Role In Rich Pardon Disqualifies Holder For AG

IBD Editorials ^ | December 1, 2008 | Richard Cohen

[Kaslin]

Soon after Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, the former president and I had a brief telephone conversation. I had been downright heated about the pardon, a lot angrier than I had ever been about Monica Lewinsky. Clinton implied that I had things historically backward. Long after the Rich pardon had been forgotten, he said, the Lewinsky scandal would remain a vivid memory. That day is yet to come. The Rich pardon is back.

The vehicle for this lingering echo from the year 2001 is the choice of Eric Holder as Barack Obama's attorney general. Holder was Clinton's deputy attorney general and he played a significant role in the pardon. When asked by the White House what he thought about a pardon for Rich, Holder replied, "Neutral, leaning towards favorable." These four words have stalked him ever since.

Rich was a commodities trader who amassed both a fortune and some influential friends back in the 1970s and '80s. Along with his partner, Pincus Green, he was indicted in 1983 on 65 counts of tax evasion and related matters. Before he could be prosecuted, however, he fled to Switzerland.

There he remained, avoiding extradition and eventually arranging to be represented by Jack Quinn, a Washington lawyer and Clinton's one-time White House counsel — in other words, a certified power broker. Quinn did an end run around the Justice Department's pardon office and went straight to Holder and the White House. With a stroke of the pen, justice was not done.

[dodger]

CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN ...

[hole_n_one]

Is that the same Richard Cohen of the Wash. Post?

[boxer21]

That assumes laws and ethics apply to politicians.

[They'reGone2000]

Lest we forget:

...The pardon of Marc Rich, an infamous fugitive who had made a fortune dealing illegally with the Iranians, brought a bit of scrutiny and accusations of quid pro quo use of the Presidential pardon... [and] it came to light that Denise Rich, Marc Rich's ex-wife, had given more than $1 million to Democrat causes, and another $450,000 to fund the Clinton Presidential library...

The more pressing issue now might be whether the pardoned Marc Rich has resumed dealings with the Iranians, at a time when Iran poses perhaps the gravest danger faced by America...

[nufsed]

Did he have a role in the pardon of the PR terrorists (FALN?)?

[ETL]

In 1985, former Weather Underground members Susan Rosenberg (who also was implicated in the Nyack robbery [Brinks truck robbery/murder]) and Linda Evans were apprehended while transporting 740 pounds of explosives which they both acknowledged were slated for use in additional bombings. Rosenberg was sentenced to 58 years in prison, Evans 40; President Bill Clinton pardoned both women in January 2001."
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/groupProfile.asp?grpid=6808

[They'reGone2000]

THAT'S RICH

As Denise consolidated her reputation as one of New York's leading socialites - her St Tropez party became an annual affair and a very hot ticket - she was approached by a Washington lawyer called Jack Quinn.

Quinn had worked for the Clintons and had been engaged by Marc Rich's people, it was later revealed, to try to secure Rich a presidential pardon. It was 2000 and Bill Clinton was due to leave office the following January. Quinn asked Denise if she would help put Rich's case to the Clintons.

According to sources in Washington, Denise refused three times. Why should she help her ex-husband? She loathed him. Then she agreed. It is now generally accepted that she approached Hillary Clinton through her close friend Beth Dozoretz, a hugely wealthy socialite who had given more than £1 million to the Democrats. Bill Clinton was godfather to Beth's daughter. Denise implored the president to pardon her husband. She also sent a cheque for $450,000 to his legacy project, the Clinton Library.

In January 2001, a few hours before leaving the White House, Clinton issued the pardon. He later justified his decision, saying he was concerned about the "criminalisation" of charges against Rich and his partner Green, suggesting the government might do better to pursue its claims in the civil courts. His commentary can be found, in full, on Marc Rich's company website.

[scoastie]

Yes he most certainly did........

[NewLand]

Role In Rich Pardon Disqualifies Holder For AG

Don't forget the Riady plea bargain 5 days earlier...in some ways even worse.

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

Holder is as big a legal crook as is Marc Rich and his rich bitch wife. All friends of Bill and Hillary and Janet Reno and Jamie Gorelick.

They aid and abet crime, even if they don’t commit it directly themselves.

All are “UNFIT FOR ANY POSITION”.

That said, Obama and Reid and Pelosi will back Holder to the end. Crooks of a feather flock together.

Or in the immortal words of Stretch Pelosi, “We will maintain the swamp of corruption in Washington.”

“Yes, we can. Yes we will!”

“Change you can’t count on!”

“We have the finest criminals money can buy!”

[doug from upland]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAkaPaPRygo

THE MARC RICH $250 MIL BRIBE?

[Jack Hammer]

Since when did a record of dishonesty or outright corruption bar anyone from taking public office? On the contrary, these days it’s virtually a sine qua non.

[Kaslin]

Especially a liberal

[Kaslin]

Probably, since he writes for the left

[Impy]

Being a democrat disqualifies him from any office.