December 8, 2020

I Beg Your Pardon?!? Executive Clemency in the Final Days of Trump


In his four years as president, Donald Trump has used the office's executive clemency power to pardon or commutate the sentences of political allies, enablers, Republican party players and donors, as well as controversial military figures charged with war crimes. With his term soon coming to an end, concern is growing that President Trump will extend clemency to additional allies, to family members, and even to himself. Join the American Constitution Society for a discussion about the reach, limits, and effect of executive clemency, the process by which requests for clemency should evaluated, and what role, if any, Congress and the courts might play in addressing potentially improper exercises of the pardon power.

Welcome Remarks:
Russ Feingold, President, American Constitution Society

Featuring:
Kim Atkins, Senior Opinion Writer, The Boston Globe; Contributor, MSNBC (Moderator)
Rachel Barkow, Vice Dean and Segal Family Professor of Regulatory Law and Policy; Faculty Director, Center on the Administration of Criminal Law, NYU Law
Larry Kupers, Kupers Law; former Deputy and Acting Pardon Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney