List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States information
President Gerald Ford announces his decision to pardon former president Richard Nixon, September 8, 1974, in an Oval Office address to the nation.
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 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 United States, except in cases of impeachment".[1]
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 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.[1][2]
Pardons granted by presidents from George Washington until Grover Cleveland's first term (1885–89) were handwritten by the president; thereafter, pardons were prepared for the president by administrative staff requiring only that the president sign it.[3] The records of these presidential acts were openly available for public inspection until 1934. In 1981 the Office of the Pardon Attorney was created and records from President George H. W. Bush forward are listed.[4]
^ ab"Constitutional Topic: Presidential Pardons". usconstitution.net. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
^Pfiffner, James. "Essays on Article II:Pardon Power". The Heritage Guide to The Constitution. Washington, D.C.: The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
^Cite error: The named reference Clemency was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
partial list of peoplepardonedorgrantedclemencyby a UnitedStatespresident, ordered by date ofpardonor commutation. For an updated list, see U.S. Department...
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, BY-dən; born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who is the 46th and current presidentoftheUnitedStates since 2021. A member ofthe Democratic...
conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws ofthe jurisdiction. Pardons can be granted in many countries...
served as the 38th presidentoftheUnitedStates from 1974 to 1977. He previously served as the leader ofthe Republican Party in the U.S. House of Representatives...
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a pardonor reprieve is grantedbythePresident, if, upon appeal, the conviction is quashed, or compassionate release is granted. In thestatesof Illinois...
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clemency. Thepresident reaches a decision regarding the prerogative ofclemency at his or her own discretion, after receiving information from the applicants...
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