On October 15, 2026, Senator Cory Booker introduced S. 5687, the Presidential Pardon Integrity Act. As of November 5, 2026, Congress.gov lists the bill as introduced and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. It is not law. If enacted, it would put much of today's clemency petition process into the U.S. Code and add reporting rules that go beyond what 28 C.F.R. part 1 requires now.
Where the bill stands
The Congress.gov tracker shows one action: read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary on October 15, 2026. No hearing date or committee report appears on that page as of November 5, 2026.
Section 8 of the bill says nothing in the act shall be construed to limit the President's clemency power under U.S. Const. art. II, § 2, cl. 1.
Petitions the bill would codify
Section 4 largely tracks the petition steps already described in the Justice Department's clemency rules:
- A person seeking a pardon, commutation, reprieve, or remission of a fine would still file a formal petition to the President through the Pardon Attorney (28 C.F.R. § 1.1 today).
- Military offenses would still go to the Secretary of the military department with jurisdiction, though the bill would allow a Pardon Attorney form modified for that case.
- Petitions would still relate only to violations of laws of the United States, with possessions and territories handled separately.
The bill would require the Pardon Attorney to investigate, recommend in writing, and route recommendations through the Deputy Attorney General. That mirrors the current regulation that the Attorney General reports a written recommendation to the President (28 C.F.R. § 1.6).
Section 3 would codify the Office of the Pardon Attorney in statute and specify that the Pardon Attorney is a career Senior Executive Service position reporting to the Deputy Attorney General.
Victim notice and case closure
Section 4(c)(2) would require the Pardon Attorney, in some felony cases, to try to notify victims that a clemency petition was filed, that they may comment, and whether the request is granted or denied. The factors for deciding whether to contact a victim closely follow 28 C.F.R. § 1.10(b). The bill also references 28 C.F.R. § 551.152 for victims who asked the Bureau of Prisons to be notified of an offender's release.
Section 4(e)(2) would keep the presumed-denial structure already in 28 C.F.R. § 1.8(b), but change who makes the adverse recommendation and how long the President has to act. Under the regulation today, when the Attorney General recommends denial in a non-death-penalty case and the President does not disapprove or take other action within 30 days, the Attorney General treats the President as concurring, notifies the petitioner, and closes the case. The bill would make the Pardon Attorney the recommending official and extend that period to 90 days after the recommendation reaches the President.
Public lists and files after a grant
Section 4(d)(3) would require the Justice Department, within 30 days of a grant, to post on a public website the recipient's name, district, sentence, offense, and reason for the grant. The grants tables the Pardon Attorney publishes today list names, districts, sentences, and offenses. They do not state a reason for each grant in that table.
The same section and section 4(g)(2) would require submission to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees of petitions, reports, memoranda, and communications from the clemency file, including the Pardon Attorney's recommendation, within 30 days of a grant—or a certification that no such records exist.
Reporting after clemency is granted
Section 5 would require the Pardon Attorney, within two days of a grant, to tell the recipient that he or she must report through a new online portal. Within 62 days, the recipient would have to disclose whether another person or entity was engaged for clemency-related services—including lobbying, advocacy, advice, or legal services related to seeking or obtaining clemency—and identify that person or entity if so, and whether the recipient or someone on the recipient's behalf gave a "covered benefit" worth at least $5,000 to certain officials or their families, as defined in the bill. The Justice Department would post that information within 62 days. Knowingly false or incomplete reporting could carry a civil penalty of up to $5,000.
Section 6 would impose separate disclosure duties on paid "clemency representatives" who contact covered officials on someone else's behalf. Initial disclosures would be due within 30 days of the first contact; supplemental disclosures would be due within 30 days after a grant or denial or after new compensation. The Pardon Attorney would post each disclosure within 15 days. The bill preserves the attorney-client privilege for communication content but not for the representative's identity, the date of contact, or compensation terms. A knowing violation could lead to a civil penalty of up to $200,000.
Restitution and section 7
Section 7 would let a restitution victim bring a federal civil action against a clemency recipient who fails to pay amounts due under a restitution order, and would allow an award of the restitution amount plus costs. The bill's rule-of-construction section still says the act does not limit the President's grant power.
That section addresses unpaid restitution after a grant. It is separate from whether money already paid to victims must be returned. The Eleventh Circuit held in Fordham that a pardon does not require refund of restitution that already vested in victims. Our post on whether a pardon refunds a fine explains that distinction for fines and similar payments.
What this means for you
Until Congress passes a bill and the President signs it, the process on the books is still 28 C.F.R. part 1 and the forms on the Pardon Attorney's apply page. Pending OMB reviews of the commutation petition and pardon application are described in our posts on the commutation petition filing at OMB and the October pardon application notice.
If you are preparing a petition now, follow the current rules in our guides to asking for a pardon and asking for a commutation. You can see whether a case is still open in the clemency case status search or on our case status page. The difference between grant types is on pardon versus commutation.
Request a consultation and tell us what happened. We'll listen, tell you whether we can help, and explain what comes next.