MADISONCENTER FOR AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
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The constitutional text

Article II · Section 2

Select any highlighted phrase to understand what it means.

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session

Source: National Constitution Center edition. Original wording is preserved; commentary explains historical and superseded provisions.

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202 elements · 219 connections · One constitutional systemOpen the reader
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Article II, section 2, clause 1 (teaching subdivision c)

Clemency for federal offenses

Current text
and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

What it means

The President may grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in impeachment cases. A reprieve delays punishment, while a pardon exercises clemency within the federal criminal sphere.

Historical setting

Federalist 74 defended a power of mercy as a way to temper the severity of general criminal rules and, in some situations, help restore public peace. The Constitution nevertheless excludes using that power to defeat impeachment accountability.

What it does

The power concerns federal offenses rather than a general authority to erase state convictions or private civil obligations. Its exercise does not rewrite the criminal statute for everyone else.

Debate & interpretation

Individualized mercy can correct harsh outcomes, but discretionary clemency also creates risks of favoritism and self-protection. Controversies about self-pardons and particular uses should be identified as legal questions rather than treated as answered by the clause’s brief wording.

A common misreading

A presidential pardon cannot itself cancel a House impeachment or prevent the Senate from exercising its constitutional trial role.

Think it through

How can a constitutional system allow mercy in exceptional cases without turning criminal accountability into a matter of personal access?

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Sources & further reading

Original Madison Center commentary. Explanations distinguish the text, historical context, and interpretive disagreements.

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