Congress moves to strip presidents of pardon secrecy and foreign-payment immunity

What it does

This bill creates multiple new restrictions on presidential power and financial conflicts of interest. It requires the Attorney General to disclose pardon materials to Congress within 30 days for certain sensitive cases; voids any presidential self-pardon; tolls the statute of limitations on federal crimes while a president is in office; prohibits presidents and senior officials from accepting foreign payments without congressional consent; requires disclosure of foreign and domestic emoluments; and restricts inaugural committee donations to individuals only, capping them at $50,000. The bill also bars presidents from accepting payments from federal or state government funds beyond their salary, and prohibits payments to presidents from individuals who receive government positions or clemency from the president.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core mechanism is to restrain presidential power and financial self-dealing through disclosure, prohibition, and enforcement—not to grant benefits or create new programs. It is fundamentally an accountability and transparency measure.

What the text implies

• Tolling statute of limitations during presidential tenure may create prosecutorial incentives to delay indictment until after a president leaves office, potentially affecting the timing and political optics of criminal proceedings.
• Congressional consent requirement for foreign payments (section 7344) creates a new veto point for Congress but also a potential loophole: if Congress does not act within 90 days, the concurrent resolution process may stall, leaving the legal status of a foreign payment ambiguous.
• Inaugural committee donation caps and restrictions (section 1310) apply only to 2029 and later, leaving a gap for the 2025 inaugural if this bill passes after that date.
• Disgorgement and forfeiture provisions (sections 1311–1312) require the President to self-report and return prohibited payments; enforcement depends on presidential compliance or congressional/DOJ action, creating a potential enforcement gap if the President contests the characterization of a payment.
• The bill's definition of 'Presidentially-owned entity' excludes widely held public companies and diversified investment funds, but a president could still route foreign payments through a closely held business or partnership, creating a compliance and disclosure burden.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens gain democratic accountability and transparency over presidential conduct—pardon disclosures, emoluments restrictions, and statute-of-limitations tolling reduce the president's ability to evade law or self-deal. The bill does not restrict citizens' rights or remedies; it restrains executive power and self-dealing.

Named in the bill

President of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Attorney General, Congress (House and Senate), Committee on the Judiciary, Select Committee on Intelligence, Office of Government Ethics, Office of Special Counsel, Federal Election Commission, Department of State, Department of Justice, Secret Service

Where it stands

110 cosponsors: 110 Democrats.

• May 14, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• May 14, 2026 — Referred to House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on the…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $270,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 45 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Jamie Raskin, the sponsor, reported $403,408 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• League of Conservation Voters — $230,000 on 1 filing
• Transparency International U.S. (a Project of the Fund for Constitutional Govt) — $40,000 on 1 filing
• Network — $0 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.