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Most Recent Pardons Don’t Bode Well For Federal Clemency – Update for December 2, 2025

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

PARDONS FROM THE SUBLIME TO THE WEIRD

President Trump conducted the annual turkey pardon on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, sparing “Waddle” and “Gobble” from the processing house.

At the same time, he extended the pardon to the Peach and Blossom, the two turkeys President Biden pardoned last year. Trump contended that Biden’s pardon of the birds was invalid because it was signed with an autopen instead of by Biden himself.

“The turkeys known as Peach and Blossom last year have been located, and they were on their way to be processed, in other words to be killed, but I stopped that journey and I am officially pardoning them,” Trump said.

Last Friday, Trump wrote on Truth Social: “Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect. The Autopen is not allowed to be used if approval is not specifically given by the President of the United States.” 

Trump also said that he has now overturned all the executive orders under the Biden administration and “anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden.”

Unless it’s an autopen doing the signing

It is not clear what “anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden” might include, such as clemencies. However, any notion that pardons might be excluded was undercut by Trump’s comments during the turkey pardon. Trump has previously suggested that Biden’s clemencies were illegal, but he has not yet tried to void any of them. His recent actions suggest that such an attempt is not out of the question.

Trump continues to issue clemencies one at a time, even where doing so contradicts his policies. In a Saturday social media post, Trump said that drug cartels present one of the most pressing dangers to the USA, saying in a social media post that airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered “CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”

But this pronouncement followed Trump’s Friday social media announcement of a pardon for Juan Orlando Hernández, former president of Honduras, who was convicted of drug trafficking charges and has 35 years to go on his 45-year federal sentence.

The New York Times said, “The two posts displayed a remarkable dissonance in the president’s strategy, as he moved to escalate a military campaign against drug trafficking while ordering the release of a man prosecutors said had taken “cocaine-fueled bribes” from cartels and “protected their drugs with the full power and strength of the state — military, police and justice system.”

Trump said he had issued the pardon to Hernández because “they gave him 45 years because he was the president of the country — you could do this to any president on any country.”  Trump said that friends had alerted him to the wrongs done to Hernández: “Many people that I greatly respect” had told him Hernández had been “treated very harshly and unfairly.”

“Why would we pardon this guy and then go after Maduro for running drugs into the United States,” wrote Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) on X. “Lock up every drug runner! I don’t understand why he is being pardoned.”

Meanwhile, just in case you think Trump’s pardon czar Alice Marie Johnson has gone dormant, she said in a Thanksgiving social media post that Trump had commuted the 7-year sentence of a private equity executive who had served less than two weeks for his role in what prosecutors described as a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims.

David Gentile reported to prison on November 14th and suffered horribly in a minimum-security camp for nearly two weeks before being released on Thanksgiving Eve, according to the BOP. Alice Johnson said that she was “deeply grateful to see David Gentile heading home to his young children” and called it an “act of mercy.”

A White House official used the old refrain of “Biden something something,” suggesting that the Biden administration’s Ponzi scheme claim against Gentile’s company – good enough to convince a unanimous jury – was nevertheless “profoundly undercut by the fact that GPB had explicitly told investors what would happen… At trial, the government was unable to tie any supposedly fraudulent representations to Mr. Gentile.” The White House official spoke on condition of anonymity due to not being authorized to speak on the topic.

Ironically, we have always advised people seeking clemency that arguing the unjustness of their conviction was strongly disfavored.  Apparently, that’s the case no longer.

ABC News, Trump’s turkey pardoning turns political, but Waddle and Gobble are spared (November 25, 2025)

NBC, Trump ‘cancelling’ Biden executive orders signed by autopen (November 28, 2025)

New York Times, In Announcing Pardon of Drug Trafficker While Threatening Venezuela, Trump Displays Contradictions (November 29, 2025)

Wall Street Journal, He Was Convicted of Running a Narco State. Now Trump Plans to Pardon Him. (December 1, 2025)

Reuters, Trump frees former GPB Capital CEO after Biden admin’s Ponzi scheme sentence (November 30, 2025)

X.com, Alice Marie Johnson – All Grace (November 27, 2025)

~ Thomas L. Root

Thanksgiving Week: Pardon Me If I Serve Up Turkey – Update for November 25, 2024

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

TURKEY TIME FOR JOE BIDEN

Today, Minnesota turkey farmer John Zimmerman and his son Grant visited the White House to see two of their prize turkeys, Peach and Blossom, receive presidential clemency, something that thousands of human federal prisoners would happily take the birds’ place in order to receive.

turkeypardonme241125President Joe Biden pardoned the 7th and 8th turkeys to receive clemency in his Administration. The spectacle is an annual Thanksgiving ritual that this year is being staged amid a clamor for Biden to issue a veritable feast of real pardons and commutations in the waning days of his Administration.

In the nearly four years he has been in office, Biden has granted 25 pardons and 132 commutations out of the thousands of applications filed. He has also pardoned two classes of people who were not incarcerated, people convicted of simple marijuana possession and members of the military who were court-martialed because of their sexual orientation.

Nearly all of the commutations have involved drug offenses. They number 38 more commutations than his predecessor, Donald Trump, granted in his first term, but fewer than one-tenth of the sentences Barack Obama commuted in his second term. About 8,002 petitions for clemency are pending (including for the two turkeys).

turkeyprison161114Last Wednesday, a gobbling flock of advocates, former prisoners, and families joined 67 congressional leaders in a joint letter urging President Biden to grant clemency to non-violent federal cannabis prisoners before his term ends.

Among federal prisoners, “90% of people are convicted of non-violent offenses. Now is the time to use your clemency authority to rectify unjust and unnecessary criminal laws passed by Congress and draconian sentences given by judges,” the letter says. “We urge you to use your executive clemency power to reunite families, address longstanding injustices in our legal system, and set our nation on the path toward ending mass incarceration.”

Reps Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), James Clyburn (D-SC), and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) were lead signers of the letter.

pardonturkey231121Also, in a briefing last week, Prison Policy Initiative stated, “Although he’s extended pardons and commutations during his term, President Joe Biden has yet to use his clemency powers for a person facing the federal death penalty, despite openly opposing capital punishment at one time. Biden can still heed increasing calls from advocates to improve his minimal clemency record and clear federal death row of all 40 current death sentences… Given that president-elect Donald Trump enthusiastically supports the death penalty — and has historically abused the pardon power — President Biden could spare 40 lives immediately and reclaim the true function of clemency by commuting all federal death sentences.”

Not that President-elect Trump is anti-pardon. He loves them… for the right people.

Last week, a Trump-appointed federal judge said it would be “beyond frustrating and disappointing” if Trump grants sweeping clemency to most of the defendants charged in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Federal Judge Carl Nichols (District of Columbia) blasted the prospect of “blanket pardons” or “anything close” during the sentencing of a defendant facing eight assault charges.

Politico said, “Nichols’ comments were a surprise from the typically restrained judge and came at the end of a hearing in which he and federal prosecutors grappled at length with the potential impact of Donald Trump’s election on ongoing Jan 6 cases. He added that “anything close to blanket clemency would be similarly frustrating.”

This American Life: America’s Next Top Gobble (November 15, 2024)

Guardian, Biden must Trump-proof US democracy, activists say: ‘There is a sense of urgency’ (November 24, 2024)

Letter to President Biden (November 20, 2024)

The Appeal, U.S. Reps Urge Biden to Use Clemency to Correct “Extreme Use of Incarceration” (November 20, 2024)

Prison Policy Initiative, Talking turkey about the death penalty: outgoing governors and the president must use their clemency power now (November 18, 2024)

Politico, Trump-appointed judge opposes ‘blanket pardons’ for Jan. 6 defendants (November 19, 2024)

– Thomas L. Root

Turkeys Pardoned While 18,000 Wait – Update for November 21, 2023

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BIDEN GRANTS PARDONS  – BUT JUST FOR SOME TURKEYS

President Biden bettered his dismal record on granting pardons and commutations yesterday. Unfortunately, the gobbling recipients are not in BOP custody.

pardonturkey231121Two Minnesota turkeys, Liberty and Bell, arrived at the White House in a stretch Cadillac Escalade to receive a pardon from the President in the annual darkly humorous (except to the incarcerated and their families) White House Thanksgiving ceremony. The Washington Post calls a “hollow tradition.”

Although Biden branded it “the biggest edition of this wonderful White House Thanksgiving tradition,” the Post said the “event felt exceedingly breezy and unmemorable — even by turkey-pardon standards.”

The birds hatched in July on a farm near Willmar. Within 150 miles of the farm are nearly 1,500 men and women in BOP facilities, none of whom received pardons or commutations yesterday. Over 18,000 clemency applications are on file at the DOJ (not including the two for the turkeys).

clemency220418Last week, Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer visited FCI Petersburg to provide a series of educational sessions about the federal clemency process. Given the 18,000-application backlog and low number of Biden pardons and commutations granted almost three years into his term, the purpose of the Pardon Attorney’s “initiatives” is unclear. The Pardon Attorney said the visit and prior sessions at Ft Dix, Lewisburg and Aliceville are part of a year-round initiative by her Office “to increase the accessibility and transparency of the clemency process through education and community engagement.”

Better gobbledygook couldn’t have emanated from the happy birds, Liberty & Bell. And they should be happy. Today, without even asking for it, they got something over 18,000 federal prisoners have asked for but not gotten: clemency.

MPR News, Minnesota turkeys headed to White House for presidential pardon (November 17, 2023)

Washington Post, Biden turns 81, pardons turkeys, confuses Britney for Taylor (November 20, 2023)

Prison Policy Initiative, Executive inaction: States and the federal government fail to use commutations as a release mechanism (April 2022)

Dept of Justice Press Release, Readout of Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer’s Visit to Federal Correctional Institution Petersburg (November 15, 2023)

– Thomas L. Root

Pardoning Turkeys, Not People – Update for December 1, 2022

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BIDEN TURKEY PARDONS DRAW CRITICISM

President Joe Biden continued a 75-year tradition last week, pardoning a pair of North Carolina turkeys named Chocolate and Chip after his favorite flavor of ice cream.

turkeypardon221201“The votes are in, they’ve been counted and verified,” Biden said, granting the pardons. “There’s no ballot stuffing. There’s no fowl play.”

Vote counting apparently did not include the over 18,000 people whose applications for pardons or commutations are piled up at the Dept. of Justice Pardon Attorney’s office.

Ohio State University law professor Doug Berman, writing in his Sentencing Law and Policy blog, referred to the ceremony as “the annual turkey pardon silliness at the White House.”

clemencybacklog190904Reason magazine was not much kinder to Biden’s clemency for those convicted of simple marijuana possession announced in October. The mass pardon was “an example of all hat and no cattle,” Reason said. “‘I’m keeping my promise that no one should be in jail for merely using or possessing marijuana,’ [Biden] said in October. ‘None…’ But not a single person was released from custody by the Bureau of Prisons due to Biden’s proclamation… The presidential pardon power can and should be used more often. Not just for turkeys, but for the thousands of people serving decades due to draconian drug laws that Biden supported for most of his political career.”

Associated Press, Biden opens holidays, pardons turkeys Chocolate and Chip (November 21, 2022)

Sentencing Law and Policy, Does Prez Biden’s clemency record in 2022 deserve some praise on the day of turkey pardons? (November 21, 2022)

Reason, Pardon People, Not Turkeys (November 23, 2022)

– Thomas L. Root

Biden Pardons Turkeys But No Prisoners – Update for November 22, 2021

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We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

BIDEN ISSUES FIRST PARDONS… NO HUMANS MAKE THE LIST

turkey211122There was no shortage of complaints from criminal justice reform advocates last Friday as President Biden “pardoned” two turkeys with the rather vegan names of “Peanut Butter” and “Jelly” in a White House ceremony.

“Peanut Butter and Jelly were selected based on their temperament, appearance, and, I suspect, vaccination status,” Biden said. “Yes, instead of getting basted, these two turkeys are getting boosted.”

But when a reporter asked whether he would be pardoning “any people in addition to turkeys,” Biden treated the question as a joke. “You need a pardon?” the president quipped. He didn’t reply to a follow-up question about marijuana prisoners as he walked away from assembled journalists.

turkeyb161123The turkeys may not get roasted, but the President isn’t so lucky. Law professor and clemency expert Mark Osler wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune that “those of us who work in the field of clemency are left with a bitter taste in our mouths. Biden’s pardon of those turkeys represents the first time he has shown any interest at all in clemency. The problem isn’t just that Biden isn’t granting any clemency, it’s that he isn’t denying any, either. Following the lead of his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, Biden is just letting requests sit.”

Osler cited the 18,000 pending clemency petitions – 16,000 more than when Obama took office – and the danger CARES Act people may be sent back to prison when the pandemic ends, as “two genuine crises unfolding in federal clemency.”

A few days earlier, Interrogating Justice complained that

President Joe Biden campaigned heavily on justice reform, including with the federal Bureau of Prisons. He acted swiftly after his inauguration by terminating private prisons that housed federal inmates. However, since then, there has been virtually nothing. Various justice-reform groups have called out the president for his apparent lack of action. Points of frustration start with the increased population of federal prisons, the BOP’s inept handling of the pandemic, the failure to apply First Step Act time credits and most recently the question of granting clemency to all prisoners who are at home confinement under the CARES Act. And these are just a few of the many issues that plague the BOP.

turkeyprison161114The Minneapolis Post argued that “

While campaigning for president last year, however, Biden promised sweeping changes to the criminal justice system. And Biden could not have been more clear that he was committed to reform — promising, “as president” to “strengthen America’s commitment to justice and reform our criminal justice system. Then Biden got elected. And he’s been busy with other things…”

The Hill called it Biden’s “do-nothing” approach to clemency, which

he seems to have delegated entirely to the DOJ… Most of the Democratic candidates for president endorsed this change because the DOJ had proven itself incapable of handling clemency impartially and efficiently for decades… So why doesn’t Biden take clemency away from DOJ and create the kind of advisory commission that President Ford used to aid him in processing a similar backlog of petitions from people with convictions for draft evasion during the Vietnam War? The only apparent answer is that Biden does not want to look like he is interfering with DOJ. But clemency should never have been in DOJ in the first place. It is there by historical accident — no state gives clemency decision-making power to the same prosecutors who bring cases in the first place because of the obvious conflict of interest problem it poses.

New York Times, Boosted, Not Basted: Biden Pardons 2 Turkeys in Thanksgiving Tradition (November 19, 2021)

New York Post, Biden laughs off question about clemency for humans before pardoning turkeys (November 19, 2021)

Minneapolis Star-Tribune, When it Comes to Human Pardons, Thanks for Nothing (November 19, 2021)

Interrogating Justice, The Biden Administration Has Gone Quiet on Justice Reform at the BOP (November 15, 2021)

Minneapolis Post, When will Biden make good on his promise to reform criminal justice? (November 15, 2021)

The Hill, Biden can’t let Trump’s DOJ legacy stifle reform (November 17, 2021)

 Thomas L. Root