page_title: Federal pardons in the United States
hierarchical_section_title: Federal pardons in the United States
caption_attribution_description: English: President Obama greets inmates during a visit to El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Okla. Accompanying text: Today, President Obama granted clemency to 231 deserving individuals — the most individual acts of clemency granted in a single day by any president in this nation’s history. With today’s 153 commutations, the President has now commuted the sentences of 1,176 individuals, including 395 life sentences. The President also granted pardons to 78 individuals, bringing his total number of pardons to 148. Today’s acts of clemency — and the mercy the President has shown his 1,324 clemency recipients — exemplify his belief that America is a nation of second chances
context_page_description: A federal pardon in the United States is the action of the President of the United States that completely sets aside the punishment for a federal crime. The authority to take such action is granted to the president by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Under the Constitution, the president's clemency power extends to federal criminal offenses. All requests for executive clemency for federal offenses are directed to the Office of the Pardon Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice for investigation and review. The pardon does not take effect if the beneficiary of the pardon does not accept it.
  The president's pardon power is limited to federal offenses because the Constitution only grants the president the power to pardon "[o]ffenses against the United States." An offense that violates state law, but not federal law, is an offense against the state rather than an offense against the United States. Experts disagree as to whether presidents can pardon themselves, and there is disagreement about how the pardon power applies to cases involving obstructions of an impeachment.
context_section_description: A federal pardon in the United States is the action of the President of the United States that completely sets aside the punishment for a federal crime. The authority to take such action is granted to the president by Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution. Under the Constitution, the president's clemency power extends to federal criminal offenses. All requests for executive clemency for federal offenses are directed to the Office of the Pardon Attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice for investigation and review. The pardon does not take effect if the beneficiary of the pardon does not accept it.
  The president's pardon power is limited to federal offenses because the Constitution only grants the president the power to pardon "[o]ffenses against the United States." An offense that violates state law, but not federal law, is an offense against the state rather than an offense against the United States. Experts disagree as to whether presidents can pardon themselves, and there is disagreement about how the pardon power applies to cases involving obstructions of an impeachment. The pardon can also be used for a presumptive case, such as when President Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon over any possible crimes regarding the Watergate scandal.
caption: Barack Obama meeting with prisoners El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in 2015
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