,,ii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #ebab ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #c1 #bjbf,mr4 ,schumer 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,blumenthal1 ,ms4 ,cortez ,masto1 ,ms4 ,hirono1 and ,mr4 ,schiff7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 to reform executive clemency4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,no ,payoffs for ,pardons ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,constitution of the ,united ,states grants the ,president broad authority to issue reprieves and pardons for offenses against the ,united ,states4 ,this power is meant to serve the interests of justice and offer a pathway to remedy unfair outcomes within the criminal legal system4 7#b7 ,the breadth of the pardon power demands it be used judiciously4 ,at times1 ,presidents have made questionable clemency decisions throughout ,american history1 creating legitimate concerns about potential misuse across the political spectrum4 7#c7 ,alarmingly1 ,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 insiders1 repeatedly using clemency to reward political donors1 loyalists1 cronies1 and individuals with direct access to him1 while ordinary petitioners languish for years in the ,department of ,justice process4 7#d7 ,in his current term1 ,president ,trump has granted only a tiny handful of pardons and commutations to the roughly #aj1jjj people who followed the formal ,department of ,justice review process in #bjbf1 while showering clemency on high-profile allies1 business associates1 and well-connected offenders whose chief qualification was deep pockets or proximity to the ,president1 not the merits of their cases4 7#e7 ,president ,trump has exploited clemency to erase the crimes and consequences of some of the most notorious white-collar offenders in ,united ,states history1 including the longest-sentenced ,medicare fraudster in the country4 ,all told1 ,president ,trump's pardons have wiped out nearly #b1jjj1jjj1jjj in victim repayments and taxpayer recovery4 7#f7 ,president ,trump has used the pardon power to undercut ongoing law enforcement investigations1 including commuting the sentence of a predatory lender whose cooperation ,federal prosecutors were actively seeking1 instantly stripping prosecutors of leverage and signaling that well-connected criminals can buy or lobby their way out of accountability4 7#g7 ,president ,trump has leveraged clemency for convicted narcotraffickers and enablers of the international drug trade1 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 market1 even while demanding the death penalty for traffickers and campaigning on a promise to wage war on cartels4 7#h7 ,on the first day of his second term1 ,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 #f1 #bjba1 attack on the ,united ,states ,capitol1 instantly wiping away the criminal records and prison time of roughly #a1fjj rioters who assaulted law enforcement and violently disrupted the peaceful transfer of power4 7#i7 ,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 leaders1 including ,stewart ,rhodes and other organizers who helped plan and direct the assault1 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 enforcement4 7#aj7 ,president ,trump's pattern of clemency for wealthy benefactors1 the politically connected1 and corrupt officials paired with his deliberate neglect of ordinary1 meritorious petitioners1 has weaponized the pardon power against the rule of law1 turning a constitutional safety valve into a commodity to be purchased or bartered for through political allegiance4 7#aa7 ,although the ,supreme ,court of the ,united ,states erroneously held in ,trump v4 ,united ,states1 #fjc ,u4,s4 #eic 7#bjbd71 that the ,president has absolute immunity for the exercise of core constitutional powers1 that immunity only attaches to the ,president and does not extend to private individuals who corruptly offer things of value to obtain clemency1 or act as intermediaries in such corrupt arrangements4 ,congress has authority and responsibility to address corruption by clemency seekers and intermediaries1 even if the conduct of the ,president may be beyond the reach of ,federal criminal prosecution4 #c4 ,disclosure requirements for pardon recipients 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #aa of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bbg;,a4 ,financial disclosure reports by recipients of executive clemency 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,clemency recipient ,the term clemency recipient means any individual who has received a pardon1 commutation of sentence1 reprieve1 or any other form of executive clemency pursuant to section #b of article ,,ii of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,covered benefit ,the term covered benefit means anything of value1 including any contribution1 donation1 gift1 service1 payment1 transfer1 contract1 investment1 goods1 or other benefit1 whether direct or indirect1 provided by the clemency recipient1 at the direction of the clemency recipient1 or on behalf of the clemency recipient1 with an aggregate value at any point during any #ab-month period during the disclosure period of not less than #aj1jjj1 as adjusted for inflation pursuant to subsection 7f74 7#c7 ,covered recipient ,the term covered recipient-- 7,a7 means-- 7i7 the ,president or an immediate family member of the ,president2 7ii7 any entity directly or indirectly established1 financed1 maintained1 or controlled by1 or operating with the explicit or implicit purpose of advancing a financial1 political1 electoral1 or reputational benefit of1 the ,president or an immediate family member of the ,president1 including any commercial entity1 any presidential library or foundation1 any organization exempt from taxation under section #eja7;a7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf1 any ,inaugural ,committee1 as defined in section #eja of title #cf1 any authorized committee1 as defined in section #cja of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaja71 and any political committee 7including an independent expenditure-only committee71 as defined in that section2 7iii7 any entity in which the clemency recipient knows1 or reasonably should know1 that the ,president or an immediate family member of the ,president holds a direct or indirect financial interest1 including any ownership interest1 partnership interest1 or interest through a trust1 limited liability company1 or other intermediary2 or 7iv7 any person who receives a covered benefit for the purpose of seeking or advocating for executive clemency for the clemency recipient2 and 7,b7 does not include any class of securities registered under section #ab of the ,securities ,exchange ,act of #aicd 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ghl7 if-- 7i7 the ,president and no immediate family member of the ,president serve as a director or officer of the issuer2 or 7ii7 the ,president and all immediate family members of the ,president are not1 in the aggregate1 beneficial owners of more than #aj percent of such class of securities within the meaning of section #af7;a7 of the ,securities ,exchange ,act of #aicd 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #ghp7a774 7#d7 ,disclosure period ,the term disclosure period means the period beginning on the date that is #a 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 clemency4 7#e7 ,immediate family member ,the term immediate family member means1 with respect to an individual1 the spouse1 child1 stepchild1 parent1 stepparent1 or sibling4 7#f7 ,willfully ,the term willfully-- 7,a7 means intentionally undertaking an act that one knows to be wrongful2 and 7,b7 does not require that the actor know specifically that the conduct was unlawful4 7b7 ,disclosure requirement 7#a7 ,pre-clemency disclosure ,not later than #ij days after receiving executive clemency for an offense against the ,united ,states1 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 period4 7#b7 ,annual post-clemency disclosure ,for each of the #d calendar years following the calendar year in which executive clemency was granted1 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 year4 7#c7 ,content of disclosure ,each disclosure report required under this subsection shall include-- 7,a7 the identity of the covered recipient2 7,b7 a description of the covered benefit1 including its form1 nature1 and purpose2 7,c7 the approximate date or dates on which the covered benefit was provided2 and 7,d7 the value of the covered benefit1 or1 where the exact value cannot reasonably be ascertained1 a good-faith estimate of such value with an explanation of the basis for the estimate4 7c7 ,exception for bona fide legal services 7#a7 ,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 law4 7#b7 ,allocation 7,a7 ,in general ,if a payment is made in part for legal services described in paragraph 7#a7 and in part for lobbying1 advocacy1 advice1 or other services related to seeking or obtaining executive clemency1 only the portion of such payment reasonably attributable to clemency-related services shall be subject to disclosure under this section4 7,b7 ,good faith ,the clemency recipient shall-- 7i7 make the allocation required under subparagraph 7,a7 in good faith2 and 7ii7 shall document the basis for the allocation in the disclosure report filed pursuant to subsection 7b74 7d7 ,publication by the attorney general 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,attorney ,general shall make all disclosure reports filed under this section publicly available on a searchable1 machine-readable website maintained by the ,department of ,justice not later than #cj days after the filing deadline applicable to each report4 ,if a disclosure report is received after the filing deadline1 the ,attorney ,general shall make the report available as soon as practicable1 but not later than #cj days after the date on which the report is received4 7#b7 ,forms and procedures 7,a7 ,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 section4 7,b7 ,contents ,the procedures described in subparagraph 7,a7 shall include a process by which the ,attorney ,general regularly contacts clemency recipients1 through as many methods of communication as possible1 to notify them of their obligations to file disclosure reports4 7#c7 ,online submission ,not later than #ij days after the date of enactment of this section1 the ,attorney ,general shall establish an online portal through which clemency recipients shall submit the disclosure reports required under subsection 7b74 7e7 ,enforcement 7#a7 ,civil penalty ,any clemency recipient who knowingly fails to file a required disclosure report1 files a materially false or incomplete report1 or otherwise violates this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than #ej1jjj per violation1 as adjusted for inflation pursuant to subsection 7f74 7#b7 ,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 title1 imprisoned for not more than #e years1 or both4 7#c7 ,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 court4 7f7 ,inflation adjustment ,not less frequently than once every #e years1 the ,attorney ,general shall adjust the dollar threshold established in subsection 7a77#b71 and the civil penalty established in subsection 7e77#a71 based on the ,consumer ,price ,index for ,all ,urban ,consumers 7,,cpi-,u73 ,u4,s4 city average1 all items1 published monthly by the ,bureau of ,labor ,statistics1 rounded to the nearest #ejj4 7g7 ,statute of limitations ,no civil or criminal action may be brought under this section more than #aj years after the date on which the violation occurred4 7h7 ,severability ,if any provision of this section1 or the application thereof to any person or circumstances1 is held invalid1 the remainder of the section1 and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances1 shall not be affected thereby4 4 7b7 ,technical and conforming amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #aa of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bbg;,a4 ,financial disclosure reports by recipients of executive clemency4 4 #d4 ,updating the ,federal bribery statute 7a7 ,in general ,section #bja of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in subsection 7a7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#a71 by inserting 1 including the ,president and the ,vice ,president of the ,united ,states1 after or an officer or employee or person2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#b7-- 7i7 by striking means any person and inserting the following3 8means-- 7,a7 any person 2 7ii7 by striking and at the end2 and 7iii7 by adding at the end the following3 7,b7 any candidate1 as defined in section #cja of the ,federal ,election ,campaign ,act of #aiga 7#eb ,u4,s4,c4 #cjaja71 with respect to any official act the candidate would have authority to perform upon taking office2 2 7,c7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 1 including any pardon1 commutation1 reprieve1 or other form of executive clemency pursuant to section #b of article ,,ii of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states2 and2 and 7,d7 by adding at the end the following3 7#d7 the term anything of value includes any pardon1 commutation of sentence1 remission of fine or restitution1 reprieve1 or other form of executive clemency pursuant to section #b of article ,,ii of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states4 4 7b7 ,limitations ,section #cbhb of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7c7 ,extended limitations period for bribery offenses involving executive clemency ,notwithstanding subsection 7a71 no person shall be prosecuted1 tried1 or punished for any offense under section #bja of this title arising from or related to the granting1 denying1 withholding1 promising1 or offering of any pardon1 commutation1 remission1 or reprieve pursuant to section #b of article ,,ii of the ,constitution of the ,united ,states1 unless the indictment is found or the information is instituted within #aj years after the offense was committed4 4