The phrase "offenses against the United States" marks the federal boundary. A president cannot pardon a state conviction, erase a private civil debt merely because the same conduct was criminal, or command a state governor to issue clemency. The impeachment exception means a pardon cannot reverse the House's impeachment or the Senate's judgment of removal and disqualification. A pardon also does not restore a person to a federal office that was lost; returning to office would require the applicable appointment process.

Suppose a federal judge is removed after Senate conviction and later faces federal criminal charges based on related conduct. A presidential pardon may reach the federal criminal exposure, but it cannot undo the impeachment judgment or place the former judge back on the bench. If a state also prosecutes a state offense, the federal pardon does not control that case. One event can therefore produce separate constitutional, federal criminal, state criminal, and civil consequences.

Do not confuse a pardon with an executive order. A pardon exercises a directly granted clemency power over federal offenses. An executive order manages executive action only when another constitutional or statutory source supports it. Always identify the legal consequence the president is trying to change.

Video lesson: Presidential Power: Crash Course Government and Politics #11