Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act of 2026

People who receive a presidential pardon for an offense connected to the president, their family, political appointees, or campaign staff would face a mandatory DOJ Inspector General investigation into the pardon and would have to publicly report any gifts, donations, or presidential library contributions they made to the president for one year before and five years after the pardon. This creates new legal exposure and paperwork burdens that do not apply to most pardon recipients or people with ordinary criminal records.

“if a covered individual gave a gift to the President who granted the covered individual a pardon during the 365-day period before the date on which the pardon was granted, not later than 30 days after the date on which the pardon is granted, the covered individual shall submit to the Director, through the online portal established under subsection (c), a financial disclosure report with respect to the gift.”