A lot has been made in the last couple of weeks of the President's (now past President) pardons and commutations (although most don't know what a commutation is - they "know" they should be upset with them. For the record a commutation is the substitution of a lesser penalty than originally given - typically time served. The conviction and criminal record still exists. A pardon is the overturning of the actual conviction. It exonerates the person and expunges their record of the crime.)
Presidential pardons and commutations are a power granted to all Presidents from the U.S. Constitution. In the section enumerating Presidential powers and authority, Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 states which states: "...he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States". Although there has been some arguments among Constitutional scholars, this power is considered to be only for convictions and/or violations of Federal laws, not State laws. Every President has used this power, particularly in the time immediate time prior to leaving office (read "January prior to the Inauguration of the incoming President).
President Trump used this power and headlines were blasted across newspapers, magazines, and websites about how he was "Expected to Grant Over 100 Pardons" in his last week. I just wanted to give some perspective (as I am want to do on many subjects). Let's compare with his predecessor President Obama.
In the 8 years Obama was President his pardons and commutations numbers were:
212 Pardons and 1,715 Commutations
Trump's numbers for his 4 years were:
143 Pardons and 94 Commutations
I hear the cry now: "But Trump served half the time! The comparisons are not fair!"
So, here are the numbers for the January they were both leaving office (January 2017 for Obama and January 2021 for Trump)
President Obama: 142 Pardons & 1,043 Commutations
President Trump: 74 Pardons & 75 Commutations
So, it is apparent that President Trump did not "go crazy" with the use of his pardon power.
As a reference here are the numbers for some other recent Presidents and the two referenced above:
Regan: 393 Pardons & 13 Commutations
H.W. Bush: 74 Pardons & 3 Commutations
Clinton: 396 Pardons & 61 Commutations
W. Bush: 189 Pardons & 11 Commutations
Obama: 212 Pardons & 1,715 Commutations
Trump: 143 Pardons & 94 Commutations
I do recognize that depending on your position, both politically and on certain laws, would cause you to feel differently about the persons that were granted pardons and commutations, but that is not the subject of this post. One could argue those positions endlessly in any case. I just wanted to point out the numbers.
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