Trump Denied 5,978 Clemency Petitions While Granting Fewer Than 20 on July 3
The gap between applications filed and pardons granted around the 250th anniversary suggests the administration applied a narrower clemency standard than public statements before the holiday implied.
President Donald Trump rejected 5,978 clemency applications and granted fewer than 20 pardons on July 3, 2026, according to reporting by The New York Times citing administration records reviewed ahead of the nation's 250th anniversary. The July 3 grants represent the primary clemency action tied to what the White House had publicly described as a Semiquincentennial pardon initiative.
Clemency applications are processed by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, a component of the Department of Justice. The office maintains a public case-load database, though individual application records are not disclosed without the applicant's consent. The total number of pending petitions as of June 2026, and the breakdown of rejections by offense category, are not yet public; a Freedom of Information Act request to the Office of the Pardon Attorney would be the mechanism most likely to yield that data.
The volume of denials — 5,978 — contrasts with the clemency pace of prior administrations around major national milestones. For comparison, President Barack Obama granted 1,927 clemency actions across his two terms, the highest total since President Lyndon B. Johnson, according to data maintained by the Office of the Pardon Attorney's annual reports to Congress. Trump's first term resulted in 237 clemency grants, per the same public records.
It is currently unknown which individuals filed the 5,978 rejected applications, what offenses were cited, or whether any applicants had retained lobbyists or legal counsel with ties to the administration. Lobbying Disclosure Act filings searchable through the Senate's public LDA database would show any registered lobbying activity connected to clemency efforts, though lobbying the executive branch on individual clemency cases does not require LDA registration under current law.
What remains unresolved is whether additional clemency actions are planned before the end of the current congressional session or fiscal year. The White House has not issued a public timeline. The Office of the Pardon Attorney's next required reporting period to Congress would provide updated application and disposition totals, and that report would constitute the authoritative public record on the full scope of this clemency cycle.