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".
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 Robert Toussie, the Department of Justice concluded that the pardon was not yet effective, since it had never been officially delivered to Toussie. Under this legal interpretation, posthumous presidential pardons appear to be merely ceremonial and have no effect, since they were never delivered to the recipient.
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. 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.
Summary President TenurePardons or clemency Notes George Washington 1789–1797 16 John Adams 1797–1801 20 Thomas Jefferson 1801–1809 119 James Madison 1809–1817 196 James Monroe 1817–1825 414 John Quincy Adams 1825–1829 183 Andrew Jackson 1829–1837 386 Martin Van Buren 1837–1841 168 William Henry Harrison 1841 0 John Tyler 1841–1845 209 James K. Polk 1845–1849 268 Zachary Taylor 1849–1850 38 Millard Fillmore 1850–1853 170 Franklin Pierce 1853–1857 142 James Buchanan 1857–1861 150 Abraham Lincoln 1861–1865 343 Andrew Johnson 1865–1869 7,654 Includes thousands of pardons for ex-ConfederatesUlysses S. Grant 1869–1877 1,332 Rutherford B. Hayes 1877–1881 893 James A. Garfield 1881 0 Chester A. Arthur 1881–1885 337 Grover Cleveland 1885–1889, 1893–1897 1,107 EstimateBenjamin Harrison 1889–1893 613 William McKinley 1897–1901 918 EstimateTheodore Roosevelt 1901–1909 981 EstimateWilliam Howard Taft 1909–1913 758 Woodrow Wilson 1913–1921 2,480 Warren G. Harding 1921–1923 800 Calvin Coolidge 1923–1929 1,545 Herbert Hoover 1929–1933 1,385 Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933–1945 3,687 Harry S. Truman 1945–1953 2,044 Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1961 1,157 John F. Kennedy 1961–1963 575 Lyndon B. Johnson 1963–1969 1,187 Richard Nixon 1969–1974 926 Gerald Ford 1974–1977 409 Pardoned Richard Nixon in September 1974Jimmy Carter 1977–1981 200,000+ Over 200,000 pardoned for Vietnam draft evasion, 566 othersRonald Reagan 1981–1989 406 George H. W. Bush 1989–1993 77 Bill Clinton 1993–2001 459 George W. Bush 2001–2009 200 Barack Obama 2009–2017 1,927 Donald Trump 2017–2021, 2025–present 1,700+ Includes approximately 1,500 pardoned for January 6 Capitol attack. He was the first president to pardon corporations, pardoning 9 and wiping out $200 million in penalties.Joe Biden 2021–2025 4,244 Includes 80 individual pardons and 4,165 clemencies for non-violent drug offenders
George Washington President George Washington pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 16 people. Among them are: Philip Vigol (or Wigle) and John Mitchel, convicted of treason for their roles in the Whiskey Rebellion
John Adams Federalist president John Adams pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 20 people. Among them are: David Bradford, for his role in the Whiskey Rebellion John Fries, for his role in Fries' Rebellion; convicted of treason due to opposition to a tax; Fries and others were pardoned, and a general amnesty was issued for everyone involved in 1800.
Thomas Jefferson Democratic-Republican president Thomas Jefferson pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 119 people. One of his first acts upon taking office was to issue a general pardon for any person convicted under the Sedition Act. Among them are: David Brown – convicted of sedition under the Sedition Act of 1798 because of his criticism of the U.S. federal government, receiving the harshest sentence of anyone; pardoned along with all violators of the act Benjamin Fairbanks – convicted with Brown of erecting a Liberty Pole in Dedham, Massachusetts. He received the lightest sentence of anyone under the Act.
James Madison Democratic-Republican president James Madison pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 196 people. Among them are: William Hull – while Governor of the Michigan Territory, sentenced to death for surrendering Fort Detroit during the War of 1812; pardoned due to his heroic conduct during the American Revolution Jean Lafitte and Pierre Lafitte and the Baratarian Pirates for past piracy, granted due to their assistance during the War of 1812; granted February 6, 1815
James Monroe Democratic-Republican president James Monroe pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 419 people. Among them are: Numerous individuals convicted of piracy
John Quincy Adams Democratic-Republican president John Quincy Adams pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 183 people. Among them are: Captain L. O. Helland – arrested for having more passengers on board the vessel (Restauration) than were allowed by American law; pardoned in 1825 Wekau and Chickhonsic – Ho-Chunk leaders pardoned for their role in the Winnebago War
Andrew Jackson Democratic president Andrew Jackson pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 386 people. Among them are: George Wilson – convicted of robbing the United States mails. Strangely, Wilson refused to accept the pardon. The case went before the Supreme Court, and in United States v. Wilson the court stated: "A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance. It may then be rejected by the person to whom it is tendered; and if it is rejected, we have discovered no power in this court to force it upon him." While Wilson refused the pardon, he avoided being hanged unlike his accomplice who was. A report in The National Gazette of Philadelphia dated January 14, 1841, suggests that he was in prison for ten years until released. He received another pardon from President Martin Van Buren, which he accepted. However, the Smithsonian magazine has written that Wilson was hanged as a result of refusing the pardon. Fontaine H. Pettis – Convicted of perjury, pardoned November 16, 1831
Martin Van Buren Democratic president Martin Van Buren pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 168 people. Among them are: William Lyon Mackenzie – violation of American neutrality laws; pardoned
William Henry Harrison Whig president William Henry Harrison was one of only two presidents who issued no pardons, the other being James A. Garfield. This was due to Harrison's death shortly after taking office.
John Tyler Whig president John Tyler pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 209 people. Among them are: Alexander William Holmes – sailor convicted of voluntary manslaughter (U.S. v. Holmes); pardoned
James K. Polk Democratic president James K. Polk pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 268 people. Among them are: John C. Frémont – convicted by court-martial of mutiny in 1848. Frémont later became the 1856 Republican candidate for the U.S. presidency. Gideon Johnson Pillow – convicted by court-martial of insubordination in 1848.
Zachary Taylor Whig president Zachary Taylor pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 38 people.
Millard Fillmore Whig president Millard Fillmore pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 170 people. Among them are: Daniel Drayton and Edward Sayres – convicted in the Pearl incident (transporting slaves to freedom) in 1848; pardoned
Franklin Pierce Democratic president Franklin Pierce pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 142 people. Noah Hanson – free black man who was tried and convicted of assisting slaves to escape, convicted in 1851; pardoned in 1854; only known presidential pardon of a black person for Underground Railroad activities
James Buchanan Democratic president James Buchanan pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 150 people. Among them are: Brigham Young – pardoned for role in the 1857 Utah War Daniel Vandersmith – former judge, pardoned for forgery
Abraham Lincoln Republican president Abraham Lincoln pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 343 people. Among them are: 265 of 303 Dakota Indians who attacked white settlers in the Great Sioux Uprising of 1862 Clement Vallandigham – Copperhead congressman from Ohio sentenced for disloyalty in 1863; sentence commuted and deported to the Confederacyp. 34, Vallandigham, Clement Laird. The Trial Hon. Clement L. Vallandigham by a Military Commission: and the Proceedings Under His Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus in the Circuit Court of the US for the Southern District of Ohio. Cincinnati, OH: Rickey and Carroll, 1863. Emilie Todd Helm – wife of Confederate general Benjamin Hardin Helm and half-sister of Mary Todd Lincoln "Author History.com Editors" Moses Robinette – President Joe Biden's great-great grandfather who was charged with attempted murder in 1864. Various men who enlisted in the army, but who were, among other circumstances, underage, bounty jumpers, or AWOL
Andrew Johnson
Democratic president Andrew Johnson pardoned about 7,000 people in the "over $20,000" class (taxable property over $20,000) by May 4, 1866. More than 600 prominent North Carolinians were pardoned just before the election of 1864. Johnson pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 654 people. Among them are: Ex-Confederates – On Christmas Day, 1868, Johnson issued a full and unconditional pardon and amnesty to all former Confederates of the rebellion (earlier amnesties requiring signed oaths and excluding certain classes of people were issued by both Lincoln and Johnson).Johnson, Andrew. (December 25, 1868). Proclamation 179 – Granting Full Pardon and Amnesty for the Offense of Treason Against the United States During the Late Civil War . presidency.ucsb.edu. Retrieved February 2, 2017. Among them were: Charles D. Anderson Richard H. Anderson Eli Metcalfe Bruce Horatio Washington Bruce Charles Clark Jefferson Davis Harris Flanagin Augustus H. Garland Benjamin Harvey Hill Wade Keyes Enoch Louis Lowe Andrew Gordon Magrath E. A. Nisbet James Byeram Owens Walter Preston James Seddon Alexander H. Stephens George Trenholm Samuel Arnold – charged with conspiring to murder Lincoln Samuel Mudd – charged with conspiring to murder Lincoln Edmund Spangler – charged with conspiring to murder Lincoln
Ulysses S. Grant Republican president Ulysses S. Grant pardoned, commuted, or rescinded the convictions of 1,332 people. Among them are: