Creators: The Presidential Pardon as a Tool of Political Repression

Matthew T. Mangino
CREATORS
June 3, 2025

American presidents are empowered by Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, "to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States." The clemency power can refer to multiple forms of presidential mercy:

• Pardons to 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.

All presidents have exercised their constitutional authority to grant mercy to those serving a sentence or relieving those of the burden of a criminal record.

According to the New York Times, "President Trump is employing the vast power of his office to redefine criminality to suit his needs — using pardons to inoculate criminals he happens to like, downplaying corruption and fraud as crimes, and seeking to stigmatize political opponents by labeling them criminals."

President Donald Trump has used his pardon power, "to assert personal dominance over processes generally, if not always, governed by established ethical and institutional guardrails." He professes to be tough-on-crime, "but has often shown a willingness to do so only when he defines the rules and the laws."

This week, he justified pardoning Scott Jenkins, the former sheriff of Culpeper County, Va., and a political ally sentenced to 10 years for bribery, saying Mr. Jenkins had been "dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized" DOJ during the Biden administration. In fact, Mr. Jenkins was convicted after evidence showed that he had taken $75,000 in bribes in exchange for making wealthy business owners auxiliary deputy sheriffs in his department.

Trump's mercy extended to the son of a political fund-raiser who happened to be a confessed tax cheat. Then there is the donor to Trump's 2016 campaign who was convicted of campaign fiance fraud. Trump also pardoned a former Republican congressman from Staten Island who invoked Trump's name in his unsuccessful effort to defend himself against tax charges.

The list goes on, Trump pardoned a Long Island labor leader who failed to report $300,000 in gifts; Todd and Julie Chrisley, the reality TV couple known for "Chrisley Knows Best," after they were found guilty of a $36 million fraud and tax evasion; and the co-founder of Death Row Records, who, according to the Times, had endorsed Trump while serving a hefty sentence for conspiracy to commit murder.

Ed Martin, the former nominee for U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., and current Department of Justice pardon attorney, coined the phrase, "No MAGA left behind." Martin has suggested that the DOJ should investigate Trump's adversaries.

"If they can be charged, we'll charge them," Martin told The New York Times, "But if they can't be charged, we will name them. And we will name them, and in a culture that respects shame, they should be people that are ashamed."

During Trump's first term, he drew criticism for granting clemency to many people who had a "personal or political connection to the president," and he often circumvented the formal process for considering clemency requests, according to analyses by the Lawfare blog. According to The Pew Research, President Joe Biden also circumvented the process at times, including when he pardoned his son, Hunter.

Former President Bill Clinton drew bipartisan condemnation for pardoning a fugitive commodities trader, 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, who had been convicted of selling cocaine, reported Pew.

The most famous act of clemency in U.S. history was the pardon of a former president. On Sept. 8, 1974, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, former President Gerald Ford preemptively pardoned former President Richard Nixon for any federal crimes he "committed or may have committed."

Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner's Toll, 2010 was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewTMangino

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