Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich Endorses Congressman Cohen’s Constitutional Amendment to Limit the Presidential Pardon Power

WASHINGTON - Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee long concerned about the potential abuse of the presidential pardon power, was pleased to see his proposed Constitutional Amendment to limit the pardon power was endorsed by former Clinton Administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich.

Reich called attention to the proposed amendment in a Substack article on Tuesday after President Biden pardoned his son Hunter.

Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"I appreciate Mr. Reich's endorsement. As he noted, my Constitutional Amendment would explicitly prohibit a self-pardon, pardons of family members, administration officials, and campaign employees. It would also bar the President from issuing pardons to those whose crimes were committed to further a direct and significant personal interest of the President or others close to him or her, and those whose crimes were committed at the direction of, or in coordination with, the President. Finally, the amendment also clarifies that no pardon issued for a corrupt purpose - past, present, or future - is valid."

Congressman Cohen noted that he has introduced versions of his Constitutional Amendment in successive Congresses since October 2017. He has worked to limit the pardon power since 1977 when he served as Vice President of the Tennessee Constitutional Convention during the tenure of a Democratic governor.

# # #