Federal pardons in the United States

In the United States, the pardon power for federal crimes is granted to the President of the United States under Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution which states that the President "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment". The U.S. Supreme Court has interpreted this language to include the power to grant pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, remissions of fines and forfeitures, respites, and amnesties.

Alexander Hamilton defended the pardon power in The Federalist Papers, particularly in Federalist No. 74.

Pardons granted by presidents from George Washington until Grover Cleveland's first term (1885–1889) were hand written by the president; thereafter, pardons were prepared for the president by administrative staff requiring only that the president sign them.

All federal pardon petitions are addressed to the President, who grants or denies the request. Typically, applications for pardons are referred for review and non-binding recommendation by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, an official of the United States Department of Justice. The percentage of pardons and reprieves granted varies from administration to administration. Fewer pardons have been granted since World War II.

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