Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Fact check: How many violent criminals did President Biden pardon?
Executive Summary
President Biden has not been shown to have issued broad pardons of “violent criminals”; public records and recent proclamations instead show targeted clemency actions—most notably a June 26, 2024 proclamation pardoning certain former service members for court-martial convictions under the former Article 125 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice that involved consensual, private conduct among adults. No source supplied in the dataset documents a quantified list of violent offenders pardoned by President Biden, and available analyses emphasize legal context and the institutional pardon process rather than any mass forgiveness of violent crime convictions [1].
1. What claim are people making and why it matters — “Biden pardoned violent criminals” examined
The core claim being evaluated is that President Biden “pardoned violent criminals,” a statement presented without specific names or case counts. The available materials do not identify any pardons that match that label; instead they highlight a presidential action addressing a discrete class of military court-martial convictions tied to consensual conduct, not crimes of violence [1]. Establishing whether pardons involve violent offenses affects public perceptions of public safety, justice policy, and political accountability, so the distinction between non-violent or procedural clemency and pardon of violent offenders is central to accurate public discourse [2].
2. Documentary evidence: the June 26, 2024 proclamation and what it actually covered
The clearest documentary evidence in the set is President Biden’s June 26, 2024 proclamation, which granted full, unconditional pardons to certain former service members with court-martial convictions under the former Article 125 of the UCMJ for consensual private conduct with persons aged 18 and older. The proclamation addressed historical discriminatory enforcement rather than violent conduct; the texts and summaries available in the dataset do not list any violent offense categories or enumerate allowed violent pardon recipients [1]. The language and scope emphasize remedying past wrongs tied to sexual conduct prohibitions, not releasing violent offenders.
3. What the Department of Justice and legal scholars say about presidential pardons and records
Department of Justice press materials in the dataset cover a range of topics but do not furnish evidence supporting the claim that the president pardoned violent criminals en masse; the DOJ items provided discuss unrelated enforcement actions and broader pardon announcements without violent-offense lists [3]. Legal analysis from sources like Stanford Law School explains the historical and institutional contours of the pardon power, underscoring that pardons are discrete acts recorded in official documents and that claims about large-scale pardons require direct documentary support—support absent here [2].
4. Absence of evidence is not proof of a sweeping pardon — what the records actually imply
The absence of any cited list, specific names, or official tally of violent offenders pardoned by President Biden in the supplied material means the allegation lacks evidentiary support. The only explicit presidential clemency action in the dataset targets former Article 125 convictions and former service members; that action is narrowly framed and public [1]. Given that presidential pardons are typically documented and publicized—especially controversial ones—an absence of documentation in the provided sources is strong evidence against the claim as stated.
5. How confusion arises: conflating different clemency acts and political rhetoric
Political rhetoric and media shorthand often conflate pardons, commutations, and state-level clemency with federal pardons, which can create misleading impressions. The dataset contains a California governor’s pardons unrelated to the president, demonstrating how disparate clemency actions can be conflated into a single narrative [4]. Partisan actors may use broad language like “pardoned violent criminals” to provoke outrage; careful parsing shows the presidential action available in these sources targeted a specific nonviolent-class of military convictions, not a general amnesty for violent crime [5].
6. What additional evidence would confirm or refute the broader claim
To substantiate a claim that President Biden pardoned violent criminals, one would need contemporaneous federal records: the official White House pardon list, DOJ clemency announcements specifying offense categories, or court records showing pardons for violent convictions. None of the provided items includes such a list; therefore confirmation requires consulting primary federal records or reputable databases tracking presidential clemency actions. The existing sources point readers to targeted military clemency and legal context rather than any mass pardon of violent offenders [1] [2].
7. Bottom line for readers: what is supported and what remains unproven
The evidence in the supplied dataset supports the factual statement that President Biden issued a focused pardon addressing certain former Article 125 military convictions involving consensual adult conduct, and it does not support the claim that he pardoned violent criminals as a category or in quantified terms. The claim that he pardoned violent criminals is unproven by the materials provided; absent explicit lists or DOJ/White House documentation to the contrary, the accurate conclusion is that no documented mass pardon of violent offenders by President Biden appears in these sources [1] [3] [2].