U.S. presidents have held the right to pardon crimes since the country’s founding, and they have exercised it often with political and personal considerations in mind. But legal scholars said the power’s bounds have never been so stretched as Monday, when incoming President Trump used it to relitigate the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and departing President Biden used it not for mercy but as a protective shield.

Trump’s final decision to issue blanket pardons and commutations to the more than 1,500 of his followers charged in connection with the Capitol attack came just days before the inauguration, people familiar with the matter said. While some people close to Trump discussed the merits of issuing pardons on a case-by-case basis depending on the severity of a defendant’s conduct, Trump ultimately favored quick action that could broadly apply to everyone, the people said.