Congressman Krishnamoorthi: “We Cannot Allow the President to Derail Mueller's Investigation with Secret, Preemptive Pardons”

SCHAUMBURG, IL – Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of the Oversight Committee issued the following statement in the wake of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's conviction on federal fraud charges and the guilty plea deal Michael Cohen, the President's former lawyer, reached with prosecutors:

"The President's former campaign manager and former personal attorney face years in prison after their convictions. President Trump and his associates undoubtedly feel the pressure mounting, and the President has already demonstrated his willingness to use the presidential pardon power to help his political allies under unprecedented circumstances. News reports have divulged that President Trump has already consulted his aides and counsel regarding his power to pardon associates, family members, and even himself. Any such pardons would be an abuse of power, regardless of their legality, and current law does not require the President to disclose publicly any pardons he issues. The President's power to issue secret, preemptive pardons presents a unique threat to the success of Special Counsel Mueller's mission to uncover the facts of the 2016 election and to bring guilty parties to justice who sought to undermine the bedrock of American democracy.

There is currently no requirement for the disclosure of presidential pardons unless they're revealed when charges are filed or a sentence is issued. Combined with the power of the president to issue preemptive pardons, as President Ford demonstrated through pardoning President Nixon after Watergate, we have a dangerous loophole through which President Trump or any future president could issue secret, preemptive pardons to his allies to delay or prevent their cooperation with the Special Counsel, regardless of their potential crimes. We cannot allow the President to derail Mueller's investigation with secret, preemptive pardons, and that's why I've introduced the Presidential Pardon Transparency Act to require the White House to publicly disclose all of the President's pardons. While the presidential power to pardon was established by the Constitution, no president should have the right to abuse that power in secret and derail investigations into himself, his family, and his allies."