Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) urged former President Biden on Monday to issue preemptive pardons for all former members of the now-defunct House Jan. 6 committee, which had been deemed “unnecessary” and “unwise” in the final days of Biden’s presidency.

In a statement, Schiff defended the committee’s work, saying, “I still believe it was unnecessary and foolish to grant pardons to a committee that played a crucial role in upholding the law, given the precedent it sets.”

However, he acknowledged the pressure Biden faced, adding, “Given the repeated and unfounded threats from Donald Trump and some of his prospective law enforcement appointees, I can understand why President Biden felt compelled to take this action.”

On Sunday, Biden issued a sweeping clemency order, granting full and unconditional pardons to all nine members of the House panel that investigated the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack—including Schiff—as well as the committee’s staff and police officers who provided testimony.

These pardons, which are not time-limited, cover any offenses related to the committee’s activities or subject matter.

While it is customary for presidents to grant clemency at the end of their term, Biden’s move pushed the limits of presidential pardon powers by extending protection to individuals who have not been formally investigated or charged with any crimes.

The decision follows Trump’s repeated vows to target those he considers political adversaries if he returns to office. In December, Trump declared that members of the Jan. 6 committee “should go to jail.”

The committee was chaired by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), with former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) serving as vice chair. Other members included Reps.

Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), along with former Reps. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Elaine Luria (D-Va.), and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.).

In a joint statement on Monday, Thompson and Cheney emphasized that the pardons were not an admission of guilt but a safeguard against political retaliation.

“These are indeed ‘extraordinary circumstances’ when public servants require pardons—not for breaking the law, but for upholding it,” they wrote in a post on the social media platform X.

“This action protects those who fulfilled their duty as Members of Congress by exposing a months-long criminal effort to override the will of the voters after the 2020 election, including inciting a violent insurrection to thwart the peaceful transfer of power.”

Biden’s final round of clemency also extended to other high-profile figures, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley, and several of Biden’s own relatives.

Despite recent Justice Department arguments suggesting that accepting a pardon could be seen as an implicit admission of guilt—particularly in court filings related to Jan.

6 defendants awaiting potential clemency from Trump—Biden maintained on Monday that his pardons did not imply wrongdoing on the part of the recipients.