Show HN: Pardonned.com – A searchable database of US Pardons

by vidluther 276 comments 501 points
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276 comments

[−] varenc 34d ago
Extracted all the raw pardons here: https://gist.githubusercontent.com/varenc/cb2e2dacf1c92d36bc...

I wanted to do some stuff with this data so need a raw format.

(process was so easy since its included on a single page load, so I assume you don't mind! thanks for making this )

[−] vidluther 33d ago
I'm exposing the database that I use to build the site now as well.

https://pardonned.com/pardonned.db

[−] vidluther 33d ago
I'm thinking of exposing the sqlite db, and now possibly this JSON file as well.. I can take both during the build process and throw them up on CF. Great idea, thank you.
[−] eu 33d ago
consider http://datasette.io/ as well
[−] koolba 34d ago
Are there any longer or more generic than this:

> For any nonviolent offenses against the United States which they may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1 2014 through the date of this pardon (JAN 19, 2025).

https://pardonned.com/pardon/details/biden-family/

That’s 11+ years with no detail or description.

[−] ceejayoz 34d ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon_of_Richard_Nixon

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/proclamation-4311-...

> Now, Therefore, I, Gerald R. Ford, President of the United States, pursuant to the pardon power conferred upon me by Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, have granted and by these presents do grant a full, free, and absolute pardon unto Richard Nixon for all offenses against the United States which he, Richard Nixon, has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 20, 1969 through August 9, 1974.

Not quite as long, but much more significant. (No violence exception, the criminal was the President, and they were crimes against the entire country, not some random drug/tax charges.)

[−] gcanyon 34d ago
Ford did real damage that day.
[−] vidluther 34d ago
So this was the first time (i think) anyone got a preemptive pardon, the actual warrant on the DOJ website says what it says.. https://www.justice.gov/pardon/media/1385756/dl?inline

Will have to crunch through the offenses in the db and see if anything else like this shows up.

[−] throwaway85825 33d ago
That's when I learned you can be pardoned for future crime since the expiration was end of day. There's nothing stopping a president from signing blanket future pardons with a 100 year expiry. I'm amazed there wasnt any discussion when it happened.
[−] laidoffamazon 33d ago
Correct, as he should have
[−] whoiskevin 34d ago
Look at what the Trump administration has done with the DOJ pursuing unwarranted indictments against anyone Trump doesn't like. All getting thrown out so far. And you lead with questioning why one of his constant targets would pardon his family? The bigger question is why this isn't more outrage at the GOP attempts to find something on Biden or Clinton. They have been wasting tax dollars while Coomer "investigates" for something that he has never been able to prove. I'd have pardoned everyone around me given that constant sustained and terrible attack. All the while the Trump grift machine continues without so much as a blink.
[−] strathmeyer 33d ago
[dead]
[−] kupadapuku 34d ago
Love this idea - if I were to extend it, I'd add some kind of analysis breaking down the % composition of pardons (fraud vs drug offences vs financial crime) by President to see if there's some common trend. I was a little surprised to see the Obama number quite so high, until it became apparent that the vast majority were drug offenders being pardoned
[−] lateforwork 34d ago
Are you able to track repeat pardons of the same offender? If not you have a bug.

https://pardonned.com/pardon/details/adriana-isabel-camberos...

Adriana Camberos was in fact pardoned twice.

In 2021, convicted fraudster Adriana Camberos was freed from prison when President Trump commuted her sentence. Rather than taking advantage of that second chance, Ms. Camberos returned to crime. She was convicted again in 2024 in an unrelated fraud. In 2026, Mr. Trump pardoned her again.

Full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/16/us/politics/trump-fraudst...

[−] millbj92 34d ago
Presidents shouldn't have the right to outright pardon people. It should have to go through some sort of body beforehand and be voted on like everything else.
[−] soumyaskartha 34d ago
This kind of civic data should have been easily searchable for years. The fact that someone had to build it says a lot about how accessible government records actually are.