A post shared on social media purports President Joe Biden has pardoned over 8,000 people during his four years in office to cover up the administration’s crimes.
Verdict: Misleading
Much of the clemency and pardons are the result of a policy that reduces punishment for marijuana possession.
Fact Check:
Biden recently shared support for banning members of Congress from trading in the stock market, The Associated Press reported. He endorsed the idea during an interview with Faiz Shakir and said that members should not make money from stocks while serving, according to the outlet.
A post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, shows a chart of all the pardons that have been issued by presidents. The post alleges Biden has the most by far with over 8,000.
The caption reads, “For pardons to be real a crime must have been committed This chart suggests a whole lot of criminal activity that the Biden Regime wants to erase, with many I would suggest having direct links back to him. So he is in effect pardoning himself. And Biden’s just getting started.”
The claim is inaccurate. The post conflates the concept of commutation and a full pardon. A pardon is a form of clemency that removes all legal consequences of a criminal conviction and commutation reduces a sentence without expunging the conviction, according to USA Today. The outlet also clarifies that a commutation shortens a prison sentence, but “leaves the conviction intact.”
Thousands of people were granted clemency when Biden signed an order that pardoned people for simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia, AP News reported. The report indicated that no one was released from prison based on this order, but rather, it was meant to help people in search of employment, housing and education.
Biden did recently pardon 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes and commuted the sentence of nearly 1,500 people who were placed in home confinement, AP News reported. This was the largest single day of clemency for any President.
Biden also pardoned his own son, Hunter Biden, for a ten-year period, which some are comparing to that of Richard Nixon’s, according to Politico. (RELATED: Beau, Not Hunter Biden Pictured In Image of Joe Biden Being Sworn Into Senate)
This is not the first time misinformation involving Presidential pardons has circulated online. Check Your Fact recently debunked a claim that Obama pardoned 1,927 people during his time in office.