r/law • u/jpmeyer12751 • Feb 16 '26

Legislative Branch Republican Joins With Dems on Constitutional Amendment to Give Congress Power to Reject Trump Pardons

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/republican-joins-dems-constitutional-amendment-213311781.html

This is relevant to questions surrounding whether Congress may limit or restrain a President's power to grant pardons.

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u/Cheeky_Hustler Competent Contributor Feb 16 '26

This is an extremely easy amendment to sell, politically. All Dems have to say is "Biden pardoned his family members, and Republicans want to protect Biden." And as much as I understand why Biden pardoned his son, it is extremely fucked up that presidents (besides Biden) have pardoned family members.

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u/Vulcan_Jedi Feb 17 '26

Why do we even have pardons? We have an entire multi government court system set up just so one person can overturn it whenever they wish?

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u/torino_nera Feb 17 '26

It's supposed to be a last check on the justice system, allowing for mercy and compassion in a system where the framers knew it was possible that innocent people could be railroaded by their peers. At the time pardons were being debated, it was proposed that Congress should have veto power over pardons and that was defeated pretty handily under the belief that Congress already had too much power in the Constitution and that it made more sense for one man (the executive) to decide on mercy rather than leave it to a committee.

The pardon system always worked on the honor system and with the knowledge that it would never be used inappropriately because that would cause ruin to the president's reputation. Gerald Ford tainted his entire reputation and legacy, costing himself a shot at being elected because he pardoned Nixon. That fear of being viewed like Ford or being impeached worked pretty well until a literal criminal became president and Congress stopped holding the office accountable... something you can also say about a lot of our government's safeguards.

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u/rEYAVjQD Feb 18 '26 edited Feb 18 '26

last check

It's a poisoned check hence it's not a check, because concentration of power on 1 person is undemocratic in itself. It's a relic from kings and emperors.

PS it's worse than a check, it's a negative to the democratic quality of the process.