President Biden on Sunday issued a sweeping pardon of his son Hunter, who was convicted earlier this year on federal gun and drug charges, and pleaded guilty to tax charges in California. 

The presidential pardoning process is one that has long courted controversy, especially since many presidents issue pardons when they are leaving the White House. 

One of the most famous —and controversial— pardons in history happened less than one month into President Gerald Ford’s term. On Sept. 8, 1974, Ford announced from the Oval Office that he would “grant a full, free and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed.” Ford’s own press secretary resigned over the pardon, and Ford’s approval rating dropped 20 points over the following days. His approval rating never recovered and he went on to lose the 1976 presidential election. 

What is a presidential pardon?

Presidents are granted the authority to issue pardons under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution. The Constitution’s framers were heavily influenced by the English legal tradition of pardon, which dates back to the 7th century, and Alexander Hamilton introduced the concept of the presidential pardon at the Constitutional Convention. 

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution declares: “The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”

There are four different types of clemency that fall under the president’s pardoning power: pardon, amnesty, commutation and reprieve.  As outlined by the White House, a pardon releases a person from punishment and restores all civil liberties; amnesty is the same as the pardon but is extended to an entire class of individuals; commutation reduces the sentence imposed by a federal court, and a reprieve delays the imposition of a sentence or punishment.

Pardons, however, may not be issued in cases of impeachment or if it is an “offense against the United States,” such as treason. 

The Office of the Pardon Attorney at the Department of Justice issues guidelines for the application of clemency, but presidents do not need to follow them.

To be pardoned, a person must have been convicted in a United States District Court, the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, or a military court-martial — so a president cannot issue a pardon for a state conviction. 

What does a pardon mean for the pardoned person?

A pardon can help eliminate some of the consequences of conviction and restore a person’s civil rights. 

According to the Justice Department, the offense is not removed from a person’s criminal record when they are pardoned but instead the conviction and the pardon both appear on the record. But the pardon can be helpful in obtaining licenses, bonding or employment. 

Who has Biden pardoned while in office?

Hunter Biden is the 26th person Mr. Biden has pardoned so far. Most pardons relate to drug offenses, a practice started by former President Barack Obama. In September 2023, Mr. Biden granted clemency for three Iranians who were accused of moving $6 billion in a restricted Iranian account as part of a prisoner swap. 

At this point in President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, he had pardoned 29 people. 

Who did Trump pardon during his first term?

Trump issued a slew of pardons on Jan. 19, 2021, shortly before he left office. Trump pardoned 74 people and commuted the sentences of another 70.

Among those pardoned were Steve Bannon, GOP fundraiser Elliott Broidy, Albert J. Pirro and rapper Lil Wayne.

Prior to those pardons, Trump pardoned more than 30 people in December 2020, including his son-in-law Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner, who had been convicted of witness tampering, tax evasion and illegal campaign contributions in 2005. Ahead of his second term, Trump has nominated Charles Kushner to be the ambassador to France.

Earlier in his term, Trump pardoned Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Dinesh D’Souza, his first national security adviser Michael Flynn, former George W. Bush aide I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and Oregon ranchers Dwight L. Hammond and Steve D. Hammond.

In 2020, Trump issued a full pardon for Alice Marie Johnson, whose sentence he had commuted in 2018 after lobbying from Kim Kardashian. Johnson is a great-grandmother who had served 22 years in federal prison for what was a first-time criminal offense, which had come to Kardashian’s attention. 

In total over four years in office, Trump issued 237 acts of clemency, including 143 pardons and 94 commutations. The only presidents since 1900 who issued fewer acts of clemency were George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, according to the Pew Research Center. 

Who did Obama pardon while in office?

Obama issued 212 pardons and 1,715 commutations while in office, including for 568 people who were serving life sentences. In 2014, Obama launched the Clemency Initiative, which allowed federal prisoners to apply for leniency, especially those serving for nonviolent drug offenses. In the Obama White House archives, his administration touts that those whose sentences were commuted were “incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws.”

Although Obama encouraged prisoners to apply for leniency under the Clemency Initiative, a report by the Justice Department Inspector General in 2018 found that initiative was poorly planned and not implemented properly, while also suffering from poor communication and bureaucratic feuds. 

“We found that the Department did not effectively plan, implement, or manage the Initiative at the outset,” Inspector General Michael Horowitz wrote in the report.

Which president has pardoned the most people in history?

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who served 13 years in office, issued the most pardons: 3,687.

Have past presidents pardoned family members?

Although Mr. Biden is the first president to pardon his son, he is not the first to pardon a family member. Former President Bill Clinton pardoned his brother Roger Clinton and Trump pardoned Charles Kushner, his son-in-law’s father.

Abraham Lincoln, meanwhile, pardoned his sister-in-law, Emilie Todd Helm, who was the widow of a Confederate general, under the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. 

Can a president issue a preemptive pardon? 

Ford’s infamous pardon of Nixon was a preemptive pardon, since Nixon had not been charged with a crime. Former President Jimmy Carter also issued preemptive pardons for Vietnam draft evaders, as did Lincoln in the Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, which allowed for former Confederates to be pardoned if they took an oath to the U.S.

President George H.W. Bush also pardoned his secretary of defense, Caspar Weinberger, along with five others, for his alleged role in the Iran-Contra scandal after he was indicted but before his trial. 

Mr. Biden’s pardon of Hunter covers any crimes Hunter Biden may have committed from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 1, 2024, even if he has not yet been charged. Hunter Biden’s first plea agreement in Delaware fell apart because his lawyers sought full immunity from future prosecution.

Can another president undo a previous presidential pardon?

The pardon language in Article II of the Constitution does not include any language about revoking pardons, although only a few presidents have exercised that power. 

On President Andrew Johnson’s last day in office, he issued several pardons — three of which President Ulysses S. Grant reversed on his first day by calling back the U.S. Marshal so they were never delivered. A fourth was allowed to stand since it had been delivered.

According to Washington Monthly, an 1868 textbook by Supreme Court Associate Justice Joseph Story on the Constitution says a presidential pardon can be revoked if the president was impeached. In recent history, both Clinton and Trump have been impeached — although their pardons did stand after their terms.

Former President George W. Bush, meanwhile, revoked one of his own pardons. In December 2008, shortly before leaving office, Bush pardoned 19 people, including  Isaac Robert Toussie of Brooklyn, N.Y., who had been convicted of making false statements to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and of mail fraud. 

One day later, Bush reversed the decision, with White House press secretary Dana Perino citing “information that has subsequently come to light,” including on the extent and nature of Toussie’s prior criminal offenses. She also said that neither the White House counsel’s office nor the president had been aware of a political contribution by Toussie’s father that “might create an appearance of impropriety.”