How many prisoners has trump pardoned this year alone
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Executive summary
President Donald J. Trump has granted clemency to more than 1,600 people since returning to the White House in January 2025, a tally that includes mass pardons and numerous individual pardons and commutations issued in the first year of his second term [1] [2]. That count refers to federal clemency actions recorded by multiple reporting outlets and is the best publicly available figure, though exact totals can shift as the Justice Department posts updates [3] [2].
1. The headline number: over 1,600 clemency grants in 2025
Public reporting and compilations show that more than 1,600 people had been granted executive clemency by President Trump as of mid‑2025, a figure repeated by major outlets and summaries tracking his second presidency [1] [2]. That total aggregates both pardons and commutations and reflects an unusually rapid pace of clemency compared with recent administrations, driven in part by large, headline‑making proclamations early in the term [4] [2].
2. The mass Jan. 20 action and who counted as “pardoned”
A critical driver of the tally was an immediate, mass effort on January 20, 2025 that pardoned roughly 1,500 people charged or convicted for roles in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack — a move explicitly documented in coverage of the administration’s early acts and cited as a foundational reason the cumulative total jumped so high so quickly [4] [5]. Reporting and DOJ listings treat those proclamations as full grants of clemency, which is why they are included in the 1,600‑plus figure [3] [4].
3. What “this year” and “prisoners” mean for the count — scope and legal limits
The commonly cited 1,600+ figure refers to federal grants of clemency — pardons and commutations — rather than state‑level actions, because presidential pardon power traditionally applies to “offenses against the United States,” i.e., federal convictions [2] [6]. Disputes have arisen when the White House announced actions aimed at state convictions (for example, the contested announcement about Tina Peters), and Colorado officials and legal scholars have questioned the legal effect of such claims [7] [6]. Reporting therefore separates federal clemency (counted in the 1,600+) from untested assertions about state cases [7] [6].
4. Political context, critics and defenders of the tally
Critics argue the pardons largely benefited political allies, donors and controversial figures and that the spree flouted Justice Department clemency norms, erased restitution obligations and harmed victims — a contention amplified by a House Judiciary Committee analysis estimating about $1.3 billion in wiped restitution and reporting that pardons erased millions owed to victims [8] [9] [4]. The administration and some supporters counter that many grants were lawful exercises of clemency and that White House review accompanied controversial pardons such as that of Binance founder Changpeng Zhao [10] [11]. Observers also flag potential conflicts of interest tied to financial and political relationships, as covered in investigative reporting and state statements [12] [5].
5. Caveats and where to look for the precise, up‑to‑date number
The Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney maintains an official clemency grants list, which is the authoritative public ledger for federal pardons and commutations and should be consulted for the most current count [3]. Reporting compiled through summer and autumn 2025 repeatedly used the “more than 1,600” figure, but the precise total at any later date depends on subsequent White House actions and DOJ postings [1] [2]. Reporting limitations: available sources reliably support the “more than 1,600” figure for 2025 federal clemency grants, and do not establish a different, independently verified count for all subsequent additions beyond those reported dates [3] [1].