President Joe Biden’s term ended with an unparalleled use of presidential clemency, granting over 8,000 pardons—far surpassing the totals of any other modern U.S. president. This staggering number eclipses the records of Harry Truman, who issued 2,044 pardons, and Barack Obama, who granted 1,927. Biden’s use of clemency reflects a significant departure from recent trends, with Donald Trump issuing just 237 pardons during his four years in office.
Biden’s record-breaking 8,064 pardons in just one term stand out in stark contrast to the combined total of 10,170 pardons issued by all U.S. presidents from Harry Truman to Donald Trump’s first term. This means Biden granted nearly as many pardons in four years as 12 other presidents did over a span of more than seven decades. The unprecedented scale of his clemency marks a significant departure from historical norms, raising questions about its implications for justice and governance.
Among the pardons issued on his last day were preemptive clemency for several family members, including his brother James Biden, sister Valerie Biden Owens, and their spouses. Biden defended these decisions as necessary to shield his relatives from what he called “baseless and politically motivated investigations.” The pardons, he argued, were a way to prevent irreparable harm to their reputations and finances, even if they were ultimately exonerated.
In 2020, then President-elect Joe Biden has expressed concern over reports that President Trump is considering preemptive pardons for his adult children, lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and even himself. Biden suggested such actions could raise serious ethical and legal questions about the use of presidential clemency.
The outgoing president also extended clemency to political allies and high-profile figures such as Republican former lawmaker Liz Cheney, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, and Anthony Fauci, the former White House chief medical advisor. These individuals, Biden asserted, had been unjustly targeted by political opponents, particularly those aligned with incoming President Donald Trump.
Trump, inaugurated just hours after Biden’s final clemency orders, called the pardons “unfortunate” but refrained from delving into the issue further. The pardons covering figures involved in the January 6 congressional investigation—including lawmakers and police officers who testified,