[koolba]

See the sibling reply explaining how Roger was being charged with DUI which would have carried much heavier sentences with a prior conviction on his record. The pardon effectively swept his DUI away to a misdemeanor.

[microtherion]

The pardon did end up having that effect, but given that the pardon was issued in January 2001 and the DUI happened in February 2001, I have some degree of confidence that this was not intentional.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/roger-clinton-arrested/

[tzs]

See the response to the sibling reply which notes that the DUI incident occurred a month after the pardon.

Also, DUI is a state charge. The pardon was for a federal conviction. Do prior federal convictions affect state sentencing?