Sponsors (3)
Official title: To require the President to publish a justification for each grant of clemency.
Introduced September 3, 2026 by Suhas Subramanyam · Last progress September 3, 2026
The bill aims to strengthen oversight of pardons and curb post‑pardon political influence through disclosure, donation limits, and FECA cross‑references, at the cost of privacy and due‑process risks for recipients and added compliance and administrative burdens.
Congress, DOJ, and the public receive timely information and individualized risk/recidivism assessments about pardon recipients, improving legislative oversight and helping detect patterns that could inform reforms to protect public safety.
Pardoned individuals face limits on large post‑pardon political donations and the FEC is given a clearer enforcement pathway (including criminal referral), reducing the risk that pardons are used to buy political influence.
Political committees, treasurers, and leadership PACs get clearer, consistent legal definitions by referencing existing FECA terms, reducing some ambiguity about who is covered under the Act.
Pardon recipients and other individuals could have sensitive non‑pardoned criminal history and individualized risk assessments disclosed, raising privacy, stigma, and due‑process concerns (including inaccurate profiling).
The Pardon Attorney and DOJ must compile reports on short timelines, creating administrative burdens and added costs that divert federal employee time and taxpayer resources from other tasks.
Capping donations at $1,000 restricts political speech and contribution rights of pardoned individuals and may deter some people from accepting pardons or prompt legal disputes about coverage, increasing enforcement and litigation costs.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Bars pardoned individuals from making contributions over $1,000 to specified President-linked political entities and requires DOJ to report pardoned persons' non-pardoned criminal history and recidivism risk to Congress within 30 days.
Bars people who receive a Presidential pardon from making political contributions over $1,000 to the President's authorized committee, leadership PAC, or entities that spent independently to elect the President, and authorizes the FEC to enforce and refer violations for prosecution. Requires the Justice Department Pardon Attorney to send Congress a written analysis within 30 days after any presidential pardon describing the recipient's other criminal history and an assessment of recidivism risk and potential danger to communities.