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The '''pardon power''' is a [[constitution]]al power assigned to the [[President]] which allows for the correction of political corruption of the criminal justice process, either by entirely repealing a conviction or mitigating the severity of the criminal punishment. "The President ... shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the [[United States]], except in Cases of Impeachment."  [[U.S. Constitution]], Article II, Section 2, Clause 1.  The United States [[Supreme Court]] has interpreted the "Pardon Power" to include the power to grant pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, respites, remissions, and amnesties.<ref>P.S. Ruckman, Jr. 1997. “Executive Clemency in the United States: Origins, Development, and Analysis (1900-1993),”27 ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', 251-271</ref>  Pardons can be granted before anyone is charged with a crime, but cannot apply to new crimes that may be committed in the future.  The [[Department of Justice]] asserts that the president cannot pardon someone with respect to state (non-federal) crimes, but apparently the [[U.S. Supreme Court]] has never addressed this issue of pardoning state crimes and there are arguments on both sides of this issue.<ref>''For'' a broader pardon power: this has been the trend in court decisions, and the prospect of a county prosecutor convicting a current or past president without the pardon power covering this seems absurd.  ''Against'' a broader pardon power: viewing the states as separate sovereigns has a following on the Supreme Court.</ref>

The '''pardon power''' is a [[constitution]]al power assigned to the [[President]] which allows for the correction of political corruption of the criminal justice process, either by entirely repealing a conviction or mitigating the severity of the criminal punishment. "The President ... shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the [[United States]], except in Cases of Impeachment."  [[U.S. Constitution]], Article II, Section 2, Clause 1.  The United States [[Supreme Court]] has interpreted the "Pardon Power" to include the power to grant pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, respites, remissions, and amnesties.<ref>P.S. Ruckman, Jr. 1997. “Executive Clemency in the United States: Origins, Development, and Analysis (1900-1993),”27 ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'', 251-271</ref>   

 

The phrase "United States" as used in the [[U.S. Constitution]] includes the States, not merely the federal government, and thus presidential pardons can apply to crimes against States. Indeed, President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] pardoned election officials convicted under state law of allowing [[Susan B. Anthony]] to vote. Despite this, the [[liberal media]] falsely insist that President Trump cannot pardon for state criminal charges.<ref>''For'' a broader pardon power: this has been the trend in court decisions, and the prospect of a county prosecutor convicting a current or past president without the pardon power covering this seems absurd.  ''Against'' a broader pardon power: viewing the states as separate sovereigns has a following on the Supreme Court.</ref>

The [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held that:

The [[U.S. Supreme Court]] held that:

As of August 27, 2023, a total of 669 reported decisions refer to "pardon power" or "pardon clause", including 255 federal, 411 state, and 1 tribal.  Only 17 [[U.S. Supreme Court]] decisions refer to this, as discussed below.

As of August 27, 2023, a total of 669 reported decisions refer to "pardon power" or "pardon clause", including 255 federal, 411 state, and 1 tribal.  Only 17 [[U.S. Supreme Court]] decisions refer to this, as discussed below.

The power comes from the royal [[English]] Prerogative of Kings, which predates the Norman invasion. [[British]] monarchs frequnelt sold pardons and conditional pardons were used to populate the colonies.<ref>Patrick R. Cowlishaw, "The Conditional Presidential Pardon." 28 ''Stanford Law Review'' 149-77</ref> Felons were also forgiven if they agreed to serve one year as a soldier.<ref>William F. Duker, "The Presidential Power to Pardon." 18 ''William and Mary Law Review'' 255-72</ref> Edward III granted pardons to celebrate his birthday and James II shared pardon sales with the two ladies "then most in favor."<ref>Kathleen Dean Moore, "Pardon for Good and Sufficient Reasons," University of 27 ''Richmond Law Review'' 281-8</ref> To curb abuses in which kings would grant pardons in exchange for money, Parliament tried unsuccessfully to limit this power.  However, in 1701 Parliament limited this power in the ''Act of Settlement''.

The power comes from the royal [[English]] Prerogative of Kings, which predates the Norman invasion. [[British]] monarchs frequently sold pardons and conditional pardons were used to populate the colonies.<ref>Patrick R. Cowlishaw, "The Conditional Presidential Pardon." 28 ''Stanford Law Review'' 149-77</ref> Felons were also forgiven if they agreed to serve one year as a soldier.<ref>William F. Duker, "The Presidential Power to Pardon." 18 ''William and Mary Law Review'' 255-72</ref> Edward III granted pardons to celebrate his birthday and James II shared pardon sales with the two ladies "then most in favor."<ref>Kathleen Dean Moore, "Pardon for Good and Sufficient Reasons," University of 27 ''Richmond Law Review'' 281-8</ref> To curb abuses in which kings would grant pardons in exchange for money, Parliament tried unsuccessfully to limit this power.  However, in 1701 Parliament limited this power in the ''Act of Settlement''.

Under the ''Articles of Confederation'', the executive had no pardon power. Likewise, the power was not a feature of either of the major plans discussed at the Constitutional Convention (the ''Virginia Plan'' and the ''New Jersey Plan''). Nor did the power appear in a first draft sent to the Committee on Detail. However, Charles Pickney and Alexander Hamilton submitted minor plans at the Convention which contained the power and John Rutlegde, a member of the Committee, scribbled it into the margins. The first real discussion of pardons did not take place until the end of a working day near the end of the Convention (August 25). Thus, there was "relative paucity of debate" at the Federal Convention concerning the pardon power<ref>James N. Jorgensen. 1993. "Clemency and Pardons Note," 27 ''University of Richmond Law Review'', 345-370</ref> and little further discussion at the state ratifying conventions.<ref>David G. Adler. 1989. "The President's Pardon Power." In Thomas Cronin's ''Inventing the Presidency''</ref>  

Under the ''Articles of Confederation'', the executive had no pardon power. Likewise, the power was not a feature of either of the major plans discussed at the Constitutional Convention (the ''Virginia Plan'' and the ''New Jersey Plan''). Nor did the power appear in a first draft sent to the Committee on Detail. However, Charles Pickney and Alexander Hamilton submitted minor plans at the Convention which contained the power and John Rutlegde, a member of the Committee, scribbled it into the margins. The first real discussion of pardons did not take place until the end of a working day near the end of the Convention (August 25). Thus, there was "relative paucity of debate" at the Federal Convention concerning the pardon power<ref>James N. Jorgensen. 1993. "Clemency and Pardons Note," 27 ''University of Richmond Law Review'', 345-370</ref> and little further discussion at the state ratifying conventions.<ref>David G. Adler. 1989. "The President's Pardon Power." In Thomas Cronin's ''Inventing the Presidency''</ref>