---
title: "Biden granted more acts of clemency than any prior president"
description: "Former President Joe Biden granted 4,245 acts of clemency during his four-year tenure in the White House, more than any previous president on record."
date: "2025-02-07"
authors:
  - name: "John Gramlich"
    job_title: "Associate Director, Short Reads"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/john-gramlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-granted-more-acts-of-clemency-than-any-prior-president/"
categories:
  - "Barack Obama"
  - "Criminal Justice"
  - "Death Penalty"
  - "Donald Trump"
  - "Joe Biden"
  - "Leaders"
  - "More Leaders"
---

# Biden granted more acts of clemency than any prior president

![President Joe Biden speaks outside the White House on Dec. 1, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Biden announced that evening that he had pardoned his son Hunter, who was convicted of federal tax evasion and gun charges earlier in the year. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/SR_25.02.07_Clemency_feature.jpg?w=640)
*President Joe Biden speaks outside the White House on Dec. 1, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Biden announced that evening that he had pardoned his son Hunter, who was convicted of federal tax evasion and gun charges earlier in the year. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)*

Former President Joe Biden granted more acts of clemency than any previous chief executive on record, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of [statistics from the U.S. Department of Justice](https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-statistics).

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.

[![A table showing how presidents compare on clemency.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/SR_25.02.07_Clemency_1.png?w=640)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-granted-more-acts-of-clemency-than-any-prior-president/sr_25-02-07_clemency_1/)

**How we did this**

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to examine how Joe Biden’s clemency record compares with those of all prior presidents going back to the turn of the 20th century.

This analysis is based primarily on information from the [Office of the Pardon Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice](https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-statistics), accessed in late January 2025. “Acts of clemency” refer to pardons, commutations and other forms of clemency granted to individual people. The Justice Department’s statistics do not count clemency granted to entire classes of people by proclamation, such as the actions taken by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford to [forgive thousands of Vietnam War-era draft dodgers](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/21/president-carter-pardons-draft-dodgers-jan-21-1977-346493).

It's also important to note that pardons and commutations in this analysis are counted as *requests granted*, even when recipients did not formally petition for clemency. Biden, for instance, pardoned his son Hunter [without receiving a formal request to do so](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/12/03/hunter-biden-pardon-justice-department/76734814007/).

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](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S2-C1-3-1/ALDE_00013316/) and can refer to multiple forms of presidential mercy:

- **Pardons **forgive past crimes and restore civil rights.

- **Commutations **completely or partially reduce sentences for people in prison or on community supervision.

- **Remissions** reduce financial penalties associated with convictions.

- **Respites** are temporary reprieves usually granted to inmates for medical reasons.

The Justice Department’s statistics do not count clemency granted to entire classes of people by proclamation, such as the actions taken by Presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford to [forgive thousands of Vietnam War-era draft dodgers](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/21/president-carter-pardons-draft-dodgers-jan-21-1977-346493). Biden granted clemency this way, too: In October 2022 and December 2023, he granted pardons by proclamation to people convicted of [certain federal marijuana offenses](https://apnews.com/article/biden-marijuana-pardons-clemency-02abde991a05ff7dfa29bfc3c74e9d64). And in June 2024, he issued a proclamation granting pardons to [former military service members](https://apnews.com/article/biden-lgbtq-pride-pardon-military-pentagon-sodomy-a83b799323380de10aac0ca6fb57595b) convicted of violating a since-repealed ban on consensual gay sex.

#### A closer look at Biden’s pardons and commutations

Over four years, Biden issued [80 pardons](https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardons-granted-president-joseph-biden-2021-present) and [4,165 commutations](https://www.justice.gov/pardon/commutations-granted-president-joseph-biden-2021-present) for a total of 4,245 acts of clemency.

The number of pardons Biden issued is the second lowest on record; only George H.W. Bush granted fewer (74). But the *nature *of some of Biden’s pardons is historically unique. Biden issued “preemptive pardons” to several prominent people who had not been convicted of, charged with or even investigated for any crimes. They include Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; retired Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; several members of his own family; and members and staff of the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, as well as police officers who testified before the panel. Biden said he issued the pardons preemptively to [protect recipients against potential future prosecutions](https://apnews.com/article/biden-trump-fauci-milley-pardons-january-6-3cba287f89051513fb48d7ae700ae747) by the Trump administration.

***Related: ****[How Americans view Biden’s pardons related to Jan. 6](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/02/07/trumps-second-term-early-ratings-and-expectations/#the-jan-6-congressional-committee-and-biden-s-pardons)*

Unlike his relatively infrequent use of pardons, Biden stands out for the sheer number of commutations he granted. His total was more than double the number granted by the next-closest president, Barack Obama, who issued 1,715 during his eight years in office.

Biden’s many commutations included a near-total emptying of the federal government’s death row. On Dec. 23, 2024, he commuted the sentences of [37 of 40 federal death row inmates](https://apnews.com/article/biden-death-row-commutations-trump-executions-f67b5e04453cd1aa6383c516bc14f300) to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The three death row inmates whose sentences Biden did not commute were convicted in cases involving terrorism or mass murder.

[![A bar chart showing that pardons and commutations are common late in a president's term.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/SR_25.02.07_Clemency_3.png?w=620)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-granted-more-acts-of-clemency-than-any-prior-president/sr_25-02-07_clemency_3/)

Biden also saved nearly all of his clemency acts until the final weeks of his presidency. While every president since Ford has issued pardons or commutations [in his last days in office](https://www.justice.gov/pardon/clemency-recipients), Biden granted 96% of his acts of clemency in his final fiscal year – the period between Oct. 1, 2024, and his departure from the White House on Jan. 20. On Jan. 17 alone, he [granted 2,490 commutations](https://apnews.com/article/biden-commutes-2500-nonviolent-drug-offenders-83174cd0602a0bf5d491aa60184f3568), more in a single day than any prior chief executive had granted over their entire presidency.

#### Biden’s expansive use of clemency contrasts with recent trends

Before Biden, presidents had generally become less forgiving over time, at least when looking at the share of clemency requests they granted. Every president from William McKinley to Carter granted at least 20% of the requests they received. But that percentage fell to 12% for Ronald Reagan and to single digits for every subsequent president – until Biden.

[![A line chart showing that clemency petitions and grants soared under Obama's Clemency Initiative.](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/02/SR_25.02.07_Clemency_2.png?w=620)](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-granted-more-acts-of-clemency-than-any-prior-president/sr_25-02-07_clemency_2/)

Obama’s clemency record tells a mixed story. In absolute numbers, Obama granted more acts of clemency than most recent presidents (1,927). But that still worked out to just 5% of all the clemency requests he received – among the lowest percentages of any president.

Obama’s low percentage was largely due to the fact that his administration *encouraged *federal prisoners to apply for leniency under a program known as the [Clemency Initiative](https://www.justice.gov/archives/pardon/obama-administration-clemency-initiative). The program, which launched in April 2014 and ended when Obama left office in 2017, established specific criteria that the administration would prioritize in clemency decisions. Overall, Obama received more than 36,000 clemency petitions during his time in office, by far the most of any president.

#### 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](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hunter-biden-pardon-sparks-backlash-experts-overturned/story?id=116381882). But Biden is far from the only president to spark controversy over his use of the clemency power.

In January, only hours after taking office for his second term, Trump issued a proclamation pardoning [nearly all of the people](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/granting-pardons-and-commutation-of-sentences-for-certain-offenses-relating-to-the-events-at-or-near-the-united-states-capitol-on-january-6-2021/) who were convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol. He also commuted the sentences of several others who had been serving long prison terms for their part in the riot.

***Related: ****[How Americans view Trump’s pardons related to Jan. 6](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2025/02/07/trumps-second-term-early-ratings-and-expectations/#trump-s-jan-6-pardons)*

In his first term, Trump drew criticism for granting clemency to many people who had a “[personal or political connection to the president](https://www.lawfareblog.com/trumps-aberrant-pardons-and-commutations),” and he often [circumvented the formal process](https://www.lawfareblog.com/trumps-circumvention-justice-department-clemency-process) for considering clemency requests, according to analyses by the Lawfare blog. (Biden [also circumvented this process](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/12/03/hunter-biden-pardon-justice-department/76734814007/) at times, including when he pardoned his son Hunter.)

Obama’s frequent use of commutations, particularly for prisoners convicted of drug-related crimes, [prompted objections from Republicans](https://www.rollcall.com/2015/07/14/gop-cries-foul-on-obamas-commutations-of-drug-offenses-2/) at the time. Critics said it infringed on the “lawmaking authority” of the legislative branch.

Bill Clinton drew bipartisan condemnation for [pardoning a fugitive commodities trader](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1862257_1862325_1862324,00.html), Marc Rich, on his last day in office in 2001. And Clinton, like Biden, also pardoned a family member. On the same day he pardoned Rich, he [pardoned his half-brother Roger Clinton](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/12/04/roger-clinton-pardon/), who had been convicted of selling cocaine.

Perhaps the most famous act of clemency in U.S. history was a preemptive pardon for a former president himself. On Sept. 8, 1974, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, [Ford pardoned Nixon](https://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/digital-research-room/library-collections/topic-guides/nixon-pardon) for any federal crimes he “committed or may have committed,” even though Nixon hadn’t been charged with a crime at the time.

*Note: This is an update of an analysis originally published on Dec. 9, 2016.*