In May 2025, the headlines buzzed with a particular announcement from President Donald Trump, evidence yet again of the playground of American presidential power. He announced his decision to pardon reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were grappling with their conviction in fraud and tax evasion cases. This move comes amidst a roster of questionable presidential decisions to grant clemency, underscoring a widespread misuse of power that remains uncurbed and undefined by the U.S. Constitution.
The U.S. Constitution confers the power to ‘grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment,’ to the president. This authority is described as ‘unlimited’ in scope and can be evoked to absolve ‘every offense known to the law’. This convenient functionality of presidential power permits pardons to be issued at any stage of legal proceedings: before, during, or after conviction, in both federal and state-level courts.
In some instances, the power of presidential pardon has been ill-used to evade political predicaments. A standout example is the full and unconditional pardon granted by Gerald Ford to his predecessor Richard Nixon following the latter’s Watergate scandal-triggered resignation. Often, this power is misused behind the guise of acting to reverse historical wrongs.
Todd and Julie Chrisley, the central figures in Trump’s 2025 high-profile pardon, originally faced indictment in 2019. The charges against them ranged from tax evasion and bank and wire fraud to conspiracy. Todd was eventually sentenced to a twelve-year prison term, while Julie received seven years. Despite upholding their claims of innocence and persistently appealing their sentences, they were largely unsuccessful.
Although their sentences were reduced by nearly two years in September 2023, the Chrisleys continued to plea for clemency until the Trump administration intervened. This is not the first instance of high-profile pardoning during President Trump’s tenure. Before concluding his first term in 2025, he also extended pardons to music artists Lil Wayne and Kodak Black.
Presidential pardons are hardly a novelty, with earlier administrations weaving a similarly convoluted history. A case in point is the controversial pardon issued by President Jimmy Carter to Peter Yarrow, the co-founder of the music group Peter, Paul, and Mary, just before departing office in January 1981.
Another remarkable pardon story is President Ronald Reagan’s decision to pardon George Steinbrenner, owner of the New York Yankees. Steinbrenner pleaded guilty to charges of making illicit contributions to President Nixon’s reelection campaign and obstructing justice. The initially declined request for clemency was eventually approved by Reagan as one of his last acts in office in January 1989.
Patty Hearst, heiress of the Hearst family, fell into the cycle of presidential pardons after being convicted of bank theft and illegal use of firearms in 1976. Linked to the terrorist group Symbionese Liberation Army, she was sentenced to a 35-year prison term. President Carter first commuted Hearst’s sentence after just 22 months, and later, she was pardoned by President Clinton in January 2021.
Jimmy Hoffa, with the notoriety of leading the Teamsters labor union, was pardoned by President Nixon in 1971, following his conviction for pension fund fraud and jury tampering. These irregular absolutions underscore the tendency for corruption and favoritism within the system of presidential pardons.
Then there’s the infamous pardon extended by Joe Biden to his son, Hunter. After federal court convictions on charges of gun and tax evasion, Joe Biden controversially made use of the presidential authority to pardon his own son in December 2024, triggering nationwide critique and raising questions about the misuse of presidential power.
Interestingly, Roger Clinton was included in one of the 456 clemency orders dispatched during his brother’s eight-year presidency. Presidents awarding clemency to controversial figures have become an integral part of the political narrative, irrespective of public opinion and sensibility.
President Carter took office in 1977 and quickly left an indelible mark on the history of presidential pardons. His first act in office was to grant unconditional pardons to nearly 200,000 individuals who had evaded the Vietnam War draft. This mass-scale act of clemency was met with significant controversy and acts as a reminder of the centralization of power inherent in presidential pardons.
Additionally, there is the controversial presidential pardon of Christmas Day, 1868. President Andrew Johnson awarded ‘full pardon and amnesty’ to soldiers who had fought on the side of the South during the Civil War. Questionable measures such as these continue to emphasize recurring misuses of executive power.