S. 5687 — Presidential Pardon Integrity Act

This section defines terms for the Act. It establishes "covered benefit" as anything of value with an aggregate value of not less than $5,000 provided directly or indirectly by or on behalf of a covered recipient. It establishes "covered recipient" as a person granted executive clemency. It establishes "executive clemency" as any presidential pardon, commutation, reprieve, or remission of a fine.

This section establishes an Office of the Pardon Attorney in the Department of Justice to assist the President in exercising the constitutional pardon power. The Pardon Attorney position is a career-reserved Senior Executive Service role that reports directly to the Deputy Attorney General, who transmits all clemency recommendations to the President and may appoint additional staff.

This section establishes procedures for submitting petitions for executive clemency to the Pardon Attorney and directs investigations using federal agencies including the FBI. It requires the Pardon Attorney to make reasonable efforts to notify victims of felony offenses when clemency is sought, using factors such as offense seriousness, recency, and victim harm to determine when contact is warranted, and mandates posting the names of all individuals granted clemency on a Department of Justice website within 30 days.

This section requires recipients of executive clemency to disclose within 62 days whether they engaged any person or entity to lobby for clemency and whether they or anyone acting on their behalf provided a covered benefit to the President, a Cabinet member, a Member of Congress, or their immediate family members or controlled entities. It directs the Office of the Pardon Attorney to notify recipients within 2 days of the grant, to post the disclosures publicly within 62 days, to establish an online portal for submissions within 90 days of enactment, and to impose civil penalties of up to $5,000 for knowing failure to submit or submission of false information.

This section requires compensated clemency representatives to disclose their identity, the persons on whose behalf they act, each covered official contacted, the date and form of contacts, and all compensation received or promised, including any contingency on a clemency grant. Initial disclosures are due within 30 days of the first contact, with supplemental disclosures required within 30 days of a clemency decision or unreported compensation; the Pardon Attorney must post each disclosure publicly and notify the Senate and House Judiciary Committees within 15 days, and knowing violations are subject to a civil penalty of up to $200,000.

This section authorizes a beneficiary of a restitution order entered before a grant of executive clemency to bring a civil action in federal district court against the clemency recipient who fails to pay amounts due under the order. The court may award the full restitution amount plus costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, without regard to the clemency.