Gen. Mark Milley 'deeply grateful' for Biden pardon on morning of Trump's inauguration

WASHINGTON − The former top officer of the U.S. military said he was "deeply grateful" to receive a preemptive pardon from outgoing President Joe BidenMonday.

Retired Army Gen. Mark A. Milley served as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during President-elect Donald Trump's first term. Their contentious relationship boiled over after Trump left office, with the then-former president suggesting in social media posts that Milley should face the death penalty.

"My family and I are deeply grateful for the President's action today," Milley said in a statement to USA Today provided by a spokesperson. "After forty-three years of faithful service in uniform to our Nation, protecting and defending the Constitution, I do not wish to spend whatever remaining time the Lord grants me fighting those who unjustly might seek retribution for perceived slights."

More: Biden preemptively pardons Fauci, Cheney, Milley to protect against Trump inquiries

The retired general added that he wants to shield his family, friends and former colleagues − whom he also thanked in the statement − from the "distraction, expense, and anxiety" that a politically motivated prosecution could bring.

Milley declared he will "continue to keep faith and loyalty to our nation and the Constitution until my dying breath," the statement said.

The former Green Beret publicly broke with Trump in the wake of the 2020 protests that followed George Floyd's murder at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.

After security forces forcibly cleared protestors from Lafayette Square in downtown Washington so Trump could walk with top administration officials to historic St. John's Church, Milley publicly apologized for his participation in the event.

"My presence in that moment and in that environment created a perception of the military involved in domestic politics," Milley said a few days after the event. "As a commissioned uniformed officer, it was a mistake that I have learned from, and I sincerely hope we all can learn from it." The general also considered resigning after the photo op.

The rift deepened after Trump left office, with the then-former president describing his former Joint Chiefs chairman as treasonous for calling a senior Chinese military official to defuse fears of a potential U.S. attack. Others called for Milley's resignation as well. After the chairman's communications with the Chinese general came to light, Trump said, "in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH!"

Milley's 2023 retirement address included comments that many observers interpreted as a veiled criticism of Trump.

“We don’t take an oath to a king, or a queen, or to a tyrant or dictator, and we don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator," Milley said in his retirement speech at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in September 2023. "We don’t take an oath to an individual. We take an oath to the Constitution, and we take an oath to the idea that is America, and we’re willing to die to protect it.”

Monday's pardons included other potential targets of Trump's ire, including Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the lawmakers and staffers from the House committee that investigated the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. Those lawmakers include former GOP Reps. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, Adam Kinzinger of Illinois; and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.

In a statement, Biden said the eleventh-hour pardons are not intended as an indication of wrongdoing by the named officials. "These public servants have served our nation with honor and distinction and do not deserve to be the targets of unjustified and politically motivated prosecutions," he said.

The Trump transition did not immediately respond to a request for comment.