Presidential Pardon Power

Extracted Attributes

• Scope

  Federal offenses only

• Process

  President's own accord or in response to requests made through the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney (advisory role)

• Exclusions

  Cases of impeachment

• Limitations

  Crime must have been committed, limited to federal crimes, cannot be issued in cases of impeachment, cannot self-pardon (as per 1974 Justice Department memorandum)

• Applicability

  All federal criminal offenses, including courts-martial against members of the United States Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force)

• Nature of Power

  Plenary (unlimited), generally not subject to congressional or judicial modification

• Forms of Clemency

  Reprieves, Pardons, Sentence Commutation, Fine Remission, Delaying Punishment, Amnesty (for groups), Vacating Conviction (with conditions)

• Source of Authority

  U.S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 (Pardon Clause)

• Effectiveness Condition

  Requires acceptance by the recipient

• Office Handling Matters

  Office of the Pardon Attorney (since 1893)

• Legal Implication of Acceptance

  Does not constitute a legal confession of guilt (as per 2021 Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling)

Timeline

• U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the 'unlimited' nature of federal pardons (except impeachment) and broadened its scope to include offenses for which legal proceedings have not been initiated in Ex parte Garland. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia, Web Search Results)

  1867-XX-XX

• The Office of the Pardon Attorney, part of the Justice Department, was established to handle pardon and clemency matters for the President. (Source: Web Search Results)

  1893-XX-XX

• U.S. Supreme Court held that a pardon does not take effect if the defendant does not accept it in Burdick v. United States. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia)

  1915-XX-XX

• Richard Nixon considered a self-pardon, and the Justice Department produced a memorandum concluding the president did not have the constitutional power to issue a self-pardon. (Source: Web Search Results)

  1974-XX-XX

• An article titled '10 famous people who received presidential pardons' was published, discussing the constitutional pardon powers. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2017-01-18

• President Donald Trump tweeted about the U.S. President having 'complete power to pardon', prompting discussion on the scope of the power. (Source: Web Search Results)

  2017-07-22

• The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that acceptance of a pardon does not constitute a legal confession of guilt. (Source: Summary, Wikipedia)

  2021-XX-XX

• During the Trump Administration, the use of Presidential Pardon Power, including controversial January 6 Pardons, sparked debate. (Source: Summary, Related Documents)

  XXXX-XX-XX

• During his four-year tenure, President Joe Biden granted 4,245 acts of clemency, exceeding the total of any other president since the beginning of the 20th century. (Source: Web Search Results)

  XXXX-XX-XX

Federal pardons in the United States

Federal pardons in the United States are granted only by the U.S. president, pursuant to authority under the U.S. Constitution to grant "reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States". Pardons extend to all federal criminal offenses, except in cases of impeachment, and entail various forms of clemency, including commuting or postponing a sentence, remitting a fine or restitution, delaying the imposition of a punishment, and providing amnesty to an entire group or class of individuals. The pardon power extends to cases involving courts-martial against members of the United States Armed Forces, including the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and the Space Force. The president may grant pardons on his or her own accord or in response to requests made through the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney. The Pardon Attorney investigates and reviews applications for clemency but serves only an advisory role; the president may disregard the findings or bypass the office altogether. The pardon power is considered "plenary" and thus generally cannot be restricted or modified by Congress or the judiciary. In Ex parte Garland (1867), the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the "unlimited" nature of federal pardons (except for impeachment cases) and broadened its scope to include offenses for which legal proceedings have not been initiated. Pardons have been used for presumptive cases, most notably when President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon over any possible crimes connected with the Watergate scandal; the legal effect of such "open pardons" has not been determined by the judiciary. In Burdick v. United States (1915), the Supreme Court held that a pardon does not take effect if the defendant does not accept it. In 2021, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that acceptance of a pardon does not constitute a legal confession of guilt, recognizing the Supreme Court's earlier language as dicta.

Web Search Results

• 10 famous people who received presidential pardons

  The President has pardon or clemency power under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, under the Pardon Clause. The clause says the President “shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” The Office of the Pardon Attorney, which is part of the Justice Department, has handled such matters for the President since 1893, and it has a detailed descriptionof the pardon and clemency process on its website. [...] Although the terms clemency and pardon seemed to be interchangeable, in general terms executive federal clemency is granted after someone had allegedly committed a crime. In most cases, that person is convicted of a crime, and then granted a form of clemency. A pardon allows a convicted person to reclaim lost civil rights after a conviction. Here is a list of some familiar names of people who benefitted from this power. Roger Clinton [...] ###### Address ###### Hours Loadin... Photo of First Amendment Exhibit #### Coming Soon ##### Two New Galleries Coming 2026 ###### Blog Post # 10 famous people who received presidential pardons January 18, 2017 | by NCC Staff The ability of an outgoing president to use his constitutional pardon powers has been controversial in some cases. Here is a quick look at those powers and some famous people who benefitted from them. Former General James Cartwrite

• The History of the Pardon Power - White House Historical Association

  Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution states that the President has the authority to “grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” The United States Supreme Court has interpreted this power as “plenary,” meaning that is considerably broad and not generally subject to congressional modification.1 In both Ex parte Garland (1866) and United States v. Klein (1871), the Court ruled that legislation could not restrict the [...] While the pardon power is robust, there are three important limitations on it. First, a crime must have been committed for a pardon to be issued. Second, the presidential power is limited to federal crimes. Lastly, the president may not issue pardons in cases of impeachment. Other than these criteria, there are no constitutional restrictions on a president’s pardon power.6 [...] on the pardon power in Article II. Other experts contend that a president cannot pardon himself or herself due to the established legal precedent that no one may be a judge in his own case and the constitutional restriction that a president cannot issue a pardon in relation to impeachment. Richard Nixon did consider a self-pardon in 1974. At that time, the Justice Department produced a memorandum that concluded the president did not have the constitutional power to issue a self-pardon.19

• List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the ...

  This is a partial list of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States. The plenary power to grant a pardon or a reprieve "Commutation (law)") is granted to the president by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution; the only limits mentioned in the Constitution are that pardons are limited to federal offenses, and that they cannot affect an impeachment process: "The president shall ... have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the [...] Though pardons have been challenged in the courts, and the power to grant them challenged by Congress, the courts have consistently declined to put limits on the president's discretion. The president can issue a full pardon, reversing a criminal conviction (along with its legal effects) as if it never happened. A pardon can also be offered for a period of time to cover any crimes that may have taken place or stop any charges from ever being filed during that period. A pardon can be issued from [...] the time an offense is committed, and can even be issued after the full sentence has been served. The president can issue a reprieve, commuting a criminal sentence, lessening its severity, its duration, or both while leaving a record of the conviction in place. Additionally, the president can make a pardon conditional, or vacate a conviction while leaving parts of the sentence in place, like the payment of fines or restitution. After George W. Bush attempted to rescind his pardon of Isaac

• Federal pardons in the United States - Wikipedia

  The president may grant pardons on his or her own accord or in response to requests made through the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney. The Pardon Attorney investigates and reviews applications for clemency but serves only an advisory role; the president may disregard the findings or bypass the office altogether. The pardon power is considered "plenary" and thus generally cannot be restricted or modified by Congress or the judiciary. In Ex parte Garland (1867), the U.S. [...] The power thus conferred is unlimited, with the exception stated. It extends to every offence known to the law, and may be exercised at any time after its commission, either before legal proceedings are taken, or during their pendency, or after conviction and judgment. This power of the President is not subject to legislative control. Congress can neither limit the effect of his pardon, nor exclude from its exercise any class of offenders. The benign prerogative of mercy reposed in him cannot [...] On July 22, 2017, President Donald Trump tweeted, "While all agree the U.S. President has the complete power to pardon, why think of that when only crime so far is LEAKS against us. FAKE NEWS", prompting a series of news articles and online commentary regarding the president's ability to pardon relatives, aides, and possibly even himself in relation to the 2017 Special Counsel investigation, which ultimately concluded President Donald Trump could not be indicted at the time. The New York Times

• Biden granted more acts of clemency than any prior president

  Looking at the Justice Department data another way, Biden granted 29% of the clemency requests he received. That was the highest percentage of any president since Richard Nixon, who granted 36% of the petitions he received. (Biden, however, received far more requests than Nixon – 14,867 versus 2,591.) The clemency power is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution and can refer to multiple forms of presidential mercy: [...] #### Acts of clemency have often been controversial Several aspects of Biden’s clemency record – including his use of preemptive pardons and the pardons he issued to members of his own family – have drawn backlash. But Biden is far from the only president to spark controversy over his use of the clemency power. [...] Overall, Biden granted 4,245 acts of clemency during his four-year tenure in the White House. That far exceeds the total of any other president since the beginning of the 20th century, including Franklin D. Roosevelt, who granted 3,796 such acts during his 12 years in office. It is also far ahead of the current total of President Donald Trump. Image 2: A table showing how presidents compare on clemency.