Reviewing Prez Trump's clemency work from a number of perspectives

It is now a full week since former Prez Trump issued a large batch of clemencies in his final hours in office (basics here and here).  The final 140+ clemencies on the final day, and Trump's entire clemency efforts, are full of fascinating and frustrating stories with respect to individual cases and the entire body of clemency work.  Here is just a partial round-up of recent pieces assessing Trump's clemency record: 

From the Business Insider, "Trump's pardons may be poorly worded enough to leave some people on the hook"

From the Center for Responsive Politics, "Trump-tied lobbyists paid massive sums to push pardons"

From Law360, "Trump Pot Pardons A Bittersweet Win For Clemency Groups"

From Reason, "Presidential Mercy Is a Woefully Inadequate Remedy for Injustice: The controversy over Trump’s pardons and commutations highlights longstanding problems with clemency."

From the New York Post, "Comparing presidential pardons through the years"

From the New York Times, "The Road to Clemency From Trump Was Closed to Most Who Sought It: Of the nearly 240 pardons and commutations he granted during his term, only 25 came through the regular Justice Department process. The rest were a product of connections, influence and money."

From the New York Times, "For Prosecutors, Trump’s Clemency Decisions Were a ‘Kick in the Teeth’: Commutations in high-profile Medicare fraud cases have elicited anger among those who spent years pursuing complex prosecutions."

I may have more to say about Prez Trump's record in future posts, but on this front I am always more eager to look forward than look back.  Looking forward, I must note (and already complain) that Prez Biden has been setting records for execution action during his first week in office and yet has not yet used his clemency power or said a work about clemency reform.  

UPDATE: I am pleased to now be able to add that the Federal Sentencing Reporter is planning to cover Prez Trump's clemency record in a forthcoming issue, and FSR's publisher has this new posting on its blog providing a bit of context. That posting includes these paragraphs:

Donald Trump was certainly no exception to the tradition of presidents making waves through distinctive use of the clemency power, and the Federal Sentencing Reporter will be continuing a modern tradition of devoting a full issue to examining a president’s grants and considering clemency’s future.  Notably, Trump generally did not concern himself with the recommendation of the Justice Department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, which has long played a central role in advising the president on such matters.  In addition to exploring the substantive clemency choices made by Trump, FSR‘s forthcoming June 2021 issue will also discuss what clemency process ought to be embraced by presidents to ensure the most effective and responsible use of this historic power.

FSR’s first extensive coverage of federal clemency actions appeared in a special double issue prompted by Bill Clinton’s high-profile and controversial pardons issued on his last day in office back in 2001.  The decision by George W. Bush to commute the sentence of Administration official Scooter Libby in 2007 prompted another FSR issue on clemency as a form of sentencing power.  And in 2017, FSR devoted a full issue to assessing Barack Obama’s remarkable and record-setting commutations resulting from the “Clemency Project” he set up toward the tail end of his second term.