| | | You understand that by definition someone can't be pardoned unless they were found guilty?
By
Tom Murse
Updated January 20, 2021
Presidents have long used their authority to issue pardons to Americans who have been charged with and convicted of federal crimes. A presidential pardon is an official expression of forgiveness that removes the civil penalties—restrictions on the right to vote, hold elected office, and sit on a jury, for example—and, often, the stigma attached to criminal convictions.
Here's a look at how many pardons were granted by presidents dating back to 1900, according to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney. This list is sorted by the number of pardons issued from highest to lowest. These data cover only pardons, not commutations and remissions, which are separate actions.
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Presidential Pardons Through the Years | President | Years in Office | Pardons | | Franklin D. Roosevelt | 1933-1945 | 2,819 | | Harry S. Truman | 1945-1953 | 1,913 | | Dwight D. Eisenhower | 1953-1961 | 1,110 | | Woodrow Wilson | 1913-1921 | 1,087 | | Lyndon B. Johnson | 1963-1969 | 960 | | Richard Nixon | 1969-1974 | 863 | | Calvin Coolidge | 1923-1929 | 773 | | Herbert Hoover | 1929-1933 | 672 | | Theodore Roosevelt | 1901-1909 | 668 | | Jimmy Carter | 1977-1981 | 534 | | John F. Kennedy | 1961-1963 | 472 | | Bill Clinton | 1993-2001 | 396 | | Ronald Reagan | 1981-1989 | 393 | | William H. Taft | 1909-1913 | 383 | | Gerald Ford | 1974-1977 | 382 | | Warren G. Harding | 1921-1923 | 383 | | William McKinley | 1897-1901 | 291 | | Barack Obama | 2009-2017 | 212 | | George W. Bush | 2001-2009 | 189 | | Donald J. Trump | 2017-2021 | 143 | | George H.W. Bush | 1989-1993 | 74 | |
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