Biden issues 39 presidential pardons and commutes 1,500 sentences

US President Joe Biden issued a presidential pardon for 39 Americans convicted of non-violent crimes, and commuted the sentences of nearly 1,500 other people.

The White House described it as the largest number of presidential clemency acts issued in a single day. This comes after Biden took the decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden.

The United States Constitution states that the president has “broad power to grant reprieves and pardons for crimes against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.”

In announcing the move, Biden said the pardoned people “have demonstrated successful rehabilitation and demonstrated a commitment to making their communities stronger and safer.”

The White House released a pardon list of 39 people that said the individuals committed either a “non-violent crime” or a “non-violent drug crime.” It did not mention the specific crimes of which they were convicted.

Many of those pardoned were individuals released from prison. Many were veterans or became community leaders or advocates.

The White House described one of the clemency recipients as a 49-year-old Virginia resident who was convicted of a drug crime at age 21. After serving his sentence, he earned a college degree, had a successful career in the US Army and Air Force and volunteered for charitable organizations that support veterans.

He was known as “hardworking, loyal, and trustworthy by those who knew him,” the White House said in a statement that provided brief biographies of each of the pardoned recipients.

The 1,499 commuted sentences include individuals who were placed on home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as those whose sentences Biden deemed too long due to outdated laws.

Biden said of those whose sentences he commuted that they “showed they deserve a second chance.”

Biden promised “more steps in the coming weeks.”

The President will leave the White House on January 20, 2025, when his successor, Donald Trump, is inaugurated.

Biden previously had a record of pardoning fewer people than most presidents in modern US history.

However, he has issued some outright pardons in the past. This is an amnesty granted to a large number of people who fall within the category specified by the President.

In October 2022, Biden issued a full pardon to those convicted of marijuana possession, later expanding that to include other marijuana-related crimes.

Earlier this year, Biden issued another full pardon to military personnel and veterans who were convicted of a crime based on their sexual orientation.

Biden’s decision earlier this month to pardon his son Hunter comes in continuation of the trend of presidents on both sides of the American political divide – including Trump – granting pardons to people close to them.

The younger Biden was facing sentencing in two criminal cases related to tax fraud and weapons crimes.

The move proved controversial, as the outgoing president had previously ruled out doing so. But he claimed that the cases against his son were politically motivated.

Biden is also considering preemptively pardoning prominent critics of his successor Trump in an attempt to protect them from punishment after the president-elect takes office, but is said to be concerned about the precedent this would set.

In a separate development on Thursday, a former FBI informant pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, leading to investigations into the Biden family.

Alexander Smirnov admitted that he fabricated “slanders” about Biden and his son accepting bribes from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Republicans in Congress have used this allegation as evidence of corruption.

Trump granted 237 pardons during his first term in the White House, according to the Pew Research Center. These rulings included 143 pardons and 94 reduced sentences.

Many were in disarray before he left office.

In recent days, Trump has pledged to issue pardons on his first day in office to people convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill, in which his supporters tried to prevent the certification of Biden’s election victory.

He said this week that the pardon would be for “non-violent” people.

“The vast majority should not be in prison. They have suffered greatly,” he said in an interview with Time magazine on Thursday.