Советник президента по вопросам помилования

Key adviser to the president on clemency
The Office of the Pardon Attorney assists the president of the United States in his exercise of executive clemency as authorized by Article II, Section 2, of the US Constitution. It is part of the United States Department of Justice and is in consultation with the Attorney General of the United States or his delegate. Under the Constitution, the president's clemency power extends only to federal criminal offenses. All requests for executive clemency for federal offenses are directed to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for investigation and review. The pardon attorney prepares the department's recommendation to the president for final disposition of each application. Executive clemency may take several forms, including pardon, conditional pardon, commutation of sentence, conditional commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution, respite, reprieve and amnesty. A pardon may be posthumous. The Office of the Pardon Attorney currently has a staff that includes the Deputy Pardon Attorney, an executive officer, four staff attorneys, and its clerical staff and paralegals who assist in the review of petitions. The power of clemency is "one of the most unlimited powers bestowed on the president by the Constitution."

Since 1789 various offices within the federal government have provided the president with administrative support for the exercise of executive clemency. A presidential order in 1865 formally delegated this responsibility to the Department of Justice. The office's current name was adopted in 1894. Historically, the norm was for presidents to rely on the pardon attorney process before making pardons (they are not required to do so). During the presidency of Donald Trump, he circumvented this process in his pardons. However, this five year wait period can be waived. The first standard is how the person's conduct, character, and reputation have been during conviction. This means that the individuals conducted themselves as responsible and knowledgeable people who are aware of their crime and are ready to return to normal society. They must have the potential to create a better society by achieving employment, providing for themselves and loved ones, as well as keeping a clean criminal background. Second is the seriousness and when the offense occurred. When the offense is years in the past and did not affect many people, the chance to achieve a pardon is much greater than if the offense was very recent and a high crime. Things that must be considered include how the victims would deal with the pardon, and how it will set a precedent for future similar crimes. Most of these were for nonviolent drug offenders, in an effort to get non serious offenders out of prison and to reverse the negative outcomes from the War on Drugs. Third is the individual's acceptance of responsibility and self awareness of how serious their actions were. The individual's behavior, if they are creating excuses or reasons why they committed the crime, will greatly lower the chances of pardon. If the individual desires forgiveness and portrays complete responsibility for their actions, then the chances are much higher. This crime was not very serious, considering Mudd claimed he was unaware of Booth's actions at the time and he was doing what his profession entailed. Lastly, referrals and recommendations from people in powerful positions like politicians, attorneys, judges, and even victims are looked over carefully to decide if an individual is worthy of a pardon.

Posthumous pardons are rare because it is generally Department of Justice policy to not accept requests for non living persons. This is due to the limited resources and personnel at the Department of Justice, and cases involving living persons take precedence over those who are deceased. The same procedure and reasoning are applied to clemency applications for federal misdemeanors, giving precedent to cases involving federal felony convictions. This structure is designed to allow the DOJ to devote its time to those who will receive the greatest benefit from Federal clemency. Only Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, and Trump have granted posthumous pardons.

The Office of the Pardon Attorney handles all and every clemency related correspondence and issue, including petitions and applications. This involves several steps. The Office receives and reviews clemency correspondences, and investigates applications along with the files sent with them to make more valid the petitioner's plea for pardoning. It then prepares a recommendation for each application, and sends it to the president for his final decision as to whether or not to grant a pardon. For 125 years, the key adviser to the president on clemency has been the Department of Justice's Office of the Pardon Attorney (PARDON) which normally reviews all requests for pardons. Based on government data, lawyers, advocates for criminal justice advocates, and former officials from both the White House and pardon, President Trump regularly bypassed the pardon attorney, according to a 2020 investigation by The Washington Post. Unlike previous presidents, Trump has granted clemency to "well connected offenders who had not filed petitions with the pardon office or did not meet its requirements."