Whereas President Obama pardoned nearly two thousand people during his two terms in office, President Trump has been more sparing in his use of the power of executive clemency. By far his largest wave of pardons to-date came on December 22 and 23, when he forgave the criminal offenses of 41 individuals. The pardons ran the usual gamut from political pardons that ignited firestorms in the press to what can be termed “feel good” pardons that recognize people who have turned their lives around since their convictions.

The President pardoned and commuted the sentences of Paul Slough, Nicholas Slatten, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, the so-called “Blackwell Four” (or “Biden Four,” depending on how you look at it.) The four were retired military personnel who worked as security contractors in Iraq in 2007. They opened fire on a car they suspected contained an incendiary device but which turned out to contain only civilians. The civilians were killed, and further deaths resulted from the ensuing chaos. A first prosecution against the four was dismissed, but then-Vice President Biden took up the banner against the group (either in the name of justice or to appease Iraqi authorities, depending again on how you look at it) and they were convicted and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, including life imprisonment in the case of Slatten. “The pardon of these four veterans is broadly supported by the public” reads the White House press statement. That public leans far more to the right than to the left, but the four have certainly had their advocates. Although the Blackwell Four are hardly political figures, their pardon was definitely an act of political partisanship.

By far the most divisive of the President’s pardons are those he accorded to people who were charged as part of the Robert Mueller investigation into possible Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election. Trump pardoned George Papadopoulos and Alex Van Der Zwaan on the 22nd and Roger Stone and Paul Manafort on the 23rd.

Manafort’s was probably the most controversial pardon of the four. The White House statement claimed Manafort’s conviction was a result of convictions prosecuted in the course of Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation, which was premised on the Russian collusion hoax…As a result of blatant prosecutorial overreach, Mr. Manafort has endured years of unfair treatment and is one of the most prominent victims of what has been revealed to be perhaps the greatest witch hunt in American history.

Photo Source: Paul Manafort, President Trump's former campaign manager, arrives in court in New York.June 27, 2019 (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File) Everyone must decide for themselves as to whether the Mueller investigation was the “greatest witch hunt in American history.” The evidence is rather less equivocal as regards the “otherwise blameless life” Manafort has allegedly led: the statement released to the press contains that claim but fails to mention that the pardon extends not only to the Mueller-related conviction but also to previous tax-related crimes that, among other things, required Manafort to make $25 million in restitution to the government.

Both the Stone and Papadopoulos pardons brought forth similar language about righting “the injustices he faced at the hands of the Mueller investigation” and correcting “the wrong that Mueller’s team inflicted on so many people.” There can be no question that the pardons of Papadopoulos, Van Der Zwaan, Manafort and Stone were politically motivated and show the President as attempting to erase the perceived wrongs of the Mueller investigation. Although senior U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt claimed that “it’s not surprising that a criminal like Trump pardons other criminals,” the flip side is that people have to be criminals before you can pardon them.

Those high-profile cases aside, there were also some pardons of people less questionably worthy of executive clemency, such as Christopher II X, a former addict convicted on a variety of drug-related charges dating back to a 1985 conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He has since more than turned his life around:

Since overcoming his drug dependency…Mr. II X has become an acknowledged community leader in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Today, Mr. II X runs a non-profit organization, Game Changers, which is dedicated to guiding youth to productive, meaningful lives. He is also widely credited as a trusted voice of reason and peace in Louisville that both sides turn to if tensions arise between the police and local community.

In 2019, the governor of Kentucky pardoned II X; Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was among those who lobbied for II X’s federal pardon.

An equally compelling “feel-good” pardon granted to Rebekah Charleston, who was sentenced to 13 months in prison for tax evasion charges in 2007:

Ms. Charleston is a victim of sex trafficking who has suffered a litany of abuses and endured a life of forced prostitution. Despite these hardships, Ms. Charleston has become a champion for survivors of all crimes, particularly sex trafficking. She obtained a master’s degree in criminal justice and has worked tirelessly to give a voice to the voiceless victims of sex trafficking.

In addition to “Blackwell Four,” what might be styled the “Mueller Four” and the “feel-good” pardons, there are also a few curiosities on the list. Perhaps the oddest is the pardon of Alfred Lee Crum:

Mr. Crum, who is now 89, pled guilty in 1952—when he was 19 years old—to helping his wife’s uncle illegally distill moonshine in Oklahoma. Mr. Crum served three years of probation, and paid a $250 fine. Mr. Crum has maintained a clean record and a strong marriage for nearly 70 years, attended the same church for 60 years, raised four children, and regularly participated in charity fundraising events.

There is no way to please all of the people all of the time when it comes to executive clemency, but the presidential power to pardon is one of the many checks and balances built into the Constitution. If nothing else, the cases of II X and Charleston show good examples of why the Founding Fathers built it into the role of the executive.