Congressman Dan Goldman Works to Protect the Rule of Law From Presidential Abuses of Power
The ‘Investigative Integrity Protection Act’ Would Prevent Sitting Presidents from Dismissing Own Active Criminal Prosecutions
Read the Bill Here
Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) joined Congressman Adam Schiff (CA-30) in introducing the ‘Investigative Integrity Protection Act,’ which would prevent a sitting president from dismissing an active criminal prosecution against him or herself, including through coercion of an attorney general by the president or anyone acting on the president’s behalf.
“The Rule of Law dictates that no person should be the judge and jury of his own case, yet Donald Trump has promised to throw out the federal criminal cases against him if he becomes President,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “Trump used the power of his office in many ways during his first term, so it is imperative that we codify the guardrails necessary to protect our nation from descending into dictatorship.”
In the event that an Attorney General would seek to dismiss any criminal prosecution against the president, the Investigative Integrity Protection Act would:
Require the Attorney General to submit a sworn statement confirming whether the President or anyone acting at the President’s direction ordered the dismissal.
Require any requests to dismiss such prosecutions to be heard by a three-judge court.
Only allow the court to grant a dismissal after having considered a number of factors, including whether the Attorney General was appointed with the intent of dismissing any criminal prosecution against the President;
Allow the court to impose sanctions if a motion to dismiss is made without good cause; and
Require the DOJ Inspector General to immediately report to Congress any findings concluding that a motion to dismiss was brought at the President’s direction.
Congressman Goldman remains committed to protecting American democracy from those who wish to undermine and destroy it.
Upon becoming a member of Congress, Congressman Goldman was chosen to sit on the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, where he serves as a bulwark against Republican overreach and politicized investigations designed to undermine President Biden and Democrats.
As his first bill in Congress, Goldman introduced the ‘Early Voting Act,’ which would require at least a 14-day window of in-person early voting for federal elections across the country. The bill would also require that election officials maximize polling place accessibility and would take steps to address unacceptably long wait-times for voters in line to cast their ballots and for election results by mandating that election officials start processing and scanning ballots at least 14 days prior to Election Day.
In February 2024, the Congressman cosponsored the ‘Preventing Private Paramilitary Activity Act’ to protect citizens the from intimidation and mass mobilizations of paramilitary groups. This legislation would federally prohibit those in private paramilitary organizations from conducting activity with firearms.
Congressman Dan Goldman is a member of the House Task Force for Strengthening Democracy and served as Lead Counsel in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump.