankful and grateful” for the apology.

In a separate statement, he said he had been the subject of “politically motivated threats” to sue but insisted there was no basis for them.

“Let me be absolutely clear: I have committed no crime and there is no probable cause for any charges or threats of criminal investigation or prosecution against me,” Fauci said in the statement. “But the reality is, the mere statement of these baseless threats, and the prospect of acting against them, causes immeasurable and unbearable suffering for me and my family.”

Fauci, the face of the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic response, was criticized by Trump and his allies for efforts to refute Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about the virus and for urging Americans to get vaccinated. He became responsible for the masking mandate and other precautions taken to stop the virus from spreading.

The former NIAID director served as an advisor to seven US presidents of both parties, spanning from former President Reagan to Biden.

Biden also granted preemptive pardons to Gen. Mark Milley, House members and staff on January 6, 2021, investigating the Capitol attack and several police officers who testified before the committee.