GOP lawmaker joins Democrat-led effort to limit Trump's pardon power
A House GOP lawmaker has become the first member of his party to support a Democrat-led effort to limit presidential pardon power.Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., signed on in support of...
By Fox News · Fox News
A House GOP lawmaker has become the first member of his party to support a Democrat-led effort to limit presidential pardon power. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., signed on in support of legislation led by Rep. Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., to establish a congressional review process for presidential pardons. It comes after President Donald Trump pardoned five ex-NFL players guilty of various charges including perjury, drug trafficking, and counterfeiting. "Across multiple administrations, we’ve seen legitimate questions raised about how this authority has been used at the same time, the ability of Congress to provide oversight has weakened," Bacon said in a statement. "Frankly, it is clear to me the pardon authority has been abused." JOHNSON ARGUES BIDEN PARDONS 'INVALID' AFTER BOMBSHELL AUTOPEN REPORT And while Bacon did not mention Trump directly, Olszewski made clear that the Republican commander-in-chief is the main impetus for his push for a new constitutional amendment. "The announcement follows the Trump Administration’s decision earlier this week to pardon five former NFL players whose charges ranged from perjury to drug trafficking," said Olszewski's press release announcing Bacon's support on Monday. "The pardons are part of what Olszewski describes as a disturbing pattern of abuses of the presidential pardon power benefiting the wealthy and well-connected." BIDEN’S AUTO-PEN PARDONS DISTURBED DOJ BRASS, DOCS SHOW, RAISING QUESTIONS WHETHER THEY ARE LEGALLY BINDING The amendment, if adopted, would give Congress the right to initiate a review process for presidential pardons if called for by 20 House members and five senators. The review process would end with a vote on whether to nullify the pardon, needing two-thirds' support in both the House and the Senate to succeed. The president would then be barred from issuing that same pardon to the same recipient again. Former President Joe Biden notably took heat from Republicans and even some Democrats when he issued preem…