The numbers
Every president uses the pardon power. In the 80 years since 1945, 14 presidents issued more than 9,000 pardons and 6,500 commutations combined. Harry Truman issued the most at 1,913 across nearly eight years in office.
Trump passed 1,600 in his first 16 months back. That would be unremarkable if the pardons followed the normal process. They did not.
Of roughly 1,600 people who received clemency in Trump’s second term, only 10 had filed petitions through the Office of the Pardon Attorney. Career officials at DOJ recommended almost none of them. The standard review process that every modern president relied on was skipped entirely.
“No president has started a term with so many pardons that violate long-standing policies and norms.”
Who got pardoned
The pattern becomes clear when you look at the names.
CREW counts at least 20 corrupt politicians pardoned so far. An NBC News analysis in January 2026 found that over half of Trump’s 88 individual pardons were for white-collar offenses, with money laundering, bank fraud, and wire fraud among the most frequent.
The pattern
Past presidents have issued controversial pardons. Clinton pardoned financier Marc Rich. George H.W. Bush pardoned six Iran-Contra officials. Biden pardoned his son Hunter.
Those were isolated decisions, usually made in a president’s final days.
What makes this different is the system behind it. Trump’s pardons share three features that previous presidents’ did not.
They reward personal loyalty. The Jan. 6 defendants fought for Trump. The fake electors schemed for Trump.
The corrupt politicians either supported Trump or belong to his party. Loyalty to the president is the common thread, not innocence or rehabilitation.
They bypass the process designed to prevent abuse. The Office of the Pardon Attorney exists to review petitions, check facts, and recommend deserving cases. Trump’s administration appointed a “Pardon Czar” and routed decisions through political channels instead.
They dismantle accountability for public corruption. Trump’s DOJ gutted the Public Integrity Section from 40 attorneys down to two. Pardoning corrupt politicians while defunding the office that prosecutes them sends a single message: steal from the public and we will protect you.
The Fraternal Order of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police both condemned the Jan. 6 pardons in a joint statement, saying that letting such crimes go unpunished “sends a dangerous message that the consequences for attacking law enforcement are not severe.”
What you can do
- Contact your senators and representative. Tell them the pardon power needs guardrails. Use Resist Bot to send a message in under two minutes.
- Support the Campaign Legal Center’s legal challenge. CLC has filed formal complaints documenting pardon abuse and pushing for transparency.
- Follow the tracker. CREW maintains an updated list of Trump’s corrupt pardons with details on each case. Share it when people claim “every president does this.”
- Vote in 2026. Congressional candidates who pledge to support pardon reform need your vote. Primaries in many states begin this summer.
This brief is part of the Rule of Law hub tracking how institutional safeguards are being weakened from the inside.
Correction, October 14, 2026: An earlier version of this brief said Stewart Rhodes was convicted of seditious conspiracy for planning the Capitol attack. He was convicted for a plot that culminated in the attack (PBS NewsHour).
It also said an NBC News analysis found more than half of Trump’s first 88 individual pardons went to wealthy people convicted of white-collar crimes. NBC’s January 2026 analysis found that over half of his 88 individual pardons were for white-collar offenses (NBC News). The police groups’ statement is now quoted as published (IACP and FOP).
Sources
- CREW: At least 20 corrupt politicians granted clemency so far
- The Fulcrum: Trump’s 1,600 pardons in 16 months surpass historical norms
- The Marshall Project: Pardons bypassed Office of the Pardon Attorney standards
- NPR: Trump pardons approximately 1,500 January 6 defendants on day one
- IACP and FOP: Joint Statement on the Recent Presidential Pardons
- NBC News: Trump’s pardons forgive financial crimes that came with hundreds of millions in punishments
- The Week: Giuliani, Santos, and Blagojevich among pardoned officials