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These are the records of everyone, George. W. Bush had pardoned.

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Search All Pardons and Commutations

December 20, 2002 | November 5, 2003 | February 14, 2004 | May 20, 2004 | July 6, 2004 | November 17, 2004 | December 21, 2004 | March 3, 2005 | June 8, 2005 | September 28, 2005 | December 20, 2005 | April 18, 2006 | August 15, 2006 | December 21, 2006 | December 10, 2007 | March 24, 2008 | November 24, 2008 | January 1, 2009

December 20, 2002

November 5, 2003

February 14, 2004

May 20, 2004

July 6, 2004

November 17, 2004

December 21, 2004

March 3, 2005

June 8, 2005

September 28, 2005

December 20, 2005

April 18, 2006

August 15, 2006

December 21, 2006

December 10, 2007

March 24, 2008

November 24, 2008

January 1, 2009

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Pardons Granted by President George W. Bush (2001-2009)

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Vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, objecting to federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

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Vetoed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, objecting to federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

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U.S. Senate: Vetoes by President George W. Bush

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Trump Appoints Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court

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Trump Appoints Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court

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Wicker Welcomes Nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to U.S. Supreme Court

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U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today issued the following statement after President Donald J. Trump nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to serve as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States:

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Biden Pushes Congress to Pass Infrastructure Bill

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Biden Pushes Congress to Pass Infrastructure Bill

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Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) under the Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations - FHWA Operations

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On November 15, 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(IIJA)(Public Law 117-58) became law. The IIJA is the largest long-term investment in our infrastructure and economy in our Nation’s history. It provides $550 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026 in new Federal investment in infrastructure, including in roads, bridges, and mass transit, water infrastructure, resilience, and broadband.

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FDR "packs-the-courts" to build support for his "New Deal"

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FDR "packs-the-courts" to build support for his "New Deal"

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FDR stacked the courts to prevent his New Deal legislation from being opposed in the courts.

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FDR’s “Court-Packing” Plan | Federal Judicial Center

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After winning the 1936 presidential election in a landslide, Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a bill to expand the membership of the Supreme Court. The law would have added one justice to the Court for each justice over the age of 70, with a maximum of six additional justices. Roosevelt’s motive was clear – to shape the ideological balance of the Court so that it would cease

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Requests investments into education and research.

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Freedman's Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

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Johnson vetoed all major Reconstruction legislation

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Johnson vetoed all major Reconstruction legislation

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Andrew Johnson influenced the executive and legislative branches by aggressively using the veto power to challenge Congressional Reconstruction, resulting in the first major overrides of presidential vetoes and his own impeachment

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Trump used veto power to reject bills passed by National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 that he disagreed with.

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Trump used veto power to reject bills passed by National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 that he disagreed with.

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Trump thought the bill would restrict his ability to withdraw troops.

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an executive Order to stop people from hoarding gold.

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Ronald Reagan's big impact on the Supreme Court

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The Reagan era of the 1980s is often remembered for the President's pursuit of ending the Cold War and his legacy as the "Great Communicator." But Reagan's impact on the Supreme Court was also significant and still relevant today.

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Thomas Jefferson supporting the impeachment of federal judges to curb

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Thomas Jefferson supporting the impeachment of federal judges to curb

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By pushing for these impeachments, Jefferson directly influenced the legislative branch to act as a tool for checking the judicial branch, aiming to make the courts responsive to the public will and republican principles.

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Ronald Reagan appointed the most federal judges during his presidency

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Ronald Reagan appointed the most federal judges during his presidency

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Ronald Reagan believed most judges did not serve for the good of the people, but rather for their own personal favor, so he reappointed many judges.

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Both as governor of California and as president of the United States, Ronald Reagan was devoted to the appointment of judges who understood the proper role of the judiciary and the important limitations the U.S. Constitution sets on government. He took office as governor amid great controversy about the politicization of the judiciary and the quality of judicial appointments. So he initiated a new system for considering the candidates for California’s courts.

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Jimmy Carter granting amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders. 

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Jimmy Carter granting amnesty to Vietnam draft evaders. 

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Jimmy Carter granted amnesty to thousands of men who had avoided the military draft during the Vietnam War.

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Proclamation 4483--Granting pardon for violations of the Selective Service Act, August 4, 1964, to March 28, 1973

Source: The provisions of Proclamation 4483 of Jan. 21, 1977, appear at 42 FR 4391, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 4, unless otherwise noted.

Acting pursuant to the grant of authority in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, do hereby grant a full, complete and unconditional pardon to: (1) all persons who may have committed any offense between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973 in violation of the Military Selective Service Act or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder; and (2) all persons heretofore convicted, irrespective of the date of conviction, of any offense committed between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973 in violation of the Military Selective Service Act, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, restoring to them full political, civil and other rights.

This pardon does not apply to the following who are specifically excluded therefrom:
(1) All persons convicted of or who may have committed any offense in violation of the Military Selective Service Act, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, involving force or violence; and
(2) All persons convicted of or who may have committed any offense in violation of the Military Selective Service Act, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, in connection with duties or responsibilities arising out of employment as agents, officers or employees of the Military Selective Service system.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of January, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and seventy-seven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and first.

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Proclamation 4483--Granting pardon for violations of the Selective Service Act, August 4, 1964, to March 28, 1973 Source: The provisions of Proclamation 4483 of Jan. 21, 1977, appear at 42 FR 4391, 3 CFR, 1977 Comp., p. 4, unless otherwise noted.

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Truman proposed a legislative agenda called the Fair Deal, which included civil rights and economic reforms.

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Truman proposed a legislative agenda called the Fair Deal, which included civil rights and economic reforms.

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Truman’s Fair Deal | Overview, History & Significance - Video | Study.com

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Learn about the goals and impact of President Truman’s Fair Deal and the opposition it faced in Congress. Discover how Truman’s goals related to…

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Kennedy publicly called for major civil rights legislation and asked Congress to pass a new law to protect equal rights.

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Kennedy publicly called for major civil rights legislation and asked Congress to pass a new law to protect equal rights.

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EnlargeDownload Link Citation: Civil Rights Act of 1964; 7/2/1964; Enrolled Acts and Resolutions of Congress, 1789 - 2011; General Records of the United States Government, Record Group 11; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. View All Pages in the National Archives Catalog View Transcript This act, signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 2, 1964, prohibited discrimination in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal. It was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.

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Obama uses the Bully Pulpit to push Congress to reform the ACA

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Obama uses the Bully Pulpit to push Congress to reform the ACA

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Obama made changes to the ACA into a public interest and pushed Congress to institute reforms.

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Andrew Johnson pardoned over 13,000 former Confederate soldiers 

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Andrew Johnson pardoned over 13,000 former Confederate soldiers 

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"There is No Such Thing"

"...there is no such thing as reconstruction. These States have not gone out of the Union, therefore reconstruction is unnecessary. I do not mean to treat them as inchoate States, but merely as existing under a temporary suspension of their government, provided always they elect loyal men. The doctrine of coercion to preserve a State in the Union has been vindicated by the people. It is the province of the Executive to see that the will of the people is carried out in the rehabilitation of the rebellious States, once more under the authority as well as the protection of the Union." Andrew Johnson, from an interview with General John A. Logan on May 31, 1865.

A political cartoon referencing Reconstruction - Columbia says: Now, Andy, I wish you and your boys would hurry up that job, because I want to use that kettle right away. You are all talking too much about it.
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Reconstruction or Restoration?

Following the Union victory in the Civil War, the nation faced the uncertainty of what would happen next. Two major questions arose. Were the Confederate states still part of the Union, or, by seceding, did they need to reapply for statehood with new standards for admission?

Andrew Johnson's view, as stated above, was that the war had been fought to preserve the Union. He formulated a lenient plan, based on Lincoln's earlier 10% plan, to allow the Southern states to begin holding elections and sending representatives back to Washington.

His amnesty proclamations, however, emboldened former Confederate leaders to regain their former seats of power in local and national governments, fueling tensions with freedmen in the South and Republican lawmakers in the North.

Healy image of Lincoln
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Altogether, several variations of Reconstruction arose:

The Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction, or Lincoln's Ten Percent Plan

As Union troops took control of areas of the South, Lincoln implemented this war-time measure to re-establish state governments. It was put forth in hopes that it would give incentive to shorten the war and strengthen his emancipation goals, since it promised to protect private property, not including slaves.

At its core, the plan stated that when 10% of the 1860 voters from a state had taken an oath of allegiance to the U.S. and pledged to abide by emancipation, voters could then elect delegates to draft new state constitutions and establish state governments. Most Southerners, excepting high-ranking Confederate army officers and government officials, would be granted a full pardon.

This plan would serve as a platform for whatever post-war reconstruction would be developed.

T he Wade-Davis Agreement, or Congress's Response to the Ten Percent Plan

Congress felt that Lincoln's measures would allow the South to maintain life as it had before the war. Their measure required a majority in former Confederate states to take an Ironclad Oath, which essentially said that they had never in the past supported the Confederacy. The bill passed both houses of Congress on July 2, 1864, but Lincoln pocket vetoed it, and it never took effect.

In the brief period before Lincoln's death, political cartoons surmised how the "rail-splitter" president and "tailor" vice-president might put the country back together again.
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Johnson's May 29, 1865 Amnesty Proclamation
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Presidential "Restoration," or Andrew Johnson's Plan for Reconstruction

Following Abraham Lincoln's death, President Andrew Johnson based his reconstruction plan on Lincoln's earlier measure. Johnson's plan also called for loyalty from ten percent of the men who had voted in the 1860 election. In addition, the plan called for granting amnesty and returning people's property if they pledged to be loyal to the United States.Then they could re-write their state constitutions, hold elections, and begin sending representatives to Washington.

The Confederate states would be required to uphold the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery; swear loyalty to the Union; and pay off their war debt.

Under the plan, Confederate leaders would have to apply directly to President Johnson in order to request pardon. Johnson issued over 13,000 pardons during his administration, and he passed several amnesty proclamations. The last one, issued Christmas Day 1868, granted sweeping pardons to former Confederates, including former Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspapers lampooned the standoff between the President and Congress:

A.J. (Driver of Engine "President") - "Look here! One of us has got to back!"
Thaddeus (Driver of Engine "Congress") - "Well it ain't me that's going to do it! You bet!"
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Congressional Reconstruction, or the Military Reconstruction Acts

Passed on March 2nd, 1867, the first Military Reconstruction Act divided the ex-Confederate states into five military districts and placed them under martial law with Union Generals governing. The act also directed that former Southern states seeking to reenter the Union must ratify the 14th Amendment to the Constitution to be considered for readmission. The 14th Amendment granted individuals born in the United States their citizenship, including nearly 4 million freedmen.

The amendment specifically disenfranchised ex-Confederates, barring them from the ballot box. The Constitution states, "Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason." At the time, their actions were viewed as treasonous. The Confederate States of America's leadership lost their right to vote because they lost their citizenship by committing treason.

The Military Reconstruction Act also protected the voting rights and physical safety of African Americans exercising their rights as citizens of the United States.

The Outc ome

Andrew Johnson and Congress were unable to agree on a plan for restoring the ravaged country following the Civil War. There was a marked difference between Congressional Reconstruction-outlined in the first Military Reconstruction Act, as well as the second and the third-and Andrew Johnson's plan for Presidential Restoration.

In the midst of it all was the human aspect.

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, often referred to as the Freedmen's Bureau, was established by the War Department on March 3rd, 1865. The Bureau supervised relief and educational activities for refugees and freedmen, including issuance of food, clothing, and medicine. The Bureau also assumed custody of confiscated lands or property in the former Confederate States, border states, District of Columbia, and Indian Territory.

Backlash occurred in the South in the form of the Black Codes. Passed in 1865 and 1866 in Southern states after the Civil War, these Codes severely restricted the new-found freedoms of the formerly enslaved people, and it forced them to work for low or no wages.

Crippling poverty, vast wealth, rampant rumors, fear of insurrection on all levels, assassination, trials - this was the country that all three branches of the Federal government inherited after the war.

The Congressional Plan of Reconstruction was ultimately adopted, and it did not officially end until 1877, when Union troops were pulled out of the South. This withdrawal caused a reversal of many of the tenuous advances made in equality, and many of the issues surrounding Reconstruction are still a part of society today.

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Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction - Andrew Johnson National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

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"There is No Such Thing" "...there is no such thing as reconstruction. These States have not gone out of the Union, therefore reconstruction is unnecessary. I do not mean to treat them as inchoate States, but merely as existing under a temporary suspension of their government, provided always they elect loyal men.

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Trump pardons rapper NBA Youngboy, who was sentenced for gun-related charges

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Trump pardons rapper NBA Youngboy, who was sentenced for gun-related charges

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Trump pardons rapper NBA Youngboy, who was sentenced for gun-related charges

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Louisiana rap artist NBA YoungBoy has been pardoned by President Donald Trump. He was sentenced by a federal judge in 2024 to just under two years in prison after he acknowledged possessing weapons despite being a convicted felon.

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Trump pardons former reality tv stars after they were convicted for bankrupt.

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George W Bush commutation of Ignacio Ramos

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George W Bush commutation of Ignacio Ramos

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President Bush commuted the prison sentence of former Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos, who had been convicted of shooting a drug smuggler.

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Joe Biden commutes the sentence of Konstantin Yaroshenko

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Joe Biden commutes the sentence of Konstantin Yaroshenko

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Gerald Ford pardoned Nixon for all offenses against the United States

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The Watergate scandal erupted after it was revealed that President Richard Nixon and his aides had engaged in illegal activities during his 1972 reelection campaign - and then attempted to cover up evidence of wrongdoing. With impeachment proceedings underway against him in Congress, Nixon bowed to public pressure and became the first American president to resign. At noon on August 9, 1974, Nixon officially ended his term, departing with his family in a helicopter from the White House lawn. Minutes later, Gerald R. Ford was sworn in as the 38th President of the United States in the East Room of the White House.

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Obama vetos a bill that would have reversed the affordable health care act

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Obama vetos a bill that would have reversed the affordable health care act

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By: Brandon Mosley, Alabama Political Reporter

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On Friday, January 8, 2015, President Obama’s vetoed a bill, HR3762, that would have dismantled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (popularly known as Obamacare), and eliminated federal funding for the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood.

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Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett).

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Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett).

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Biden believed that his son was unfairly charged, so he pardoned him.

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US President Biden gives son Hunter ‘full and unconditional’ pardon

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Biden says his son Hunter was “unfairly” prosecuted over tax and gun possession - but earlier he had ruled out a pardon.

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Johnson used his persuasive skills and political influence to push Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act

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Johnson used his persuasive skills and political influence to push Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act

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FDR pushes Congress to pass the New Deal that opened up many federal warfare programs

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FDR pushes Congress to pass the New Deal that opened up many federal warfare programs

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New Deal - Programs, Social Security & FDR

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The New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that aimed to restore prosperity to Americans. A Second New Deal was put in place shortly thereafter as a way to continue the country’s economic recovery.

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Andrew Johnson vetoes the Radical Republican Plan for Southern Reconstruction

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Andrew Johnson vetoes the Radical Republican Plan for Southern Reconstruction

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The House Overrides President Johnson’s Veto of the Omnibus Southern States Admission Bill | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives

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On this date, the House voted to override President Andrew Johnson’s veto of H.R. 1058, an omnibus bill that set the terms for Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina to “be entitled and admitted to representation in Congress” after the Civil War. Johnson called the Radical Republican plan for southern Reconstruction unconstitutional. The law recognized that the six former Confederate states covered by the legislation had written and adopted constitutions according to the terms of the Reconstruction Acts. But the omnibus bill also enumerated mandates still to be completed by each state government, including the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment, which defined citizenship, guaranteed equal protection of the laws, and sought to protect the civil and political rights of African Americans in the South. Georgia would have to comply with additional preconditions outlined in the statute, including specific revisions to the state’s constitution. With two-thirds majorities in both chambers, Congress quickly overrode Johnson’s veto. Without bothering to open debate on the bill again, the House passed it by a vote of 108 to 32, with 54 Representatives abstaining. Following the House, the Senate also swiftly approved the bill by the necessary two-thirds vote. During his presidency, Johnson vetoed 29 pieces of legislation amid his struggle with Radical Republicans in Congress over the shape of Reconstruction policy in the South. Congress overrode 15 of those vetoes.

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Obama was influenced by JFK to pardon some drug offenders.

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U.S. Launches Clemency Effort For Some Drug Offenders

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Attorney General Eric Holder is encouraging defense lawyers to compile lists of clients incarcerated for low-level, nonviolent drug offences, to petition for executive clemency.