Presidential Pardons    - The Pardon Power    - The Clinton Pardons    - Selected Resources March 2001 Final update of text and links.

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The Pardon Power

As judicially interpreted, the president's power to grant reprieves and pardons is absolute.  Individual reprieves and pardons cannot be blocked by Congress or the courts.  The Framers of the Constitution envisioned the pardon power has having a narrow purpose in times of war and rebellion.  The president might offer pardons to rebellious factions as an inducement for a laying down of arms and national reconciliation.  Alexander Hamilton argued  in the Federalist Papers (No. 74) that "in seasons of insurrection or rebellion, there are often critical moments, when a well-timed offer of pardon to the insurgents or rebels may restore the tranquillity of the common wealth; and which, if suffered to pass unimproved, it may never be possible afterwards to recall."

The pardon power has been used as the Framers foresaw:  George Washington pardoned leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion, and Andrew Johnson pardoned Confederate soldiers following the Civil War.  In 20th century, Jimmy Carter pardoned those who had evaded service in the Vietnam War.

But a long succession of presidents has used the pardon power much more broadly.  Bill Clinton is but the latest president to use the pardon power to forgive a wide range of criminal offenses.

Many pardons have been controversial.  Perhaps the most controversial was Gerald Ford's preemptive 1974 pardon of Richard Nixon for his actions in the Watergate Affair.  More recently, George Bush's 1992 pardons of six Reagan administration officials involved in the Iran-Contra Affair, including Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, generated considerable negative comment.

The Clinton Pardons

The Office of Pardon Attorney, established in the Justice Department in 1981, assists the president in the exercise of the pardon power.  The office's role in the Clinton pardons is discussed in the February 14, 2001 testimony of Pardon Attorney Roger Adams before the Senate Judiciary Committee.  Adams notes that the Clinton White House did not consult his office in Marc Rich's pardon or in other controversial final day pardons.

JURIST, the Legal Education Network is tracking the latest news on the Clinton pardons, with links to full-text stories, at its Presidential Pardons page.

The New York Times is also maintaining a  Pardons page with the most recent feature article and a list of links to related stories.

Selected Resources

Presidential Pardons (JURIST, the Legal Education Network at University of Pittsburgh School of Law).

An excellent general site on the subject of presidential pardons and on the Clinton pardons in particuar.  Includes an extensive scholarly bibliography on pardons.

Bibliography (additional citations not included in the JURIST bibliography noted above):

Barcroft, A. A.
"The Presidential Pardon: a Flawed Solution," Human Rights Law Journal, v. 14, no. 11-12 (Dec. 31, 1993), p. 381-394.

 

Dorris, Jonathan Truman.
Pardon and Amnesty under Lincoln and Johnson: the Restoration of the Confederates to Their Rights and Privileges, 1861-1898. Westport, CN: Greenwood Press, 1977, c1953.

 

Dunne, Philip.
"The Verdict of History vs. a Presidential Pardon," Los Angeles Times, v. 107, sec. V, (Nov. 27, 1988), p. 3.

 

McAllister, Bill.
"The Pardon: an Absolute and Controversial Presidential Power," Washington Post, v. 116, (Dec. 25, 1992), p. A26.

 

Rozell, Mark J.
"The Presidential Pardon Power: a Bibliographic Essay," Journal of Law and Politics , v. 5, no. 2 (Winter 1989), p. 459-467.

 

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary.
The Pardon Attorney Reform and Integrity Act: Report together with Minority Views (to Accompany S. 2042). Washington, DC: U.S. G.P.O., 2000.

Prepared by the staff of the IGS Library. Send comments to igsl@uclink.berkeley.edu.