| | It has never been decided whether [[Congress]] can grant pardons itself. Some argue that the grant of the power to pardon only to the President by implication precludes a power to pardon by Congress. But there is Supreme Court authority suggesting that Congress also has the power to pardon.<ref>''Brown v. Walker'', 161 U.S. 591 (1896); ''The Laura'', 114 U.S. 411 (1885).</ref> | | It has never been decided whether [[Congress]] can grant pardons itself. Some argue that the grant of the power to pardon only to the President by implication precludes a power to pardon by Congress. But there is Supreme Court authority suggesting that Congress also has the power to pardon.<ref>''Brown v. Walker'', 161 U.S. 591 (1896); ''The Laura'', 114 U.S. 411 (1885).</ref> |
| | + | {{cquote|A separate question, over which there appears to be some dispute, is whether Congress can itself grant pardons or amnesties through legislation. In two 19th century cases, the Supreme Court appeared to suggest that it can, see Brown v. Walker, 161 U.S. 591, 601 (1896) (noting that pardon power of President “has never been held to take from congress the power to pass acts of general amnesty”); The Laura, 114 U.S. 411, 414 (1885) (upholding law that authorized subordinate officers to remit forfeitures and penalties). Nevertheless, the executive branch has taken the position that “the Constitution gives Congress no authority to legislate a pardon for any particular individual or class of individuals,” Legislative Proposal to Nullify Criminal Convictions Obtained Under the Ethics in Government Act, 10 Op. O.L.C. 93, 94 (1986), and at least one scholar agrees, pointing out the potential for conflict between presidential and legislative clemency. See Todd David Peterson, Congressional Power Over Pardon & Amnesty: Legislative Authority in the Shadow of Presidential Prerogative, 38 WAKE FOREST L. REV. 1225, 1278 (2003) (“If Congress had the power to pardon through legislation, it would be able to defeat the President’s ability to grant conditional pardons by granting unconditional clemency to recipients of the President’s conditional pardon.”); but see James N. Jorgensen, Federal Executive Clemency Power: The President’s Prerogative to Escape Accountability, 27 U. RICH. L. REV. 345, 360 (1993) (citing Brown and The Laura for the proposition that the “[pardoning] prerogative is vested concurrently in the Congress”).<ref>https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46179</ref>}} |