President Trump is expected to issue up to 100 pardons and commutations on Tuesday, a senior administration official and a senior White House official told CBS News. Tuesday marks Trump’s last full day in office.
None of the sources revealed any of the recipients, although the president is currently not expected to try to forgive himself, a source said. CNN first reported the expectation of up to 100 leniency acts this week.
The White House has invited guests to a ceremony to send the president to Andrews Joint Base on Wednesday at 8 a.m., four hours before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
The planned leniency actions would come less than a week after Trump accused for the second time, this time by incitement to insurrection after the Capitol riots on January 6th.
So far, Trump has granted 70 pardons, most of which were in December, according to Justice Department records. The president waited until after the November election to issue some of his most controversial pardons, including former campaign president Paul Manafort; the son-in-law of Jared Kushner’s father, Charles Kushner; and longtime ally Roger Stone.
When President Obama left office, he had pardoned 212 people; 189 were pardoned by President George W. Bush; and 396 received a pardon from President Clinton, according to the Justice Department.
Presidents often increase their leniency actions before leaving office. The pardon removes a person’s sentence, while a commutation only shortens or ends a sentence.
The president’s powers of pardon are virtually unlimited when it comes to federal crimes. The power of presidential pardon allows the president to pardon any federal crime, but not state crimes. Article II of the Constitution states that the President “shall have the power to grant reparations and pardons for crimes against the United States, except in cases of removal.”
Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.