No Payoffs for Pardons Act

The "No Payoffs for Pardons Act" seeks to prevent the corrupt use of executive clemency by establishing new disclosure requirements and strengthening federal bribery statutes. The bill's findings express concern over past instances where the presidential pardon power was allegedly misused to reward political allies, donors, and those with direct access, rather than serving justice. A central provision of the bill mandates that clemency recipients file detailed financial disclosure reports with the Attorney General. These reports must identify any "covered benefits" – defined as anything of value totaling $10,000 or more – provided to the President, his immediate family, or entities associated with them. Recipients must disclose benefits provided during a period beginning one year before the President took office and extending for four years after clemency is granted, with both an initial and annual reporting requirement. The Attorney General is tasked with making these disclosure reports publicly available on a searchable website. Failure to comply with these disclosure requirements can result in significant civil penalties of up to $50,000 per violation, or criminal penalties including fines and up to five years imprisonment for willful non-compliance or filing materially false reports. Furthermore, the bill amends the federal bribery statute (18 U.S.C. § 201) to explicitly include the President and Vice President as "public officials" and clarifies that an "official act" encompasses executive clemency. It also defines clemency itself as "anything of value" in the context of bribery. To enhance enforcement, the statute of limitations for bribery offenses related to executive clemency is extended to 10 years, aiming to deter and prosecute corrupt arrangements involving pardons.