Privacy Act Statement

How will your information be used if you apply for clemency?

The principal purpose for collecting this information is to enable the Office of the Pardon Attorney to process and evaluate your clemency request. The routine uses which may be made of this information include provision of data to the President and his staff, other governmental entities, and the public. The full list of routine uses for this correspondence can be found in the System of Records Notice titled, “Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records,” published in Federal Register, September 15, 2011, Vol. 76, No. 179, at pages 57078 through 57080; as amended by “Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records,” published in the Federal Register, May 25, 2017, Vol. 82, No. 100, at page 24161, and at the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties’ website.

The Office of the Pardon Attorney has authority to collect this information under the United States Constitution, Article II, Section 2 (the pardon clause); Orders of the Attorney General Nos. 1798-93, 58 Fed. Reg. 53658 and 53659 (1993), 2317-2000, 65 Fed. Reg. 48381 (2000), and 2323-2000, 65 Fed. Reg. 58223 and 58224 (2000), codified in 28 C.F.R. §§ 1.1 et seq. (the rules governing petitions for executive clemency); and Order of the Attorney General No. 1012-83, 48 Fed. Reg. 22290 (1983), as codified in 28 C.F.R. §§ 0.35 and 0.36 (the authority of the Office of the Pardon Attorney).

Can the government publish your information?

If you are granted or denied clemency by the President, your name will be released, including on our website or in response to public information requests, in accordance with our Freedom of Information Act obligations. Non-public documents, such as this petition and supporting documents, the presentence investigation report, the results of any federal background investigation, and the recommendation of the Department of Justice, are not generally available under the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts. However, the Pardon Attorney may disclose the contents of executive clemency files in the possession of the Department of Justice when the disclosure is required by law or the ends of justice. Additionally, this office would confirm that a specific individual has applied for or was granted or denied clemency.

The President and his immediate staff are not subject to the constraints of the Freedom of Information and Privacy Acts. Accordingly, while clemency-related documents in the possession of the White House traditionally have not been made public, they may be legally disclosed at the discretion of the President. In addition, clemency-related documents retained by the White House at the end of a presidential administration will become part of the President’s official library, where they become subject to the disclosure provisions of the Presidential Records Act.