President Donald Trump begins his second term issued “Full, complete and unconditional” pardons for approximately 1,500 people involved in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

He also commuted the sentences of 14 Proud Boys and Oath Keepers members who were convicted or charged with violence-related sedition plots.

The next day, Trump announced the pardon Ross UlbrichtThe founder of darknet market Silk Road has been jailed for selling illegal drugs on the platform.

So what about the number of pardons presidents have granted? Al Jazeera envisions presidential pardons in modern history, including some of the most controversial:

What is a presidential pardon?

Article II of the U.S. Constitution gives a sitting president the power to pardon individuals for federal crimes, sparing them from further punishment or other legal consequences. However, it does not apply to impeachment.

Once a pardon is issued, it is permanent. The president cannot overturn or revoke a pardon issued by a previous president.

Pardons can be issued before formal charges and after conviction. However, it does not apply to future crimes that a person has not yet committed.

There are various acts of leniency, such as:

• pardon – Grant full leniency to convictions
• commutation – Reduce the sentence to a lighter one
• probation – Delay penalty
• ease – Reduce the effectiveness of a sentence without changing its nature
• amnesty – Pardon the entire group

Which president has pardoned the most people?

In 1795, George Washington issued the first presidential pardon to the leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion, a violent tax protest.

In more modern history, 14 U.S. presidents since 1945 have issued a total of more than 9,000 presidential pardons and more than 6,500 commutations.

During that 80-year period, Harry Truman, who was president from 1945 to 1953, issued the most pardons — 1,913 — followed by Trump, who has so far issued at least 1,644 pardons were issued. Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) pardoned the third most people, with 1,110.

Joe Biden issued the most commutations with 4,169, followed by Barack Obama with 1,715. Other presidents since 1945 lag far behind Obama and Biden, with Lyndon Johnson ranking third with 226 commutations granted during his term from 1963-69.

Trump vs. Biden

Biden has granted at least 80 pardons and 4,169 commutations during his four-year term (2021-2025). By comparison, Trump approved 144 pardons and 94 commutations during his first term (2017-2021).

Although Trump is only a few days into his second term, he has already pardoned 1,500 people and granted more than a dozen commutations.

Trump has pardoned people with personal or political ties to him, including his supporters. During his first term, this included individuals involved in Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, ties between Trump associates and Russian officials, and Trump’s Trump and his associates may have obstructed justice.

Those convicted include Paul ManafortTrump campaign chairman; Michael Flynnhis former national security adviser; Roger Stonepolitical advisor; and George Papadopouloscampaign consultant.

Trump granted pardons and commuted sentences to several of those involved. Papadopoulos was pardoned in 2018 and Flynn was pardoned in November 2020. Stone’s sentence was commuted in July 2020, and he and Manafort received full pardons in December 2020.

Trump pardons in final hours of term in 2021 Steve Bannonhe was charged with fraud related to Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall fundraising campaign.

Trump also granted clemency to rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black. The former was convicted in December 2019 of carrying a firearm on a private jet and was pardoned. In 2019, Black was sentenced to four years in prison for making a false statement to carry a firearm. His sentence was later commuted.

Many of the people Biden pardoned were nonviolent drug offenders, including nearly 2,500 on Friday, the most in a single day except for Jimmy Carter. He also pardoned several family members, saying the measures were meant to protect them from politically motivated investigations by the Trump administration.

On his final day as president, Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a prominent figure during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been widely criticized by political opponents, including Trump, for his stance on the pandemic. Biden said pardoning Fauci was also intended to protect him from potential prosecution by the Trump administration.

Biden also commuted the sentence of Native American activist Leonard Peltier, who has spent time in prison since 1975 for killing two FBI agents nearly half a century.

Controversial Presidential Pardons

Here are some of the most controversial clemency measures implemented by U.S. presidents over the past 50 years:

1974: Gerald Ford pardons Richard Nixon

On September 8, 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for any crimes committed during his presidency, particularly those related to the Watergate scandal.

Ford believed this was a necessary step to move the country away from Watergate. However, the pardon was considered a key reason for Ford’s defeat in the 1976 election. Many believe the pardons continue to cover up the Watergate scandal, blocking possible prosecutions of the former president who resigned before being impeached.

1977: Jimmy Carter pardons Vietnam War deserters

When Jimmy Carter took office in 1977, he pardoned those who had evaded the Vietnam War draft on his first day in office (less than two years after the war ended).

Because of public sentiment against the Vietnam War, many young men tried to avoid being drafted. The pardon was criticized by veterans who served in Vietnam and conservative politicians, while others, such as the American Legion, praised the order but said it should also include deserters.

2017: Barack Obama commutes Chelsea Manning’s sentence

Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning was convicted in 2010 of leaking classified government documents to WikiLeaks that exposed U.S. military and diplomatic activities around the world. Manning was serving a 35-year sentence, but his sentence was commuted by Obama seven years later.

Pardoning family members – Clinton, Trump and Biden

In 2001, on his last day in office, Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother, Roger Clinton Jr. Roger Clinton Jr. pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine after being arrested in the 1980s for trying to sell cocaine to an undercover police officer. Clinton’s pardon cleared Roger’s criminal record.

In 2020, Trump pardoned his son-in-law’s father, Charles Kushner, who had served two terms in prison for tax evasion.

In 2024, Biden pardoned his son Hunter, despite previously saying he would not. Hunter faces sentencing in two criminal cases. In September, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and in June was found guilty of illegal drug use and possession of a firearm. He became the first child of a sitting president to be convicted.