[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 126 (Monday, August 3, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4409-S4410]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Cortez Masto,
Ms. Hirono, and Mr. Schiff):
S. 5212. A bill to amend title 18, United States Code, to reform
executive clemency; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, on the pardons bill, justice is supposed
to be blind. Under Donald Trump, justice is for sale.
Today, I am introducing legislation with Senators Blumenthal, Hirono,
Cortez Masto, and Schiff to stop Trump from abusing his pardon power
for personal gain. Our No Payoffs for Pardons Act will expose, deter,
and prosecute corrupt pardons.
Trump sees his pardon power as just another opportunity for grift,
for graft, or personal profit. The only thing Trump cares about in
granting clemency is how much money you have and where do your
loyalties lie.
Trump has wiped the slate clean for thousands of January 6
insurrectionists, Medicare fraudsters, white-collar criminals, and
other crooks convicted of swindling the American people. The American
people always pay the price for Trump's corruption, and pardons are no
exception. Trump's pardons have wiped out nearly $2 billion in
repayments owed to the victims of these crimes.
It is the same old grift: Trump picks the pocket of law-abiding
Americans to enrich criminals, his cronies, and himself. In Trump's
America, if you have enough money or if you have the President's ear,
then you are above the law.
Our bill reaffirms that Federal bribery laws apply to the President
and that trying to buy your way out of a prison cell is a crime itself.
Our legislation would also require anyone who receives a pardon to
disclose financial gifts they made in connection with their clemency.
We need to bring these corrupt pardons out of the shadows and into
the light so that we can stop them for once and for all.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be
printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be
printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 5212
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``No Payoffs for Pardons
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Constitution of the United States grants the
President broad authority to issue reprieves and pardons for
offenses against the United States. This power is meant to
serve the interests of justice and offer a pathway to remedy
unfair outcomes within the criminal legal system.
(2) The breadth of the pardon power demands it be used
judiciously. At times, Presidents have made questionable
clemency decisions throughout American history, creating
legitimate concerns about potential misuse across the
political spectrum.
(3) Alarmingly, President Donald Trump has gone further
than any of his predecessors and fundamentally transformed
the Presidential pardon from an instrument of mercy into a
currency for insiders, repeatedly using clemency to reward
political donors, loyalists, cronies, and individuals with
direct access to him, while ordinary petitioners languish for
years in the Department of Justice process.
(4) In his current term, President Trump has granted only a
tiny handful of pardons and commutations to the roughly
10,000 people who followed the formal Department of Justice
review process in 2026, while showering clemency on high-
profile allies, business associates, and well-connected
offenders whose chief qualification was deep pockets or
proximity to the President, not the merits of their cases.
(5) President Trump has exploited clemency to erase the
crimes and consequences of some of the most notorious white-
collar offenders in United States history, including the
longest-sentenced Medicare fraudster in the country. All
told, President Trump's pardons have wiped out nearly
$2,000,000,000 in victim repayments and taxpayer recovery.
(6) President Trump has used the pardon power to undercut
ongoing law enforcement investigations, including commuting
the sentence of a predatory lender whose cooperation Federal
prosecutors were actively seeking, instantly stripping
prosecutors of leverage and signaling that well-connected
criminals can buy or lobby their way out of accountability.
(7) President Trump has leveraged clemency for convicted
narcotraffickers and enablers of the international drug
trade, such as the former Honduran President who turned his
government into a cocaine pipeline to the United States and
the creator of the Silk Road dark web drug market, even while
demanding the death penalty for traffickers and campaigning
on a promise to wage ``war'' on cartels.
(8) On the first day of his second term, President Donald
Trump issued a sweeping clemency proclamation granting
blanket pardons and commutations to nearly all offenders
charged or convicted for crimes arising from the January 6,
2021, attack on the United States Capitol, instantly wiping
away the criminal records and prison time of roughly 1,600
rioters who assaulted law enforcement and violently disrupted
the peaceful transfer of power.
(9) President Trump's Department of Justice is now actively
seeking to vacate and dismiss the seditious conspiracy
convictions of multiple top Proud Boys and Oath Keepers
leaders, including Stewart Rhodes and other organizers who
helped plan and direct the assault, moving to erase the last
remaining jury verdicts against the extremist ringleaders of
the insurrection and to nullify years of painstaking
prosecutions by career Federal law enforcement.
(10) President Trump's pattern of clemency for wealthy
benefactors, the politically connected, and corrupt officials
paired with his deliberate neglect of ordinary, meritorious
petitioners, has weaponized the pardon power against the rule
of law, turning a constitutional safety valve into a
commodity to be purchased or bartered for through political
allegiance.
(11) Although the Supreme Court of the United States
erroneously held in Trump v. United States, 603 U.S. 593
(2024), that the President has absolute immunity for the
exercise of core constitutional powers, that immunity only
attaches to the President and does not extend to private
individuals who corruptly offer things of value to obtain
clemency, or act as intermediaries in such corrupt
arrangements. Congress has authority and responsibility to
address corruption by clemency seekers and intermediaries,
even if the conduct of the President may be beyond the reach
of Federal criminal prosecution.
SEC. 3. DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS FOR PARDON RECIPIENTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 11 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 227A. Financial disclosure reports by recipients of
executive clemency
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Clemency recipient.--The term `clemency recipient'
means any individual who has received a pardon, commutation
of sentence, reprieve, or any other form of executive
clemency pursuant to section 2 of article of the Constitution
of the United States.
``(2) Covered benefit.--The term `covered benefit' means
anything of value, including any contribution, donation,
gift, service, payment, transfer, contract, investment,
goods, or other benefit, whether direct or indirect, provided
by the clemency recipient, at the direction of the clemency
recipient, or on behalf of the clemency recipient, with an
aggregate value at any point during any 12-month period
during the disclosure period of not less than $10,000, as
adjusted for inflation pursuant to subsection (f).
``(3) Covered recipient.--The term `covered recipient'--
``(A) means--
[[Page S4410]]
``(i) the President or an immediate family member of the
President;
``(ii) any entity directly or indirectly established,
financed, maintained, or controlled by, or operating with the
explicit or implicit purpose of advancing a financial,
political, electoral, or reputational benefit of, the
President or an immediate family member of the President,
including any commercial entity, any presidential library or
foundation, any organization exempt from taxation under
section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, any
Inaugural Committee, as defined in section 501 of title 36,
any authorized committee, as defined in section 301 of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101), and
any political committee (including an independent
expenditure-only committee), as defined in that section;
``(iii) any entity in which the clemency recipient knows,
or reasonably should know, that the President or an immediate
family member of the President holds a direct or indirect
financial interest, including any ownership interest,
partnership interest, or interest through a trust, limited
liability company, or other intermediary; or
``(iv) any person who receives a covered benefit for the
purpose of seeking or advocating for executive clemency for
the clemency recipient; and
``(B) does not include any class of securities registered
under section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15
U.S.C. 78l) if--
``(i) the President and no immediate family member of the
President serve as a director or officer of the issuer; or
``(ii) the President and all immediate family members of
the President are not, in the aggregate, beneficial owners of
more than 10 percent of such class of securities within the
meaning of section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (15 U.S.C. 78p(a)).
``(4) Disclosure period.--The term `disclosure period'
means the period beginning on the date that is 1 year before
the date on which the President who granted the executive
clemency was first sworn into office and ending on the last
day of the fourth calendar year after the calendar year
during which the clemency recipient received the executive
clemency.
``(5) Immediate family member.--The term `immediate family
member' means, with respect to an individual, the spouse,
child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, or sibling.
``(6) Willfully.--The term `willfully'--
``(A) means intentionally undertaking an act that one knows
to be wrongful; and
``(B) does not require that the actor know specifically
that the conduct was unlawful.
``(b) Disclosure Requirement.--
``(1) Pre-clemency disclosure.--Not later than 90 days
after receiving executive clemency for an offense against the
United States, each clemency recipient that has provided a
covered benefit to a covered recipient during the disclosure
period shall file with the Attorney General a disclosure
report identifying each covered benefit provided to any
covered recipient during the disclosure period.
``(2) Annual post-clemency disclosure.--For each of the 4
calendar years following the calendar year in which executive
clemency was granted, a clemency recipient who has provided a
covered benefit to a covered recipient during the disclosure
period shall file with the Attorney General an annual
disclosure report identifying each covered benefit provided
to any covered recipient during that calendar year.
``(3) Content of disclosure.--Each disclosure report
required under this subsection shall include--
``(A) the identity of the covered recipient;
``(B) a description of the covered benefit, including its
form, nature, and purpose;
``(C) the approximate date or dates on which the covered
benefit was provided; and
``(D) the value of the covered benefit, or, where the exact
value cannot reasonably be ascertained, a good-faith estimate
of such value with an explanation of the basis for the
estimate.
``(c) Exception for Bona Fide Legal Services.--
``(1) In general.--This section shall not apply to payments
made exclusively for bona fide legal services rendered in
connection with representation before a court of law.
``(2) Allocation.--
``(A) In general.--If a payment is made in part for legal
services described in paragraph (1) and in part for lobbying,
advocacy, advice, or other services related to seeking or
obtaining executive clemency, only the portion of such
payment reasonably attributable to clemency-related services
shall be subject to disclosure under this section.
``(B) Good faith.--The clemency recipient shall--
``(i) make the allocation required under subparagraph (A)
in good faith; and
``(ii) shall document the basis for the allocation in the
disclosure report filed pursuant to subsection (b).
``(d) Publication by the Attorney General.--
``(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall make all
disclosure reports filed under this section publicly
available on a searchable, machine-readable website
maintained by the Department of Justice not later than 30
days after the filing deadline applicable to each report. If
a disclosure report is received after the filing deadline,
the Attorney General shall make the report available as soon
as practicable, but not later than 30 days after the date on
which the report is received.
``(2) Forms and procedures.--
``(A) In general.--The Attorney General shall prescribe
forms and procedures for the filing of disclosure reports
under this section and may promulgate regulations as the
Attorney General determines are necessary to carry out the
purposes of this section.
``(B) Contents.--The procedures described in subparagraph
(A) shall include a process by which the Attorney General
regularly contacts clemency recipients, through as many
methods of communication as possible, to notify them of their
obligations to file disclosure reports.
``(3) Online submission.--Not later than 90 days after the
date of enactment of this section, the Attorney General shall
establish an online portal through which clemency recipients
shall submit the disclosure reports required under subsection
(b).
``(e) Enforcement.--
``(1) Civil penalty.--Any clemency recipient who knowingly
fails to file a required disclosure report, files a
materially false or incomplete report, or otherwise violates
this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more
than $50,000 per violation, as adjusted for inflation
pursuant to subsection (f).
``(2) Criminal penalty.--Any clemency recipient who
willfully fails to file a required disclosure report or who
willfully files a materially false disclosure report shall be
fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 5 years,
or both.
``(3) Investigations.--The Attorney General shall have
authority to investigate potential violations of this section
and to bring civil or criminal enforcement actions in any
appropriate court.
``(f) Inflation Adjustment.--Not less frequently than once
every 5 years, the Attorney General shall adjust the dollar
threshold established in subsection (a)(2), and the civil
penalty established in subsection (e)(1), based on the
Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S.
city average, all items, published monthly by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, rounded to the nearest $500.
``(g) Statute of Limitations.--No civil or criminal action
may be brought under this section more than 10 years after
the date on which the violation occurred.
``(h) Severability.--If any provision of this section, or
the application thereof to any person or circumstances, is
held invalid, the remainder of the section, and the
application of such provision to other persons or
circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.''.
(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of
sections for chapter 11 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``227A. Financial disclosure reports by recipients of executive
clemency.''.
SEC. 4. UPDATING THE FEDERAL BRIBERY STATUTE.
(a) In General.--Section 201 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``, including the
President and the Vice President of the United States,''
after ``or an officer or employee or person''; and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``means any person'' and inserting the
following: ``means--
``(A) any person'';
(ii) by striking ``and'' at the end; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(B) any candidate, as defined in section 301 of the
Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (52 U.S.C. 30101), with
respect to any official act the candidate would have
authority to perform upon taking office;'';
(C) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``, including any pardon, commutation, reprieve, or
other form of executive clemency pursuant to section 2 of
article II of the Constitution of the United States; and'';
and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) the term `anything of value' includes any pardon,
commutation of sentence, remission of fine or restitution,
reprieve, or other form of executive clemency pursuant to
section 2 of article II of the Constitution of the United
States.''.
(b) Limitations.--Section 3282 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(c) Extended Limitations Period for Bribery Offenses
Involving Executive Clemency.--Notwithstanding subsection
(a), no person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for
any offense under section 201 of this title arising from or
related to the granting, denying, withholding, promising, or
offering of any pardon, commutation, remission, or reprieve
pursuant to section 2 of article II of the Constitution of
the United States, unless the indictment is found or the
information is instituted within 10 years after the offense
was committed.''.
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