Beto O’Rourke called Tuesday for a constitutional amendment prohibiting a president from pardoning anyone tied to an investigation involving the president or his family members, a direct rebuke of President Donald Trump.

O’Rourke also pledged that if elected president, he would press Congress to make a president’s acceptance of help from a foreign power for personal profit or political gain a federal crime, while ensuring nonfinancial assistance from a foreign power in an election constitutes an emolument.


The proposal, obtained first by POLITICO, comes less than 24 hours after Trump complained about scrutiny he has received as a result of what he called the “phony emoluments clause.” Trump, during a Cabinet meeting, was defending his attempt to host next year’s G-7 summit at one of his resorts in Miami, a decision he reversed over the weekend amid widespread criticism.