April 16, 2025
Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution grants the president “power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.”
Is this power absolute? Are there any legal or constitutional limits? Can presidents pardon themselves? How has the interpretation of the presidential pardon power evolved since the country’s founding?
Watch as Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale Law School and ISPS Director Alan Gerber, Sterling Professor of Political Science, discuss this crucial topic facing our democracy.