PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
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People & committees
Rep. Morelle, Joseph D. [D-NY-25] · D–NY
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Oct 2, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-08-03 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed No Payoffs for Pardons Act would require people receiving presidential clemency, such as a pardon or reduced sentence, to disclose qualifying benefits worth at least $10,000 provided to the President, family members, affiliated entities, or clemency advocates. Reports would be public, and reporting violations could trigger civil or criminal penalties. The bill would also revise federal bribery law to expressly address clemency and establish a 10-year deadline for related prosecutions.
This Act may be cited as the No Payoffs for Pardons Act.
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 II of the Constitution of the United States.
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.
with an aggregate value at any point during any 12-month period during the disclosure period of not less than $10,000
(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;
any person who receives a covered benefit for the purpose of seeking or advocating for executive clemency for the clemency recipient;
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
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).
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.
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;
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.
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.
Section 2 presents proposed congressional findings accusing President Trump of favoring wealthy and politically connected clemency recipients. It also asserts congressional authority to address corruption by clemency seekers and intermediaries. These are the bill's stated allegations and rationale, not independently established findings in this analysis.
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.
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.
The new reporting system would cover individual people receiving presidential pardons, sentence reductions, temporary postponements of punishment, or other executive clemency.
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 II of the Constitution of the United States.
Reportable benefits would include money, donations, gifts, services, contracts, investments, goods, and other things of value provided directly or indirectly by, at the direction of, or on behalf of the clemency recipient. The threshold would be an aggregate value of at least $10,000 during any 12-month period within the disclosure period, subject to inflation adjustments.
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).
Benefits to the President and immediate family would be covered. Immediate family would include a spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, or sibling.
(i) the President or an immediate family member of the President;
The term immediate family member means, with respect to an individual, the spouse, child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, or sibling.
Coverage would also reach entities established, financed, maintained, or controlled by the President or immediate family, and entities operating to advance their financial, political, electoral, or reputational interests. The text expressly includes businesses, presidential libraries or foundations, tax-exempt organizations, inaugural committees, and political committees.
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;
Other covered recipients would include entities in which the clemency recipient knows or reasonably should know the President or immediate family has a financial interest. A person paid or otherwise given a covered benefit to seek or advocate for that recipient's clemency would also be covered.
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;
any person who receives a covered benefit for the purpose of seeking or advocating for executive clemency for the clemency recipient;
The covered-recipient definition would exclude certain registered classes of securities, meaning categories of financial instruments such as shares. The exclusion has two alternative conditions: the text's officer-or-director condition, or aggregate beneficial ownership by the President and immediate family of no more than 10 percent. The officer-or-director condition is awkwardly worded, as quoted, and its intended scope is uncertain.
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)).
The disclosure period would begin one year before the granting President was first sworn into office. It would end on the last day of the fourth calendar year after the year clemency was received.
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.
A recipient of clemency for a federal offense who had provided a covered benefit to a covered recipient during the disclosure period would have to file an initial report with the Attorney General within 90 days after receiving clemency. Although labeled “Pre-clemency disclosure,” this requirement sets a deadline after clemency is received.
(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.
A clemency recipient who had provided a covered benefit to a covered recipient during the disclosure period would also have to file annual reports for each of the four calendar years after the year clemency was granted. Each annual report would identify covered benefits provided to covered recipients during that calendar year.
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.
Reports would identify the benefit's recipient, describe its form, nature, and purpose, and provide approximate dates and value. If an exact value could not reasonably be determined, a good-faith estimate and an explanation would be required.
(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.
Payments exclusively for genuine legal services involving representation in court would be exempt from the new disclosure section. For payments combining court representation with clemency-related services, only the portion reasonably attributable to clemency services would be subject to disclosure. Recipients would have to allocate the payment in good faith and document the basis in their report.
This section shall not apply to payments made exclusively for bona fide legal services rendered in connection with representation before a court of law.
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.
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).
The Attorney General would have to publish reports on a searchable Justice Department website in a format computers can process, within 30 days after the applicable filing deadline. Late reports would have to be published as soon as practicable and within 30 days after receipt.
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.
The Attorney General would have to establish filing forms and procedures, regularly notify clemency recipients of their obligations through as many communication methods as possible, and create a mandatory online submission portal within 90 days after enactment. Issuing implementing regulations would be optional.
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.
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.
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).
The bill would authorize civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, adjusted for inflation, for knowingly failing to file a required report, filing a materially false or incomplete report, or otherwise violating the disclosure section.
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).
Willfully failing to file or willfully filing a materially false report could result in a fine, up to five years in prison, or both. “Willfully” would mean intentionally doing something known to be wrongful; the person would not have to know specifically that it was unlawful.
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.
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.
The Attorney General could investigate potential disclosure violations and bring civil or criminal cases. Those cases could not be brought more than 10 years after the violation.
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.
No civil or criminal action may be brought under this section more than 10 years after the date on which the violation occurred.
At least once every five years, the Attorney General would have to adjust the reporting threshold and civil penalty using the specified Consumer Price Index, a measure of consumer price changes. Adjustments would be rounded to the nearest $500.
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.
The disclosure section contains a severability rule: if one provision or application were held invalid, the remainder and other applications would remain unaffected under the bill's terms.
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.
Section 4 would insert an express reference to the President and Vice President into federal bribery law at section 201(a)(1). It would also add candidates to section 201(a)(2), limited to official acts they would have authority to perform upon taking office. The existing definitions are not reproduced in full.
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;
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;
The bill would add presidential clemency to section 201(a)(3) and expressly define “anything of value” to include clemency. The latter definition specifically includes forgiveness of a fine or restitution, meaning repayment owed for harm.
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;
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.
For bribery offenses under section 201 connected to granting, denying, withholding, promising, or offering the listed forms of presidential clemency, prosecutors would have 10 years after the offense to obtain an indictment or file an information—the formal charging documents identified in the bill.
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.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated October 2, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Judiciary Committee on August 3, 2026. This snapshot does not establish any subsequent legislative action or enactment.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-02T08:05:48Z. 2026-08-03: Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. 2026-08-03: Introduced in House 2026-08-03: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-08-03. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish the absence of riders in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish formal earmark status in other materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
Findings to examine
The supplied introduced text contains specific exceptions to its proposed disclosure rules. These are limited regulatory carve-outs; identifying them does not establish improper favoritism.
Clemency recipients making payments exclusively for genuine court-representation services would receive an exemption from the disclosure section. For mixed payments, only the portion reasonably attributable to clemency services would be subject to disclosure. This distinguishes court representation from the clemency advocacy targeted by the reporting policy.
This section shall not apply to payments made exclusively for bona fide legal services rendered in connection with representation before a court of law.
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.
The bill would exclude qualifying registered securities classes from its covered-recipient definition, providing a potential reporting carve-out for clemency recipients whose otherwise covered benefits involve those securities. The exclusion uses alternative officer-or-director and aggregate ownership conditions. Its precise reach is uncertain because of its wording and placement within a recipient definition.
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)).
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 2, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI