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Presidential Pardons

White criminals seeking presidential pardons are nearly four times as likely to succeed as people of color, a ProPublica examination has found.

White criminals seeking presidential pardons are nearly four times as likely to succeed as people of color, a ProPublica examination has found.

41 stories published since 2011

Obama Picks Up the Pace on Commutations, But Pardon Changes Still in Limbo

Prolific Pardoner? Obama Grants Clemency to 22 Prisoners This Week, But Has Denied Thousands

Obama Issues 12 Pardons. That’s Still Far Fewer Than Predecessors

Three Things Obama's New Clemency Initiative Doesn't Do

President Obama Tells Clarence Aaron He Can Finally Go Home

The Sweeping Presidential Power to Help Prisoners That Holder Didn’t Mention

Clarence Aaron Still Waiting for Clemency, Months after Report Found Pardon Atty Misrepresented Case

Despite New Pardons, Obama’s Clemency Rate is Still Lowest in Recent History

IG Report: Senior Justice Department Official Shares Blame in Botched Clemency Case

Head of Pardons Office Withheld Facts From White House in Key Case

Obama Has Granted Clemency More Rarely Than Any Modern President

Details Emerge on Government Study of Presidential Pardons

Obama Administration Wants Review of Prisoner’s Commutation Request

Congressional Leader Calls for Investigation of the Pardon Office

Video: Clarence Aaron on PBS Frontline's 'Snitch'

Pardon Attorney Torpedoes Plea for Presidential Mercy

Timeline: Tracking Aaron's Quest for Clemency

Law School Clinic for Pardons Planned

House Panel Queries Attorney General About Pardon Office

Barbour Says Pardoned Murderers Deserved 'a Second Chance'

In Mississippi, Identities of Pardon Applicants Must Be Public

Pardons and Presidents – A Washington Post Editorial

Perry More Generous With Pardons Than Romney

How the Nixon Pardon Strained a Presidential Friendship

Racial Disparity in Presidential Pardons: What Can Be Done?

Congressional Letters: Power and Persuasion Don't Always Add Up to Pardons

Michele Bachmann Lobbied For Campaign Donor's Pardon

Top 10 Elected Officials Who Wrote Letters on Behalf of Pardon Applicants

Document Dive: Politicians and Pardons

Pardon Applicants Benefit From Friends in High Places

Timeline: A History of Pardons

Parsing Presidential Pardons

The Kind of Journalism That Demands Action

How ProPublica Analyzed Pardon Data

Presidential Pardons Heavily Favor Whites

The Shadow of Marc Rich

How We Analyzed Pardons

Acknowledgments

Starting Over: When Presidential Forgiveness Changes a Life

Contrasting Colors, Contrasting Results

Perspectives on Pardons

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

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Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

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