IMPORTANT NOTICE
To Applicants for Commutation of Sentence
The following notice is provided pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 to help
you to understand what is involved in petitioning for executive clemency and why
we need to obtain certain information about you.
The information that we request from you on the accompanying commutation of sentence
application form, and in any ensuing background investigation, is needed to help
provide the basis for an informed judgment about whether you should be granted
clemency. This is our only purpose in asking you to complete and sign the application.
You are under no obligation to furnish any information. However, if you do not
provide all the information requested, we may be unable to process your application.
Failure to provide your Social Security number will not prejudice your case.
Our authority for requesting the information solicited in the accompanying
commutation of sentence application form is the United States Constitution,
Article II, Section 2 (the pardon clause); Order No. 1798-93, 58 Fed.
Reg. 53658 and 53659 (1993), 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).
Upon specific request, we advise anyone who asks whether a named
person has been granted or denied clemency. In addition, the pendency
of an application is confirmed to anyone who asks, unless extraordinary
considerations of privacy are presented in a particular case that outweigh
the public interest in having access to this information. If you believe
such privacy considerations are present in your case, you should so
inform us in writing when you submit the application.
Executive clemency files are compiled and maintained to assist the President in
exercising his constitutional clemency power and are routinely made available
to him, members of his staff, and other government officials concerned with clemency
proceedings. The Pardon Attorney may disclose the contents of executive clemency
files to anyone when the disclosure is required by law or the ends of justice.
In particular, public record documents that may be compiled in the course of processing
a clemency application, such as the judgment order from the criminal case for
which commutation is sought, trial or sentencing transcripts, court opinions,
and newspaper articles, are generally made available upon request by third-parties
(including representatives of the news media) pursuant to the Freedom of Information
Act, unless such disclosure could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted
invasion of the petitioner's personal privacy. In addition, unsolicited Congressional
correspondence is treated in the same manner. On the other hand, non-public documents
that may be compiled in the course of processing a clemency application, such
as the petition and supporting documents, the presentence investigation report,
the results of any background investigation, and the report and recommendation
of the Department of Justice to the President, are not generally available under
the Freedom of Information Act.
The foregoing rules apply to the disclosure of documents in the possession of
the Department of Justice. However, 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.
Finally, after the President has taken final action on an application, a public
affairs notice is prepared describing each grant of clemency (and may be prepared
for a denial of clemency in cases of substantial public interest). A copy of each
warrant of clemency is maintained in this office as a public and official record.
Copies of the public affairs notices, clemency warrants, and lists of recent clemency
recipients are routinely made available to the public upon request.
