How many pardons were done by Biden in January 2025

1. Biden’s January 19 clemency package: five pardons and two commutations

On January 19, 2025, the White House announced that President Biden “pardon[ed] 5 individuals and commute[d] the sentences of 2 individuals,” naming the five pardoned people and the two whose sentences were commuted so that their terms would expire on February 18, 2025 ^[1]. Reuters confirmed the five pardons included high‑profile and historical names — including the late Marcus Garvey — and that two commutations were part of the same announcement ^[6].

2. Additional January 20 pardons and a separate statement

A separate White House statement on January 20, 2025, says the President issued pardons to Gerald G. Lundergan and Ernest William Cromartie and commuted Leonard Peltier’s sentence to home confinement; that release is presented as a distinct action from the January 19 package ^[2]. The White House framing treats these as additional individual clemency acts within the same final days of the administration ^[2].

3. Large‑scale commutations announced on January 17: context and scale

Two days earlier, on January 17, 2025, the White House posted a “Clemency Recipient List” showing the President commuted the sentences of 2,490 individuals — a mass commutation that is separate from the individual pardons reported on January 19 and 20 ^[4]. The Justice Department’s commutations timeline likewise lists January 16–19, 2025 among its entries, documenting a flurry of clemency activity in mid‑January ^[5].

4. How official records catalogue the January actions

The Office of the Pardon Attorney’s public index of pardons granted by President Biden includes an entry for January 19, 2025, linking that date to the listed pardons in its online compilation ^[3]. The DOJ’s separate commutation chronology also shows entries for January 16–19, 2025, corroborating multiple clemency actions across those dates ^[5].

5. Media confirmation and what each outlet highlights

Reuters’ reporting emphasized the five pardons on January 19 (including Marcus Garvey) and noted the two commutations ^[6]. The White House statement is the primary source for the explicit count — “pardon 5 individuals and commute the sentences of 2 individuals” — while Reuters and the DOJ listings corroborate the same package ^{[1] [6] [3]}.

6. Disputed claims and follow‑on controversies not settled by these sources

Later reporting and political inquiries have raised questions about the mechanics of some pardons (autopen use, timing, and scope) and about other January clemency moves such as pre‑emptive pardons for family members and officials; those controversies are reported by outlets like BBC and later oversight reporting, but the provided sources document the January 19 and 20 counts specifically and do not adjudicate legal challenges to their validity ^{[7] [8]}. Available sources do not mention definitive legal nullification of the January 19 or January 20 pardons in these documents ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

7. Bottom line — how many pardons in January 2025, per official releases

Based on White House statements and Justice Department records provided here, the clear, attributable counts in mid‑January 2025 are: five individuals pardoned and two commuted on January 19, 2025 ^[1], and at least two additional named pardons on January 20, 2025 ^[2]. The mass commutation of 2,490 people on January 17 is a separate action and not a set of pardons ^[4]. Official DOJ and White House sources list those dates and numbers; subsequent disputes over autopen use or legality are documented elsewhere but are not resolved in these sources ^{[3] [8] [7]}.

Limitations: this summary relies solely on the White House statements, DOJ pardons/commutations pages, and contemporary Reuters/BBC reporting supplied here; it does not incorporate later investigatory findings or additional media reporting beyond the provided documents ^{[1] [3] [6] [4]}.