The Pardon Attorney routinely requests the United States Attorney in the district of conviction or if a Department litigating component was responsible for the case, the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the component to provide comments and recommendations on clemency cases that appear to have some merit, as well as on cases that raise issues of fact about which the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General may be in a position to provide information. Occasionally, the United States Attorney in the district in which a petitioner currently resides also may be contacted. In addition, in cases in which the petitioner seeks clemency based on cooperation with the government, the Pardon Attorney may solicit the views of the United States Attorney in the district(s) in which the petitioner cooperated, if different from the district of conviction, or the views of the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department litigating component with which the petitioner cooperated, if different from the prosecuting component. When a particular Main Justice component has jurisdiction over or involvement in a case, such as approving charges or participating in the prosecution of the defendant, the Pardon Attorney will also solicit comments and recommendations from that component. For example, the Tax Division, which authorizes and supervises nearly all charges arising under the internal revenue laws, will be consulted when a defendant convicted of such a charge seeks clemency, whether or not a Division attorney was directly involved in prosecuting the case While the decision to grant clemency generally is driven by considerations that differ from those that dictate the decision to prosecute, the United States Attorney's or Assistant Attorney’s General prosecutive perspective lends valuable insights to the clemency process.

The views of the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General are given considerable weight in determining what recommendations the Department should make to the President. For this reason, and in order to ensure consistency, it is important that each request sent to the district or litigating component receive the personal attention of the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General . Each petition is presented for action to the President with a report and recommendation from the Department, and the substance of the recommendation by the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General is included in this report.

The United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General can contribute significantly to the clemency process by providing factual information and perspectives about the offense of conviction that may not be reflected in the presentence or background investigation reports or other sources, e.g., the extent of the petitioner's wrongdoing and the attendant circumstances, the amount of money involved or losses sustained, the petitioner's involvement in other criminal activity, the petitioner's reputation in the community and, when appropriate, the victim impact of the petitioner's crime. On occasion, the Pardon Attorney may request information from prosecution records that may not be readily available from other sources.

As a general matter, in clemency cases the correctness of the underlying conviction is assumed, and the question of guilt or innocence is not generally at issue. However, if a petitioner refuses to accept guilt, minimizes culpability, or raises a claim of innocence or miscarriage of justice, the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General should address these issues.

In cases involving pardon after completion of sentence, the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General is expected to comment on the petitioner's post-conviction rehabilitation, particularly any actions that may evidence a desire to atone for the offense, in light of the standards generally applicable in pardon cases as discussed in the following section. Similarly, in commutation cases, comments may be sought on developments after sentencing that are relevant to the merits of a petitioner's request for mercy.

In pardon cases, the Pardon Attorney will forward to the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General copies of the pardon petition and relevant investigative reports. These records should be destroyed by the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General (if in electronic form) or returned (if in hard copy) to the Pardon Attorney along with the response. In cases involving requests for other forms of executive clemency (i.e., commutation of sentence or remission of fine), copies of the clemency petition and such related records as may be useful (e.g., presentence report, judgment of conviction, prison progress reports, and completed statement of debtor forms) will be provided.

The Pardon Attorney also routinely requests the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General to solicit the views and recommendation of the sentencing judge. If the sentencing judge is retired, deceased, or otherwise unavailable for comment, the United States Attorney's or Assistant Attorney’s General report should so advise. In the event the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General does not wish to contact the sentencing judge, the Pardon Attorney should be advised accordingly so that the judge's views may be solicited directly. Absent an express request for confidentiality, the Pardon Attorney may share the comments of the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General with the sentencing judge or other concerned officials whose views are solicited.

The United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General may support, oppose or take no position on a pardon request. In this regard, it is helpful to have a clear expression of the office's position. The Pardon Attorney generally asks for a response within 30 days. If an unusual delay is anticipated, the Pardon Attorney should be advised when a response may be expected. If desired, the official views of the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General may be supplemented by separate reports from present or former officials involved in the prosecution of the case. The United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General may of course submit a recommendation for or against clemency even if the Pardon Attorney has not yet solicited comments from the district or component. The Pardon Attorney informs the United States Attorney or Assistant Attorney General of the final disposition of any clemency application on which he or she has commented.

Should a president leave office without acting on a particular clemency petition, that petition will remain open and active until the incoming president reaches a decision.

[added April 2018]