I have always presumed the intent of pardons was to provide a check and balance against the Judicial and/or Legislative branches. I think the only thing we're

I have always presumed the intent of pardons was to provide a check and balance against the Judicial and/or Legislative branches. I think the only thing we're missing is a conflict of interest limitation on the pardons. In cases where the president has a conflict of interest, the power to pardon should be passed to an entity that does not have a conflict of interest. Due to general conflicts of interest at the Federal level due to potential pressure by the president, I would suggest having the governors of each state vote. I find that better than having Congress vote because there's less of a tie between state governors and the president. It's a lot harder for the president to offer each state a tit-for-tat arrangement.