Clinton pardon papers release blocked
/ 3/7/2008, By Peter Eisler, USA TODAY
LITTLE ROCK — Federal archivists at the Clinton Presidential Library are blocking the release of hundreds of pages of White House papers on pardons that the former president approved, including clemency for fugitive commodities trader Marc Rich.
The archivists' decision, based on guidance provided by Bill Clinton that restricts the disclosure of advice he received from aides, prevents public scrutiny of documents that would shed light on how he decided which pardons to approve from among hundreds of requests.
Clinton's legal agent declined the option of reviewing and releasing the documents that were withheld, said the archivists, who work for the federal government, not the Clintons.
The decision to withhold the records could provide fodder for critics who say that the former president and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, now seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, have been unwilling to fully release documents to public scrutiny.
Officials with the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., criticized Hillary Clinton this week for not doing more to see that records from her husband's administration are made public. "She's been reluctant to disclose information," Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, told reporters in a conference call in which he specifically cited the slow release records from the Clinton library. "If she's not willing to be open with (voters) on these issues now, why would she be open as president?"
In January 2006, USA TODAY requested documents about the pardons under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The library made 4,000 pages available this week. However, 1,500 pages were either partially redacted or withheld entirely, including 300 pages covering internal White House communications on pardon decisions, such as memos to and from the president, and reports on which pardon requests the Justice Department opposed.
In a statement, the Clinton campaign said that "all of the redactions made to the pardon-related documents were made by (the National Archives)."
Former president Clinton issued 140 pardons on his last day in office, including several to controversial figures, such as commodities trader Rich, then a fugitive on tax evasion charges. Rich's ex-wife, Denise, contributed $2,000 in 1999 to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign; $5,000 to a related political action committee; and $450,000 to a fund set up to build the Clinton library.
The president also pardoned two men who each paid Sen. Clinton's brother, Hugh Rodham, about $200,000 to lobby the White House for pardons — one for a drug conviction and one for mail fraud and perjury convictions, according to a 2002 report by the House committee on government reform. After the payments came to light, Bill Clinton issued a statement: "Neither Hillary nor I had any knowledge of such payments," the report said.
The pardon records released by the library divulge little that might settle debate about those and other pardons. But they do shed new light on the volume of clemency requests that former president Clinton received — and the pressures he and his staff faced as friends, advisers, political leaders and foreign heads of state weighed in to influence which petitions would be granted.
Most of the withheld documents, including dozens of clemency pleas sent to the president, were blocked from release under FOIA rules that protect personal privacy. The 300 pages of internal White House documents on pardon requests were blocked under the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which allows presidents to maintain the confidentiality of communications with their advisers for up to 12 years after they leave office.
In 2002, Clinton sent a guidance letter to his library that urged quick release of most White House records but retained the confidentiality prerogative covering advice from his staff. Still, Clinton said the restriction should be interpreted "narrowly" and allowed that certain records detailing internal communications could be made public if reviewed and approved for release by his designated legal agent.
Emily Robison, the library's deputy director, said Clinton's agent, former deputy White House counsel Bruce Lindsey, chose not to review the withheld documents.
Lindsey "was given the opportunity to look at what we withheld under the (president's) guidelines, and he chose not to. … Only Mr. Lindsey and the president have the authority to open those," she said.
The William J. Clinton Foundation, which Lindsey helps oversee, said in a written statement that the National Archives is responsible for deciding which records are withheld under the Presidential Records Act. Archivists were exclusively responsible for "determinations with respect to these materials," the statement said.
Blanton noted that Lindsey's refusal to review the withheld documents could be viewed as an effort to ensure the archivists' independence. "He's saying the professional archivists get to make this determination; it's not a political determination." release of White House records, Blanton said.
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SOURCE http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-03-06-clinton-library-foia_N.htm
At the same time, Pres Clinton pardoned four Orthodox New Square residents who were convicted of obtaining federal funds by fraud---convicted in 1999 on charges of swindling the US government of $40 million in Pell grants, small-business loans and housing subsidies.
Later New Square gave Senate candidate Hillary an enthusiastic town reception. Mrs. Clinton subsequently received the votes of 1,359 New Square residents; 10 voted for her opponent.
Since the furor erupted over the grants of clemency, Senator Clinton said that the issue did not come up during the August campaign stop in New Square, located about 20 miles north of New York City in Rockland County. However, the New York Post, quoting unidentified sources, has reported that the matter in fact was discussed either during the visit in which Mrs. Clinton met with both Rabbi Twersky and his wife, or closer to the election.
The newspaper identified Paul Adler, then a Rockland County Democratic party official, as a behind-the-scenes player. Adler since has been indicted by federal officials on an unrelated corruption charge.
Prior to Hillary's election, a letter from President Clinton was posted in the main synagogue in which he said he looked forward to making his own visit to New Square someday.
On Dec. 22, Orthodox New Square officials met President Bill Clinton and then Senator-elect Clinton in the White House Map Room, where the issue of clemency was discussed, along with other issues.
SOURCE http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/03/07/470866/-Bill-Clinton-s-Curious-New-Square-Four-Pardon
NOTE: A PBS-TV web site details its documentary on Orthodox in America---designated "disadvantaged minorities, eligible for low cost SBA loans, housing subsidies, Pell grants, and a host of federal giveaways.