Title: Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act
This bill requires the President and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide certain information when the President grants a pardon for certain offenses. The bill also amends criminal statutes relating to the bribery of public officials.
If the President pardons or commutes the sentence of an individual for certain crimes, the President and DOJ shall submit to Congress all materials obtained, produced, or prepared by certain government entities relating to the offense and pardon. This requirement shall apply to a pardon for an offense against the United States involving the President or a relative of the President, or for specified offenses such as witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
The President and DOJ shall make these submissions no later than 30 days after the pardon.
The bill also amends a criminal statute prohibiting the bribery of public officials to state that for the purposes of the statute (1) the President or Vice President is a public official; and (2) a pardon, commutation, or reprieve (or an offer of such) is an official act. (Generally, the statute prohibits, among other things, corruptly offering anything of value to a public official with intent to influence an official act.)

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7694 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7694

  To provide increased Congressional oversight of certain pardons, to 
   clarify the applicability of bribery prohibitions to pardons and 
                 commutations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 21, 2020

Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Nadler) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide increased Congressional oversight of certain pardons, to 
   clarify the applicability of bribery prohibitions to pardons and 
                 commutations, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Abuse of the Pardon Prevention 
Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT RELATING TO CERTAIN PARDONS.

    (a) Submission of Information.--In the event that the President 
grants an individual a pardon for a covered offense, not later than 30 
days after the date of such pardon--
            (1) the Attorney General shall submit to the chairmen and 
        ranking members of the appropriate congressional committees--
                    (A) all materials obtained or prepared by the 
                prosecution team, including the Attorney General and 
                any United States Attorney, and all materials obtained 
                or prepared by any investigative agency of the United 
                States government, relating to the offense for which 
                the individual was so pardoned; and
                    (B) all materials obtained or produced by the 
                Department of Justice in relation to the pardon; and
            (2) the President shall submit to the chairmen and ranking 
        members of the appropriate congressional committees all 
        materials obtained or produced within the Executive Office of 
        the President in relation to the pardon.
    (b) Treatment of Information.--Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of 
Criminal Procedure may not be construed to prohibit the disclosure of 
information required by subsection (a) of this section.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) The term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
        means--
                    (A) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of 
                the Senate; and
                    (B) if an investigation relates to intelligence or 
                counterintelligence matters, the Permanent Select 
                Committee on Intelligence of the House of 
                Representatives and the Select Committee on 
                Intelligence of the Senate.
            (2) The term ``covered offense'' means--
                    (A) an offense against the United States that 
                arises from an investigation in which the President, or 
                a relative of the President, is a target, subject, or 
                witness;
                    (B) an offense under section 192 of title 2, United 
                States Code; or
                    (C) an offense under section 1001, 1505, 1512, or 
                1621 of title 18, United States Code, provided that the 
                offense occurred in relation to a Congressional 
                proceeding or investigation.
            (3) The term ``pardon'' includes a commutation of sentence.
            (4) The term ``relative'' has the meaning given that term 
        in section 3110(a) of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 3. BRIBERY IN CONNECTION WITH PARDONS AND COMMUTATIONS.

    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 (3), by inserting before the 
                period at the end the following: ``, including any 
                pardon, commutation, or reprieve, or offer any such 
                pardon, commutation, or reprieve''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(3), by inserting ``(including, for 
        purposes of this paragraph, any pardon, commutation, or 
        reprieve, or offer any such pardon, commutation, or reprieve)'' 
        after ``corruptly gives, offers, or promises anything of 
        value''.
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