Jack speaks with University of Virginia School of Law Professor Saikrishna Prakash about his new book, The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History. They discuss the origins of the pardon power, the framers’ anxieties about its breadth, controversies about its early use, how modern presidents have increasingly used clemency to advance ideological, political, and personal goals, and the challenges of reform.

Mentioned:

Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash, The Presidential Pardon: The Short Clause with a Long, Troubled History (2026)

“Trump’s Circumvention of the Justice Department Clemency Process” by Jack Goldsmith and Matt Gluck (Lawfare, Dec. 29, 2020)

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