Senate Democrats propose bill to tighten rules on presidential pardons

Senate Democrats have drafted the Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act, a bill designed to curb perceived misuse of the presidential clemency power. The legislation would require anyone receiving a pardon to file a financial disclosure detailing any contributions to the president before or after the pardon, and it would compel the Justice Department and the White House to release all records when a pardon is tied to investigations involving the president, his relatives, or his appointees.

It also proposes amending federal bribery statutes to cover pardon abuse and explicitly bars a president from pardoning himself. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Adam Schiff and Richard Blumenthal introduced the proposal, pointing to a series of pardons issued by Donald Trump for allies, donors and figures linked to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The bill mentions disclosures related to donations for White House construction projects and targets high-profile recipients such as Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and Trevor Milton. As of the announcement, the measure has not been referred to a committee, and its fate is unclear given Republican dominance in both chambers of Congress.