How many pardons and commutations has joe biden granted and how does that number compare to prior presidents at the same point in their term?
Executive summary
Joe Biden issued more acts of clemency than any prior president on record, with reporting showing totals in the thousands — commonly cited figures include about 2,490 commutations issued on Jan. 17, 2025 and cumulative totals that put his four‑year clemency count above 4,000 and even into the 8,000 range in some tallies [1] [2] [3]. Sources disagree about the exact final number and what to count (individual pardons, commutations, mass proclamations and class pardons), producing different rankings versus past presidents [2] [4] [3].
1. What the Justice Department and White House reported
The Justice Department Office of the Pardon Attorney published lists of individual pardons and commutations with dated actions through January 19, 2025; the White House posted a clemency recipient list saying Biden commuted the sentences of 2,490 individuals on Jan. 17, 2025 [5] [1]. The DOJ pages record discrete proclamation dates for pardons and commutations across Biden’s term [6] [5].
2. Why totals vary: individual acts vs. proclamations and mass actions
Analysts and outlets use different counting rules. Pew and other outlets note DOJ statistics do not count broad proclamations that forgive classes of people (for example, mass pardons for certain marijuana convictions), while White House statements and some news organizations count those recipients when reporting “total clemencies” [2]. That counting difference explains why one headline can say Biden “granted more acts of clemency than any prior president” while other reports give different raw totals [2].
3. The headline claim: Biden set a record — but how strong is the consensus?
Multiple mainstream outlets reported Biden had issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history after his Jan. 2025 actions (NPR, Axios and others) [4] [7]. NPR reported that with his January moves Biden “has now issued more individual pardons and commutations than any president in U.S. history” [4]. Axios and the AP described record‑setting totals for single‑day and term aggregates while noting Biden’s large single‑day commutation and pardon packages [7] [8].
4. Example numbers reported in the press
Coverage of the January 2025 actions cited about 2,490 commutations announced by the White House on Jan. 17, 2025 and described prior single‑day actions that commuted ~1,500 sentences and pardoned 39 people in December 2024 [1] [8]. Pew’s February 2025 analysis said Biden granted 4,245 acts of clemency during his four‑year term, while other outlets and international wire services reported totals “more than 8,000” clemency actions depending on whether class pardons were included [2] [3].
5. How this compares to prior presidents
Comparisons depend on methodology. When counting discrete, individually listed pardons and commutations, reporting indicates Biden surpassed prior presidents’ historical totals and set modern records [4]. Historical outliers (like Andrew Johnson in the 19th century) and earlier presidents who issued amnesties or mass pardons complicate direct one‑to‑one comparisons; some outlets note totals “since 1775” and list long historical tallies where different types of clemency were used [3]. Pew explicitly notes DOJ statistics exclude class proclamations, which is critical when ranking presidents [2].
6. Political context and disagreements in coverage
Media and political actors framed Biden’s use of clemency in opposing ways. Supporters and some criminal‑justice observers presented the actions as corrective measures addressing sentencing disparities, especially for nonviolent drug offenses [9] [8]. Critics characterized some late‑term pardons — including preemptive pardons for family members and political actors — as unprecedented and politically motivated, and reporting flagged controversy around the pardons of Hunter Biden and family members [10] [11] [12].
7. The legal stability of those pardons — and contested claims
After Biden left office, President Trump claimed he could “terminate” or void pardons he said were signed with an autopen, but legal experts and outlets said courts would need to adjudicate any challenge and that the constitutional pardon power is broad; several outlets called Trump’s assertion legally doubtful [13] [14] [15]. Congressional GOP reports later asserted some pardons were “void” on administrative grounds — these are partisan findings and subject to legal challenge [16].
8. Bottom line for readers
Available sources agree Biden’s clemency program produced unprecedentedly large numbers by several commonly used metrics and that he issued major single‑day commutations in December 2024 and January 2025 [8] [1] [4]. Exact ranking and totals vary by whether class proclamations and mass pardons are included; Pew, DOJ and major news outlets document those methodological differences and provide differing totals as a result [2] [6] [4].