Olszewski to Introduce Constitutional Amendment to Rein in Presidential Pardons

(Washington, DC) - Maryland Congressman Johnny Olszewski announced today that he will introduce a Constitutional Amendment to establish new checks on presidential pardons, following what he called a series of outrageous and deeply troubling pardons issued by President Donald Trump.

Earlier this week, President Trump pardoned former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been at the center of one of the world's largest and most violent drug-trafficking conspiracies. Hernández was serving a 45-year sentence for conspiring to import more than 4.5 billion doses of cocaine into the United States.

Hernandez is among nearly 1,600 people granted clemency by President Trump this year alone. In one of his first official acts of the term, President Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 defendants involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

"I believe in the rule of law and that criminals should be held accountable, especially drug kingpins and insurrectionists who attacked law enforcement," Congressman Olszewski said. "Presidents of both parties have abused the pardon power to reward political allies and protect family members, undermining justice and public trust. President Trump - the self-described president of law and order - is acting to absolve convicted criminals simply because he can.

Unchecked power corrodes democracy. My amendment is simple but powerful: it establishes congressional oversight of the presidential pardon process and ensures the American people can trust that justice is applied fairly."

Congressman Olszewski's amendment - the Pardon Integrity Act - would grant Congress the authority to reject pardons and commutations put forth by a President, now and in the future. Under his proposal, 20 members of the House and five members of the Senate could initiate a process to nullify a pardon. Congress would have 60 days to reject a pardon with a two-thirds supermajority vote in both chambers. The legislation would also prohibit the issuance of subsequent pardons for the same offense.