Posted on 08/09/2007 8:15:12 PM PDT by Jean S
At least three individuals pardoned by President Clinton during his last minutes in office have run into further trouble with the government.
But despite the recent brouhaha over President Bushs commutation of the prison sentence of I. Lewis Scooter Libby and the controversy surrounding Clintons midnight pardons, Congress has shown little appetite for making substantial changes to the executive branchs clemency power.
While some lawmakers over the last decade have called for changes to the pardon system, the few bills proposed have not come close to becoming law.
Financier Marc Rich, businessman Almon Glenn Braswell and Roger Clinton Jr., the presidents half-brother, were among the 140 individuals President Clinton pardoned during his last day in office. The GOP-led Congress investigated these pardons in 2001, probing the familial and financial connections between the White House and those pardoned.
The legal issues that the trio faced over the past six years range from drug charges to fraud to tax evasion.
Clemency experts said it was not surprising that legal trouble continued to follow pardon recipients. Douglas Berman, a law professor at Ohio State University, said to believe otherwise would be wishful thinking given the inevitable realities about many individuals seeking presidential pardons.
You could pick 500 of the sweetest human beings on the planet, keep a close eye on them long enough, and a percentage of them are going to do something bad, Berman said. Tigers dont tend to change their stripes all that much.
Roger Clinton, who received a pardon for two 1985 charges related to the possession and distribution of cocaine, was arrested and charged with two counts of driving under the influence less than a month after his half-brother left the White House. He pleaded guilty to a non-alcohol-related reckless driving charge, which spared him jail time.
Rich received a pardon for charges, dating to 1983, of tax evasion, tax fraud and violating U.S. embargoes by trading with Iran during the U.S. hostage crisis. Both he and business partner Pincus Green were in Switzerland at the time of their indictment, and neither returned to the U.S.
The Rich pardon sparked bipartisan outrage and congressional investigations to determine whether Richs ex-wife, Denise Rich, received a quid pro quo for contributing approximately $1 million to Hillary Rodham Clintons Senate campaign, the Clinton presidential library fund and other Democratic causes.
A Federal Election Commission inquiry into whether Denise Rich had donated money and furniture to Hillary Clintons Senate campaign in exchange for a pardon concluded there was not a quid pro quo.
Marc Rich, however, returned to the post-pardon spotlight when allegations arose over his involvement in Iraqs oil-for-food program, which funneled $1.8 billion in illicit profits to Saddam Hussein.
In early 2005 Rich told congressional investigators that he was authorized to buy and sell oil as part of the program, though he denied knowledge of any bribery schemes involved.
But congressional investigators thought he was not being completely forthcoming. Mr. Rich's answers were non-responsive, which is no surprise because we believe he knows more than he wishes to acknowledge, a spokesman for then-House International Relations Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) told Fox News at the time.
Later that year, a U.N.-backed investigation into the oil-for-food scandal reported that Marc Rich & Co. had secretly financed 4 million barrels of oil under a contract given to a French-based shell company.
According to the report, Surcharges were imposed on the oil, [and] Marc Rich & Co. directed BNP Paris [Banque Nationale de Paris] not to disclose its identity to BNP NY in connection with its financing of the U.N. contract.
Despite the report, Rich & Co. continued to categorically deny any wrongdoing in the oil-for-food case.
Braswell received a pardon for a 1983 conviction on perjury and mail fraud for false claims made by his mail-order business, Gero Vita International, based on the effectiveness of a treatment for baldness.
It was subsequently revealed that Braswell had paid Hugh Rodham, Hillary Clintons brother, a sum of $200,000 to secure his pardon. Rodham later returned the money, as well as $200,000 he had received to lobby for the commutation of drug trafficker Carlos Vignali, at the behest of the Clintons.
Despite the pardon, other investigations into Gero Vitas business practices continued. Braswell refused to testify at a September 2001 hearing on the matter, and in May 2003, the Federal Trade Commission lodged a separate complaint against Braswell and his company alleging false advertising and marketing.
In 2004, Braswell was imprisoned for tax evasion. Under a plea agreement, Braswell admitted that Gero Vita had not paid $4.5 million in taxes and served 18 months in jail. He also paid over $10 million in back-taxes.
Braswell died in 2006 at the age of 63.
After Clintons pardons in 2001, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) proposed a bill to require individuals lobbying on behalf of a presidential pardon to register as lobbyists. The bill did not make it out of committee.
Similarly, a constitutional amendment proposed in February 2001 by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) prohibiting a pardon during a presidents last four months in office was not taken up by committee.
More recently, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) vowed last month to undertake a full review of presidential clemency power. The committee held a hearing to examine the use and misuse of presidential pardons, but no legislation to limit the president's authority is in the works, a spokesman for the panel said.
While some states have acted to limit executive clemency power, such efforts have failed to gain traction of the federal level, said Daniel Kobil, an expert on clemency at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. Most of Clintons pardons were legitimate, he said.
Congress can bluster and pull on their suspenders as much as they want, Kobil said, but they really cant do anything except amend the Constitution.
To do so, he added, would be unwise: You just dont nuke the Constitution because of one glitch.
Bill Clinton's office did not respond to requests for comment.
Why would a member of congress limit a power they may have to avail themself of?
It’s a constitutional power of the president which Congress lacks power to do anything about.
Well, they can wail and moan. And secretly know they are in the elite club (political elites) that are only granted pardons—besides, the occasional harmless bozo “feel-good” story.
I agree, I hate to see any additional constitutuonal restrictions on presidential powers. I could live with
* unless he boinked the wife.
Whoa, I really messed that up. I could live with it unless the president boinked the wife, as Clinton did.
Way past my bedtime...
Is this co-authored by THE Patrick Fitzgerald?
“bill clinton’s office did not respond to requests for comments.”
they don’t have too many communications devices in the schoolyard.
Washington, D.C. 20530
January 20, 2001
Name | Home Town | Offenses |
ALLEN, Verla Jean | Everton, Arkansas | False statements to agency of United States |
ALTIERE, Nicholas M. | Las Vegas, Nevada | Importation of cocaine |
ALTSCHUL, Bernice Ruth | Sherman Village, California | Conspiracy to commit money laundering |
ANDERSON, Joe, Jr. | Grove Hill, Alabama | Income tax evasion |
ANDERSON, William Sterling | Spartanburg, South Carolina | Conspiracy to defraud a federally insured financial institution, false statements to a federally insured financial institution, wire fraud |
AZIZKHANI, Mansour T. | Huntsville, Alabama | Conspiracy and making false statements in bank loan applications |
BABIN, Cleveland Victor, Jr. | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Conspiracy to commit offense against the United States by utilizing the U.S. mail in furtherance of a scheme to defraud |
BAGLEY, Chris Harmon | Harrah, Oklahoma | Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine |
BANE, Scott Lynn | Mahomet, Illinois | Unlawful distribution of marijuana |
BARBER, Thomas Cleveland | Hampton, Florida | Issuing worthless checks |
BARGON, Peggy Ann | Monticello, Illinois | Violation of the Lacey Act, violation of the Bald Eagle Protection Act |
BHATKA, Tansukhlal | Income tax evasion | |
BLAMPIED, David Roscoe | Ketchum, Idaho | Conspiracy to distribute cocaine |
BORDERS, William Arthur, Jr. | Washington, D.C. | Conspiracy to corruptly solicit and accept money in return for influencing the official acts of a federal district court judge (Alcee L. Hastings), and to defraud the United States in connection with the performance of lawful government functions; corruptly influencing, obstructing, impeding and endeavoring to influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice, and aiding and abetting therein; traveling interstate with intent to commit bribery |
BOREL, Arthur David | Little Rock, Arkansas | Odometer rollback |
BOREL, Douglas Charles | Conway, Arkansas | Odometer rollback |
BRABHAM, George Thomas | Austin, Texas | Making a false statement or report to a federally insured bank |
BRASWELL, Almon Glenn | Doravilla, Georgia | Conspiracy to defraud government with respect to claims; perjury |
BROWDER, Leonard | Aiken, South Carolina | Illegal dispensing of controlled substance and Medicaid fraud |
BROWN, David Steven | New York, New York | Securities fraud and mail fraud |
BURLESON, Delores Caroylene, aka Delores Cox Burleson | Hanna, Oklahoma | Possession of marijuana |
BUSTAMANTE, John H. | Cleveland, Ohio | Wire fraud |
CAMPBELL, Mary Louise | Ruleville, Mississippi | Aiding and abetting the unauthorized use and transfer of food stamps |
CANDELARIA, Eloida | False information in registering to vote | |
CAPILI, Dennis Sobrevinas | Glendale, California | Filing false statements in alien registration |
CHAMBERS, Donna Denise | Memphis, Tennessee | Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, use of a telephone to facilitate cocaine conspiracy |
CHAPMAN, Douglas Eugene | Scott, Arkansas | Bank fraud |
CHAPMAN, Ronald Keith | Scott, Arkansas | Bank fraud |
CHAVEZ, Francisco Larios | Santa Ana, California | Aiding and abetting illegal entry of aliens |
CISNEROS, Henry G. | ||
CLINTON, Roger | ||
COHN, Stuart Harris | New Haven, Connecticut | 1. Illegal sale of gold options 2. Illegal sale of silver options |
COOPER, David Marc | Wapakoneta, Ohio | Conspiracy to defraud the government |
COX, Ernest Harley, Jr. | Pine Bluff, Arkansas | Conspiracy to defraud a federally insured savings and loan, misapplication of bank funds, false statements |
CROSS, John F., Jr. | Little Rock, Arkansas | Embezzlement by a bank employee |
CUNNINGHAM, Rickey Lee | Amarillo, Texas | Possession with intent to distribute marijuana |
DE LABIO, Richard Anthony | Baltimore, Maryland | Mail fraud, aiding and abetting |
DEUTCH, John | Described in January 19, 2001 information | |
DOUGLAS, Richard | False statements | |
DOWNE, Edward Reynolds | Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and tax evasion; securities fraud | |
DUDLEY, Marvin Dean | Omaha, Nebraska | False statements |
DUNCAN, Larry Lee | Branson, Missouri | Altering an automobile odometer |
FAIN, Robert Clinton | Aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false corporate tax return | |
FERNANDEZ, Marcos Arcenio | Miami, Florida | Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana |
FERROUILLET, Alvarez | Interstate transport of stolen property, money laundering, false statements | |
FUGAZY, William Denis | Harrison, New York | Perjury in a bankruptcy proceeding |
GEORGE, Lloyd Reid | Mail fraud | |
GOLDSTEIN, Louis | Las Vegas, Nevada | Possession of goods stolen from interstate shipment |
GORDON, Rubye Lee | Tampa, Florida | Forgery of U.S. Treasury checks |
GREEN, Pincus | Switzerland | |
HAMNER, Robert Ivey | Searcy, Arkansas | Conspiracy to distribute marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute |
HANDLEY, Samuel Price | Hodgenville, Kentucky | Conspiracy to steal government property |
HANDLEY, Woodie Randolph | Hodgenville, Kentucky | Conspiracy to steal government property |
HARMON, Jay Houston | Jonesboro, Arkansas | 1. Conspiracy to import marijuana, conspiracy to possess marijuana with intent to distribute, importation of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
2. Conspiracy to import cocaine |
HEMMINGSON, John | Interstate transport of stolen property, money laundering | |
HERDLINGER, David S. | St. Simons Island, Georgia | Mail fraud |
HUCKLEBERRY, Debi Rae | Ogden, Utah | Distribution of methamphetamine |
JAMES, Donald Ray | Fairfield Bay, Arkansas | Mail fraud, wire fraud, and false statement to a bank to influence credit approval |
JOBE, Stanley Pruet | El Paso, Texas | Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, and bank fraud |
JOHNSON, Ruben H. | Austin, Texas | Theft and misapplication of bank funds by a bank officer or director |
JONES, Linda | Conspiracy to commit bank fraud and other offenses against the United States | |
LAKE, James Howard | Illegal corporate campaign contributions, wire fraud | |
LEWIS, June Louise | Lowellville, Ohio | Embezzlement by a bank employee |
LEWIS, Salim Bonnor | Short Hills, New Jersey | Securities fraud, record keeping violations, margin violations |
LODWICK, John Leighton | Excelsior Springs, Missouri | Income tax evasion |
LOPEZ, Hildebrando | San Isidro, Texas | Distribution of cocaine |
LUACES, Jose Julio | Ft. Lauderdale, Florida | Possession of an unregistered firearm |
MANESS, James Timothy | Conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance | |
MANNING, James Lowell | Little Rock, Arkansas | Aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false corporate tax return |
MARTIN, John Robert | Gulf Breeze, Florida | Income tax evasion |
MARTINEZ, Frank Ayala | Elgin, Texas | Conspiracy to supply false documents to the Immigration and Naturalization Service |
MARTINEZ, Silvia Leticia Beltran | Elgin, Texas | Conspiracy to supply false documents to the Immigration and Naturalization Service |
McCORMICK, John Francis | Dedham, Massachusetts | Racketeering conspiracy, racketeering, and violation of the Hobbs act |
McDOUGAL, Susan H. | ||
MECHANIC, Howard Lawrence | 1. Violating the Civil Disobedience Act of 1968
2. Failure to appear 3. Making false statement in acquiring a passport |
|
MITCHELL, Brook K., Sr. | Conspiracy to illegally obtain USDA subsidy payments, false statements to USDA, and false entries on USDA forms | |
MORGAN, Charles Wilfred, III | Little Rock, Arkansas | Conspiracy to distribute cocaine |
MORISON, Samuel Loring | Crofton, Maryland | Willful transmission of defense information, unauthorized possession and retention of defense information, theft of government property |
NAZZARO, Richard Anthony | Winchester, Massachusetts | Perjury and conspiracy to commit mail fraud |
NOSENKO, Charlene Ann | Phoenix, Arizona | Conspiracy to defraud the United States, and influencing or injuring an officer or juror generally |
OBERMEIER, Vernon Raymond | Belleville, Illinois | Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, distribution of cocaine, and using a communications facility to facilitate distribution of cocaine |
OGALDE, Miguelina | Glendale, California | Conspiracy to import cocaine |
OWEN, David C. | Olathe, Kansas | Filing a false tax return |
PALMER, Robert W. | Little Rock, Arkansas | Conspiracy to make false statements |
PERHOSKY, Kelli Anne | Bridgeville, Pennsylvania | Conspiracy to commit mail fraud |
PEZZOPANE, Richard H. | Palo Heights, Illinois | Conspiracy to commit racketeering, and mail fraud |
PHILLIPS, Orville Rex | Waco, Texas | Unlawful structure of a financial transaction |
POLING, Vinson Stewart, Jr. | Baldwin, Maryland | Making a false bank entry, and aiding and abetting |
PROUSE, Norman Lyle | Conyers, Georgia | Operating or directing the operation of a common carrier while under the influence of alcohol |
PRUITT, Willie H. H., Jr. | Port Richey, Florida | Absent without official leave |
PURSLEY, Danny Martin, Sr. | Goodlettsville, Tennessee | Aiding and abetting the conduct of an illegal gambling business, and obstruction of state laws to facilitate illegal gambling |
RAVENEL, Charles D. | Charleston, South Carolina | Conspiracy to defraud the United States |
RAY, William Clyde | Altus, Oklahoma | Fraud using a telephone |
REGALADO, Alfredo Luna | Pharr, Texas | Failure to report the transportation of currency in excess of $10,000 into the United States |
RICAFORT, Ildefonso Reynes | Houston, Texas | Submission of false claims to Veterans Administration |
RICH, Marc | Switzerland | |
RIDDLE, Howard Winfield | Mt. Crested Butte, Colorado | Violation of the Lacey Act (receipt of illegally imported animal skins) |
RILEY, Richard Wilson, Jr. | Possession of cocaine with intent to distribute | |
ROBBINS, Samuel Lee | Cedar Park, Texas | Misprision of a felony |
RODRIGUEZ, Joel Gonzales | Houston, Texas | Theft of mail by a postal employee |
ROGERS, Michael James | McAllen, Texas | Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana |
ROSS, Anna Louise | Lubbock, Texas | Distribution of cocaine |
RUST, Gerald Glen | Avery, Texas | False declarations before grand jury |
RUST, Jerri Ann | Avery, Texas | False declarations before grand jury |
RUTHERFORD, Bettye June | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute |
SANDS, Gregory Lee | Sioux Falls, South Dakota | Conspiracy to distribute cocaine |
SCHWIMMER, Adolph | Conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, conspiracy to export arms and ammunition to a foreign country and related charges | |
SERETTI, Albert A., Jr. | McKees Rocks, Pennyslvania | Conspiracy and wire fraud |
SHAW, Patricia Campbell Hearst | Wilton, Connecticut | Armed bank robbery and using a firearm during a felony |
SMITH, Dennis Joseph | Redby, Minnesota | 1. Unauthorized absence
2. Failure to obey off-limits instructions 3. Unauthorized absence |
SMITH, Gerald Owen | Florence, Mississippi | Armed bank robbery |
SMITH, Stephen A. | ||
SPEAKE, Jimmie Lee | Breckenridge, Texas | Conspiracy to possess and utter counterfeit $20 Federal Reserve notes |
STEWART, Charles Bernard | Sparta, Georgia | Illegally destroying U.S. Mail |
STEWART-ROLLINS, Marlena Francisca | Euclid, Ohio | Conspiracy to distribute cocaine |
SYMINGTON, John Fife, III | ||
TANNEHILL, Richard Lee | Reno, Nevada | Conspiracy and restraint of trade |
TENAGLIA, Nicholas C. | Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania | Receipt of illegal payments under the Medicare program |
THOMAS, Gary Allen | Lancaster, Texas | Theft of mail by postal employee |
TODD, Larry Weldon | Gardendale, Texas | Conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. in violation of the Lacey Act and the Airborne Hunting Act |
TREVINO, Olga C. | Converse, Texas | Misapplication by a bank employee |
VAMVOUKLIS, Ignatious | Exeter, New Hampshire | Possession of cocaine |
VAN DE WEERD, Patricia A. | Tomahawk, Wisconsin | Theft by a U.S. Postal employee |
WADE, Christopher V. | ||
WARMATH, Bill Wayne | Walls, Mississippi | Obstruction of correspondence |
WATSON, Jack Kenneth | Oakridge, Oregon | Making false statements of material facts to the U.S. Forest Service |
WEBB, Donna Lynn | Panama City, Florida | False entry in savings and loan record by employee |
WELLS, Donald William | Phenix City, Alabama | Possession of an unregistered firearm |
WENDT, Robert H. | Kirkwood, Missouri | Conspiracy to effectuate the escape of a federal prisoner |
WILLIAMS, Jack L. | Making false statements to federal agents | |
WILLIAMS, Kevin Arthur | Omaha, Nebraska | Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute crack cocaine |
WILLIAMS, Robert Michael | Davison, Michigan | Conspiracy to transport in foreign commerce securities obtained by fraud |
WILSON, Jimmie Lee | Helena, Arkansas | Converting property mortgaged or pledged to a farm credit agency, and converting public money to personal use |
WINGATE, Thelma Louise | Sale City, Georgia | Mail fraud |
WOOD, Mitchell Couey | Sherwood, Arkansas | Conspiracy to possess and to distribute cocaine |
WOOD, Warren Stannard | Las Vegas, Nevada | Conspiracy to defraud the United States by filing a false document with the Securities and Exchange Commission |
WORTHEY, Dewey | Conway, Arkansas | Medicaid fraud |
YALE, Rick Allen | Belleville, Illinois | Bank fraud |
YASAK, Joseph A. | Chicago, Illinois | Knowingly making under oath a false declaration regarding a material fact before a grand jury |
YINGLING, William Stanley | Interstate transportation of stolen vehicle | |
YOUNG, Phillip David | Little Rock, Arkansas | Interstate transportation and sale of fish and wildlife |
Has there ever been any explanation for the number of cocaine related pardons? There seems to be a lot of those..
Richs ex-wife, Denise Rich, received a quid pro quo for
I hate to bring it up again again again, but Denise Rich and Bill Clinton were just awfully cuddly chummy and Hillary was just awfully miffed about it. Naturally it's unfair to assume that meetings between the ex-prez and the buxom wife of a shady international financier ever took place in a bedroom.
A high-caliber money man like Rich would never pimp out his ex to seduce the prez and wheedle a pardon for him... I'd never suggest that her $ multimillion waterfront home in the Hamptons was a reward for services rendered.
Certainly Scooter was a lower form of life, totally undeserving of a pardon.
The Clinton legacy is a big brown stain on the underwear of US history.
Well now you've gone and ruined a perfectly good alternative theory, posed by this omniscient journalist.
"The President ... shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment."
No standards, and only one limitation -- no pardons for the impeached.
HA HA -you took the words right out of my mouth!
Fitzgerald didn’t mention the most egregious pardons:
Puerto Rican terrorists
Bank Robber Susan McDougal
Maybe because it would require changing the Constitution itself?
Where do Journalism schools find all of these dolts? And why don't they bother doing research for stories anymore?
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