Mark Osler, professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, recently published an editorial in The New York Times about President Biden’s legacy and his clemency record.
From the story:
Legacy, no doubt, is on President Biden’s mind. Having given up on a second term, he must be thinking about how history will judge his four years as president. One area he should think hard about is his paltry record on clemency, which plays a part in shaping every president’s legacy. Even with a little more than three months left in office, it is not too late for Mr. Biden to create a record he can point to with pride.
Clemency is the unilateral constitutional power granted to the president to pardon someone convicted of a federal crime or to commute a sentence. It is a powerful tool but one presidents tend not to think about until it is nearly too late.
End-of-term clemency chaos has become an unfortunate presidential tradition, as presidents scramble after ignoring this crucial power for most of their time in office. That is how we ended up with Bill Clinton unloading 140 pardons on his last day in office, including one to the wholly undeserving Marc Rich, a fugitive financier; George W. Bush wrecking his relationship with Dick Cheney by refusing at the last minute to give a full pardon to Scooter Libby, Mr. Cheney’s chief of staff, for obstructing a federal investigation; and Donald Trump issuing pardons to undeserving cronies and celebrities.
Mr. Biden has granted 25 pardons and commuted the sentences of 131 other people, according to the most recent Justice Department data. That is a mere 1.4% of the petitions he has received, based on our analysis. No modern U.S. president, going back to Richard Nixon, has had a rate so low; though of course, Mr. Biden is still in office.
