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Jeffrey Crouch Assistant Professor Washington Semester

Degrees
B.A., Hope College
J.D., University of Michigan Law School
Ph.D., The Catholic University of America

Bio
Areas of Expertise: Federal Executive Clemency/Presidential Pardons
Dr. Jeffrey Crouch is an assistant professor of American politics at American University. He is a nationally recognized expert on federal executive clemency, or the presidential pardon power. Dr. Crouch's commentary on pardons appears in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Atlantic, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, NBC News, Newsweek, The Hill, and other media outlets. He is also Editor of Congress & the Presidency journal, Co-Editor of the Congressional Leaders book series for the University Press of Kansas, and a Fellow at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (CCPS). The University Press of Kansas has published all three of his books: The Presidential Pardon Power; The Unitary Executive Theory: A Danger to Constitutional Government (co-authored with Mark J. Rozell and Mitchel A. Sollenberger); and Newt Gingrich: The Rise and Fall of a Party Entrepreneur (co-authored with Matthew N. Green). Among the many courses that Dr. Crouch has taught are The U.S. Presidency, The Presidency and the Executive Branch, and Presidential Scandals.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • CORE-107 Complex Problems Seminar: Presidential Scandals

  • WSEM-050 Topics in Washington DC: Presidential Elections

  • WSEM-050 Topics in Washington DC: U.S. Presidency

Spring 2025

  • GOVT-320 The Presidency

  • WSEM-050 Topics in Washington DC: U.S. Presidency

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Selected Publications

BOOKS

Green, Matthew N. and Jeffrey Crouch. 2022. Newt Gingrich: The Rise and Fall of a Party Entrepreneur. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

Crouch, Jeffrey, Mark J. Rozell and Mitchel A. Sollenberger. 2020. The Unitary Executive Theory: A Danger to Constitutional Government. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2009. The Presidential Pardon Power. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

POLITICAL SCIENCE JOURNAL ARTICLES

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2022. "The Law: President Trump's Clemency Record: Extraordinary or Just Ordinary?" Presidential Studies Quarterly 52 (3): 692-708.

Crouch, Jeffrey, Mark J. Rozell and Mitchel A. Sollenberger. 2017. “The Law: The Unitary Executive Theory and President Donald J. Trump.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 47 (3): 561-573.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2015. “The Law: Barack Obama and the Clemency Power: Real Reform on the Way?” Presidential Studies Quarterly 45 (4): 778-795.

Crouch, Jeffrey, Mark J. Rozell and Mitchel A. Sollenberger. 2013. “The Law: President Obama’s Signing Statements and the Expansion of Executive Power.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 43 (4): 883-899.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2011. “The Toussie Pardon, ‘Unpardon,’ and the Abdication of Responsibility in Clemency Cases.” Congress & the Presidency 38 (1): 77-100.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2008. “The Law: Presidential Misuse of the Pardon Power.” Presidential Studies Quarterly 38 (4): 722-734.

LAW REVIEW ARTICLES

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2021. "The Office of the Pardon Attorney: What Comes Next?" Federal Sentencing Reporter 33 (5): 337-340.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2016. “The President and the Pardon Power: A Bibliographic Essay, 1989-2015.” University of St. Thomas Law Journal 12 (3): 413-445.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2012. “The President’s Power to Commute: Is It Still Relevant?” University of St. Thomas Law Journal 9 (3): 681-697.

BOOK CHAPTERS (SINCE 2015)

Crouch, Jeffrey and Mark J. Rozell. 2021. "Presidential Statesmanship in the New Media Era." In American Statesmanship: Principles and Practice of Leadership. Joseph R. Fornieri, Kenneth L. Deutsch and Sean D. Sutton, Eds. Notre Dame, IN: Notre Dame Press, 699-719.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2020. “Resolved, Congress Should Have the Power to Override a Presidential Pardon By a Two-Thirds Majority Vote of Both Houses.” “Con” Essay. In Debating the Presidency: Conflicting Perspectives on the American Executive, 5th Ed. Richard J. Ellis and Michael Nelson, Eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press/Sage Publications, 205-222 (includes Sharece Thrower's "Pro" Essay).

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2019. “President Donald J. Trump and the Clemency Power: Is Claiming ‘Unfair’ Treatment for Pardon Recipients the New ‘Fake News’”? In Presidential Leadership and the Trump Presidency: Executive Power and Democratic Government. Charles M. Lamb and Jacob R. Neiheisel, Eds. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 91-120.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2016. “Gerald Ford and the Constitution.” In The Presidents and the Constitution: A Living History. Ken Gormley, Ed. New York, NY: NYU Press, 507-520.

Crouch, Jeffrey and Elise Tollefson. 2015. “President Jimmy Carter and the Press.” In A Companion to Gerald R. Ford and Jimmy Carter. V.S. Kaufman, Ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 364-378.

Crouch, Jeffrey. 2015. “Pardons and Politics.” In Encyclopedia of American Political Culture, Volume 3. Michael Shally-Jensen, Ed. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 775-779.

OP-EDS (SINCE 2017)

Crouch, Jeffrey. September 15, 2023. "Trump May Have 'Secretly' Pardoned Himself While President." Newsweek. 

Crouch, Jeffrey. August 2, 2023. "How to Think about a Trump Pardon." Newsweek.

Crouch, Jeffrey. September 5, 2022. "The Nixon Pardon at (Nearly) 50: What President Ford's Successors Should Learn from His Courageous Clemency Grant." Ford Leadership Forum, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. 

Green, Matthew and Jeffrey Crouch. August 22, 2022. "Did Newt Gingrich Wreck American Politics?" The Hill. 

Crouch, Jeffrey. January 20, 2021. "If Trump Issued Secret Pardons, They Won't Work." Washington Post.

Crouch, Jeffrey, Mark J. Rozell and Mitchel A. Sollenberger. January 20, 2021. "How Biden Can End Executive Order Ping-Pong." The Hill.

Crouch, Jeffrey. January 12, 2021. "Can Biden Reboot the Presidential Pardon System After Trump?" Newsweek.

Crouch, Jeffrey. December 3, 2020. "Trump and Bill Clinton Pardon Scandals Should Help Biden Fix a Flawed Process." NBC News.

Crouch, Jeffrey. November 24, 2020. "Mr. President, Please Stick to Pardoning Turkeys." Newsweek.

Crouch, Jeffrey. November 6, 2020. "Like It or Not, a Trump Self-Pardon May Be Coming Soon." The Hill.

Crouch, Jeffrey. June 11, 2020. "Will the 'Law and Order' President Pardon Roger Stone?" The Hill.

Crouch, Jeffrey. February 21, 2020. "Our Founders Didn't Intend for Pardons to Work Like This." The Atlantic.

Crouch, Jeffrey. August 28, 2017. “Can Trump be Impeached for Pardoning Arpaio?” Los Angeles Times.

Crouch, Jeffrey. August 23, 2017. “Out of Mercy or for Trump’s Base, an Arpaio Pardon is Coming.” The Hill.

Crouch, Jeffrey. July 27, 2017. “The Self-Pardon Question: What Comes Next?” Take Care Blog.

Crouch, Jeffrey. July 23, 2017. “President Trump, Consider the Risks of Pardoning Yourself.” The Hill.

Crouch, Jeffrey. February 1, 2017. "A Review of President Barack Obama's Clemency Record." University Press of Kansas Blog.

MEDIA APPEARANCES (SINCE 2023)

Lewinski, John Scott. October 25, 2024. “Begging Biden’s Pardon.” Washington Examiner.

Lotz, Avery. July 13, 2024. "Why Presidents are Wielding Their Pardon Powers Less and Less." Axios.

Cercone, Jeff and Louis Jacobson. June 11, 2024. "Hunter Biden Guilty on Gun Charges; Here's What It Means and What's Next." PolitiFact.

O'Neill, Madeleine. May 1, 2024. "In National TV Interview, Marilyn Mosby Says She's Seeking a Presidential Pardon. What Does that Mean?" Baltimore Sun.  

Contorno, Steve. March 21, 2024. "The Push to Put Trump Back in the White House is Getting a Boost from People He Pardoned Before Leaving." CNN.

Rabinowitz, Hannah and Holmes Lybrand. January 6, 2024. "It May Be a Long Time, If Ever, Before Everyone Involved in January 6 is Punished. Here's Why." CNN.

Dreisbach, Tom and Noah Caldwell. January 4, 2024. "The Trump Campaign Embraces Jan. 6 Rioters with Money and Pardon Promises." NPR.

Reinhard, Beth, Manuel Roig-Franzia and Clara Ence Morse. December 2, 2023. "Trump Pardoned Them. Now They're Helping Him Return to Power." Washington Post.

Farley, Robert and D'Angelo Gore. September 20, 2023. "FactChecking Trump on 'Meet the Press.'" FactCheck.org.

Commander, Anna and Nicholas Mordowanec. September 14, 2023. "Will Joe Biden Pardon Hunter Biden?" Newsweek.

Murphy, Kate. June 22, 2023. "Can Trump Pardon Himself if He Wins in 2024?" Yahoo News.

Jacobson, Louis. June 20, 2023. "Can GOP Candidates Pardon Donald Trump if They Win? Can Trump Pardon Himself?" PolitiFact. 

Watson, Kathryn. June 18, 2023. "Can a President Pardon Himself?" CBS News.

Davis, Susan. June 14, 2023. "Some of Trump's 2024 Rivals Have Already Pledged to Pardon Him if He is Convicted." NPR.

Mordock, Jeff. June 13, 2023. "Biden Could Pardon Trump in Classified Document Case, but Would Pay a 'Political Price.'" Washington Times.

Boyer, David. June 10, 2023. "Unprecedented Indictment Creates Opportunity for Unprecedented Self-Pardon." Washington Times.

 

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

Federal executive clemency/presidential pardons

Additional Information

Jeffrey Crouch is an assistant professor of American politics in American University’s School of Professional & Extended Studies. He is the Editor of Congress & the Presidency journal. His first book, The Presidential Pardon Power, was published by the University Press of Kansas in 2009. Prof. Crouch’s research focuses primarily on federal executive clemency, also known as the presidential pardon power. He has taught the American Presidency, the Presidency and the Executive Branch, and Law and the Political System, among other courses.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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