President Trump’s first two weeks in office have been controversial for many reasons; not the least of which concerns his pardons for the “January 6 rioters.”1 Actually, Trump’s pardons can be seen as a part of a what may be termed, a ‘Tale of Two Pardons.’ According to the Pew Research Center, during his presidency, President Biden pardoned over 4,245 criminals and even some who have yet to be convicted of any crime.2 According to other sources, the actual number of Biden pardons added to his commutations is over 8,000.3 President Obama had the previous high, pardoning over 1900.
On the other hand, President Trump has pardoned 1,700 over his tenure including the previous presidential term and the beginning of his second term.1 Can the pardons by both Presidents be considered as equally egregious? Consider this…
- Including pardons and commutations, Biden extended clemency to “more than 8,000 individuals, which is more than any other modern president. Thousands of Biden’s clemency grants were to serious criminals, including murderers, child killers, child abusers, and the biggest municipal embezzler in history, Rita Crundwell.”Biden’s 8,000 is more than one tenth of all the acts of clemency from the beginning of the office of President.
- Many important and well-connected Democrats received Biden’s pardons.
- Biden claimed that his pardons of death row inmates were due to his opposition to the death penalty, but he left three inmates there to be executed.
- Many of Biden’s pardons benefited his own family. Of course, everyone knows that he pardoned his son after promising that he wouldn’t, but several other pardons benefited other family members and friends who would otherwise be sources of information for a prosecution of Biden and his family’s corruption.3
Contrast those pardons with President Trump’s pardons. By far and away Trump’s pardoning the 1500‘January 6 rioters’ has been his most controversial act of clemency. However, consider the fact that President Trump was elected after, among other things, vowing to do this very thing…to pardon the ‘January 6’ rioters. His transparency and choice of clemency subjects compared with those of Biden is a ‘slam dunk.’ Trump’s pardons trump Biden’s pardons!
- Feuer, A. (2025). Trump Grants Sweeping Clemency to All Jan. 6 Rioters. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/us/politics/trump-pardons-jan-6.html
- Gramlich, J. (2025). Biden granted more acts of clemency than any prior president. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-granted-more-acts-of-clemency-than-any-prior-president/
- Yoo, J. & Shu, J. (2025). Sorry, Biden’s Pardons Are Much Worse Than Trump’s. Newsweek. Retrieved from https://www.newsweek.com/sorry-bidens-pardons-are-much-worse-trumps-opinion-2018843
- Gramlich, J. (2025). Biden granted more acts of clemency than any prior president. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/07/biden-granted-more-acts-of-clemency-than-any-prior-president/
- Yoo, J. & Shu, J. (2025). Sorry, Biden’s Pardons Are Much Worse Than Trump’s. Newsweek. Retrieved from https://www.newsweek.com/sorry-bidens-pardons-are-much-worse-trumps-opinion-2018843
