# Can executive clemency stipulate conditions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 14, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509 "2023-06-14T17:04:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/1 "2023-06-14T17:04:38Z")
Nikki Haley recently been suggested that if Donald Trump is found guilty of a federal crime, that he be pardoned “for the good of the country”. I won’t get into the merits of that but I was wondering, can presidential or gubernatorial clemency stipulate conditions? In the hypothetical of Trump for example, specifying that he abstain from ever running for public office ever again? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/2 "2023-06-14T17:06:45Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > In the hypothetical of Trump for example, specifying that he abstain from ever running for public office ever again? I don’t know how it would be enforced. He gets a pardon and two years later says “I changed my mind. The country needs me.” I don’t think the pardon can be undone. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/3 "2023-06-14T17:09:16Z")
I note that pardon and clemency are not synonymous, the former being more of a complete vindication, the latter being a relaxation of penalties. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/4 "2023-06-14T22:46:50Z")
Instead of extending clemency or a pardon…is there anything stopping the US Attorney’s office (if that’s who is even prosecuting him) from offering a plea deal where he agrees to not run for public office again? Could that be part of a plea deal? Let’s ignore the opinions of whether he would even agree to such a plea. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/5 "2023-06-14T23:07:39Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > is there anything stopping the US Attorney’s office (if that’s who is even prosecuting him) from offering a plea deal where he agrees to not run for public office again? Could that be part of a plea deal? Sure. The deal will specify what happens if he violates it. E.g., He is given a 5 year suspended sentence. He breaks the deal, the sentence is unsuspended and he goes straight to prison. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2023, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/6 "2023-06-14T23:49:52Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > Instead of extending clemency or a pardon…is there anything stopping the US Attorney’s office (if that’s who is even prosecuting him) from offering a plea deal where he agrees to not run for public office again? Could that be part of a plea deal? As with so many legal issues regarding Trump, there’s little precedent or jurisprudence to rely on. However, here’s one law article that finds a plea bargain barring Trump from running for office to be problematic. > **[Not a Panacea: Trump Disqualification and Plea Bargains](https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/not-panacea-trump-disqualification-and-plea-bargains)** > > It seems unlikely, due to the difficulties of crafting one and enforcing it, that a plea bargain can stop former President Donald Trump from running for or holding ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/7 "2023-06-15T00:18:07Z")
Not exactly analogous but I have seen plea deals where a cop is barred from ever being a police officer even for relatively minor convictions that don’t involve jail time. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/8 "2023-06-15T12:59:10Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > As with so many legal issues regarding Trump, there’s little precedent or jurisprudence to rely on. However, here’s one law article that finds a plea bargain barring Trump from running for office to be problematic. As I understood from Rachel Maddow’s show, the plea deal with Spiro Agnew included resigning from the VP position and agreeing not to run for office again. Presumably, the main means of enforcing that was the general feeling among decent people (the majority in his party) that a crook should not be in an elected position. Plus, they dropped all the other charges and he pled to one charge (Tax Evasion?) so I assume there would be the opportunity to re-try him on the remaining charges if he renegged. Of course, such a deal - “won’t run for office” - as mentioned in the discussion above could only be enforced with a “your break this deal, alternative sentence applies”, so breaking it could be a calculated gamble that going to jail helps win the election… Which would bring up the question of the legality of a self-pardon. Note a plea deal requires (I think) a guilty plea and an elocution of what the accused is admitting to doing wrong. If I can stray into non-factual, I saw a commentator suggest that a requirement not to run would (a) be unenforceable, essentially and (b) even asking would be used to reinforce the argument that the trial was all about political persecution not law. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/9 "2023-06-15T13:14:26Z")
I don’t know about presidential - but the former governor of my state issued “conditional” pardons. One category only restored the right to vote to parolees . The other restored all rights to those convicted of a nonviolent offense at age 16 or 17 who had not been reconvicted within 10 years. In each case, the pardon could be revoked if there was a new conviction and in the first group for a parole violation. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/10 "2023-06-15T13:57:08Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > As I understood from Rachel Maddow’s show, the plea deal with Spiro Agnew included resigning from the VP position and agreeing not to run for office again. I can’t find any evidence that Agnew’s plea deal included a pledge not to run for office again. There is ample precedent for a public official resigning as part of a plea deal. But I question the legality and enforceability of a plea agreement pledge not to run for office. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/11 "2023-06-15T14:49:43Z")
As mentioned upthread, the chief enforcement mechanism for someone not running for office again is their having become a pariah who has lost the backing of their political party. That’s problematic in Trump’s case because apparently nothing he does makes him a pariah. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/12 "2023-06-15T15:49:08Z")
I would go so far as to restrict him from electioneering in _any_ capacity- endorsing candidates, holding rallies, and so forth. Otherwise he’ll almost certainly make all sorts of noise and hot air about the elections, pretend like he’s going to run, etc… right up until whatever filing date there is. And even after that, he’ll stay involved, without actually running. It’s not terribly handy to prevent him from running, if you still allow him to play public kingmaker and de-facto party head. The good part is that I don’t think it’s necessarily a First Amendment thing; he’s _agreeing_ to this hypothetical deal to avoid , not having it imposed upon him as a state-imposed penalty. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/13 "2023-06-15T16:21:34Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I don’t know about presidential - but the former governor of my state issued “conditional” pardons. One category only restored the right to vote to parolees . The other restored all rights to those convicted of a nonviolent offense at age 16 or 17 who had not been reconvicted within 10 years. In each case, the pardon could be revoked if there was a new conviction and in the first group for a parole violation. I guess in that case, what does the state consitution or the law of the state say about pardons? It would seem to me a pardon is a pardon is a pardon unless the law specifically allows for conditions. Otherwise, revoking it would be conviction without due process of law? Or double jeoapardy - you can’t be punished all over again for the the same crime. The US federal constitution just says the president has the right to pardon. AFAIK that would not give congress the right to make laws about who, how, when, what sort. Conditional pardons would more likely be clemency. “We’re not forgiving the deed, but we’re reducing the punishment.” ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/14 "2023-06-15T17:03:44Z")
This is what the state Constitution says > The governor shall have the power to grant reprieves, commutations and pardons after conviction, for all offenses except treason and cases of impeachment, upon such conditions and with such restrictions and limitations, as he or she may think proper, subject to such regulations as may be provided by law relative to the manner of applying for pardons ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2023, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/15 "2023-06-15T17:58:08Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > This is what the state Constitution says Gives the governor and legislature a lot more control over what they can do regards a pardon, compared to the US constitution which allows no such conditions. I presume since there are not those extra clauses that we see in that state constitution, there can be no limitations on a pardon by the president or congress… > The President … shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of impeachment. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/16 "2023-06-21T08:14:37Z")
A bit of a stretch, but the Hatch Act may prohibit a US Attorney from interferring with political activities to prohibit another person from “running for office”. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/17 "2023-06-21T12:05:49Z")
Is someone breaking the plea deal to “not run” if they allow others to put their name forward and onto the ballot? What does “running” mean? What if there’s a write-in? Just because you issue pronouncements and make speeches and travel around the country, does that constitute campaigning? “Running”? I assume such nit-picking could tie up the court long enough to get past the election and plan for a full pardon. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2023, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/18 "2023-06-21T12:43:14Z")
This is a good question and something I’ve been thinking about – what would a plea deal even look like that forbids the defendant from running for office? As I said earlier it may have been sufficient to have a “gentleman’s agreement” between Agnew and the DOJ that he would not run, but we all know that Trump is not going to be bound by anything less than an explicitly-spelled-out plea agreement that throws him in the clink if he violates any of its terms. One thing you could do is forbid the defendant from filing with the FEC as a candidate. This is a required step if the candidate or his primary campaign committee is going to spend more than $5,000 on a federal race. However, third party PACs would be free to spend as much as they wanted to supporting the candidate. Technically they would not be allowed to coordinate with the candidate, but enforcement of that supposed firewall has pretty much withered away to nothing. You could also prohibit the defendant from filing any paperwork with states to appear on primary or general election ballots. But a plea agreement cannot bind third parties, so state parties would be free to put the candidate on their primary ballot anyway. Major party Presidential nominees are generally exempt from filing requirements to appear on the general election ballot, so if he wins the primary he wouldn’t need to do anything. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2023, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-executive-clemency-stipulate-conditions/985509/19 "2023-06-22T02:32:50Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > pardon[…]being more of a complete vindication It’s not vindication, it’s immunity. Vindication means it was demonstrated that they didn’t do it, or that it was somehow justified. A pardon is just legally binding forgiveness. Nobody thinks Nixon was vindicated.