Bill requires gifts to be reported when President gives pardons.
S. 5256 — Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act of 2026 · Filed by Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Aug 5, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
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What it does
The bill creates new rules for pardons and reduced sentences. The Justice Department's Inspector General and Congress must get all case files within 30 days. The bill says bribery laws apply to pardons. It stops the President from pardoning himself. People who get pardons must report any gifts they gave to the President. Reports cover the year before and five years after the pardon. These reports are published online.
Who it affects
The bill affects the President, family members, staff, and campaign workers who get pardons. It affects the Justice Department's Inspector General and Congress. It affects people who want to know if pardons are traded for gifts.
One thing to notice
The bill requires pardoned people to report gifts for five years after the pardon. The bill says the President cannot pardon himself, but courts have not ruled on this yet.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
3 cosponsors: 3 Democrats.
- Aug 5, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
- Aug 5, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- pardon — A President's power to forgive a crime and erase punishment.
- Inspector General — A government official who checks if agencies follow the law.
- bribery — Giving money or gifts to get a favor from someone in power.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (12,221 characters) on Aug 21, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,707 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-23.
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