Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Pardon Disclosure Act”.
Pardon Disclosure Act
A BILL
To require a Member of Congress who makes and any individual who receives a request from a Member of Congress for a presidential pardon to disclose the request to the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate or the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Disclosure of presidential pardon requests to congressional ethics committees
Disclosure requirement— If a Member of Congress makes a request for a presidential pardon to be granted to the Member or to any other individual, the Member who made the request and any individual who receives the request from the Member shall each disclose the request to the supervising ethics committee in accordance with the requirements under subsection (b).
Deadline for disclosure— A Member of Congress who makes a request described in subsection (a) or any individual who receives a request described in subsection (a) shall each disclose such request to the supervising ethics committee—
in the case of any such request made or received after the date of the enactment of this Act, not later than 30 days after the date such request is made or received; and
in the case of any such request made or received during the period that begins on January 1, 2021, and ends on the date of the enactment of this Act, not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Civil enforcement—
In general— The Attorney General may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court of the United States against any person who violates, or whom the Attorney General has reason to believe is engaging in conduct that violates, subsection (a).
Civil penalty—
In general— If the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a person violated subsection (a), the court shall impose against the person a civil penalty of not more than $100,000.
Rule of construction— A civil penalty under this subsection may be in addition to any other criminal or civil statutory, common law, or administrative remedy available to the United States.
Definitions— In this section, the following definitions apply:
Member of Congress— The term Member of Congress includes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Congress.
Supervising ethics committee— The term supervising ethics committee means—
in the case of any request described in subsection (a) with respect to a Member of the Senate, the Select Committee on Ethics of the Senate; and
in the case of any request described in subsection (a) with respect to a Member of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Ethics of the House of Representatives.
Sec. 3 Rules of the House of Representatives presidential pardon disclosure requirement
Clause 2 of rule XXVI of the Rules of the House of Representatives is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting “, except that Members, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner shall also include in each annual financial disclosure report required under such title the disclosure of any request made by the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner for a presidential pardon to be granted to the Member, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner or to any other individual.”.