WASHINGTON -- In a last major act as president, Barack Obama on Thursday cut short the sentences of 330 federal inmates convicted of drug crimes, raising his bid to correct what he's called a systematic injustice to a climactic close.
With his final offer of clemency, Obama raised his total number of commutations granted to 1,715, more than any other president in U.S. history, the White House said. During his presidency Obama ordered free 568 inmates who had been sentenced to life in prison.
"He wanted to do it. He wanted the opportunity to look at as many as he could to provide relief," Neil Eggleston, Obama's White House counsel, said in an interview in his West Wing office. "He saw the injustice of the sentences that were imposed in many situations, and he has a strong view that people deserve a second chance."
Eggleston said Obama had been particularly motivated to grant clemency to inmates who had turned themselves around in prison. He said one inmate had trained and obtained a commercial driver's license through a prison program, despite having a life sentence that all but assured he'd never get to use it.
Earlier in the week, Obama commuted most of the rest of convicted intelligence leaker Chelsea Manning's sentence, arguing the Army intelligence analyst had shown remorse and already served a long sentence.
The final batch of commutations -- more in a single day than on any other day in U.S. history -- was the culmination of Obama's second-term effort to try to remedy the consequences of decades of sentencing requirements that he said had imprisoned thousands of drug offenders for too long.
As the last remaining White House staff members packed up their belongings and cleared out, the president and first lady Michelle Obama placed a farewell call to German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- his last presidential call to a foreign leader. Merkel, Obama's closest international partner, is the only one of his key European allies still in power as he leaves office, though she faces a difficult re-election in September.
In a letter to supporters, Obama said that "when the arc of progress seems slow," Americans should remember that they are empowered as citizens to influence the nation's future for the better. He added: "We shall overcome."
"All that I've learned in my time in office, I've learned from you," Obama said. "You made me a better president, and you made me a better man."
As his family packed up the living quarters where he and his wife raised their two daughters, Obama received the president's daily briefing for the final time and had lunch with Vice President Joe Biden. His administration also disclosed it had transferred four final detainees out of Guantanamo Bay, but conceded Obama had failed to fulfill his promise to close the prison.
Obama also staffed up for his life and work as former president, hiring a trio of former faces. Obama tapped his White House principle deputy press secretary to be his senior adviser and a former White House aide to be his spokesman, while Michelle Obama selected her communications director to stay on in that role when she becomes the former first lady.
After Trump is inaugurated today, Obama will fly by helicopter to Andrews Air Force Base, where he'll speak to longtime aides to thank them for their work. Then he and his family will board the presidential aircraft for their final flight, to California, where they plan a quiet vacation in Palm Springs.
The Obamas will return later to Washington, where they have rented a home and plan to live until youngest daughter Sasha finishes high school.
A Section on 01/20/2017