Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden falsely claimed that former President Barack Obama granted pardons and reduced sentences for criminal charges to 18,000 people in his NBC town hall Monday night.
Defending his inaction on criminal justice reform, Joe Biden falsely claimed “18,000 people got clemency” while he was Vice President.
Actually, 18,000 were *denied* clemency while he was Vice President. Oops! pic.twitter.com/iCQVKm1upQ
— Trump War Room – Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) October 6, 2020
The blunder occurred when town hall host NBC News’s Lester Holt asked Biden a question about his record with criminal justice reform during his time in the White House with Obama.
“He points to the Criminal Justice Reform Bill. As you and Barack Obama served at a time when you had both houses of Congress and still couldn’t get some of these things done,” Holt noted.
Biden quickly interjected and attempted to defend himself.
“Yeah we did,” Biden insisted. “We led…18,000 people got clemency.”
Records from the United States Department of Justice demonstrate, however, that only 1,715 people were granted reduced sentences and only 212 were pardoned by former President Obama and former Vice President Biden over their eight years in office together. Contrary to Biden’s exaggerated claims, the Obama administration actually denied forms of clemency such as commutations and pardons to over 20,000 people.
Despite Biden’s incorrect overstatement of his clemency-granting record, his false comments received no pushback from Holt…
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