Posted on 06/20/2002 7:46:48 AM PDT by RaceBannon
Ashcroft to Make it Official: Clintons Are Above the Law
Attorney General John Ashcroft is said to be ready to close out a key aspect of his Justice Department investigation into the Clinton pardon trading scandal, effectively confirming that both the ex-president and his New York senator wife are now officially above the law.
"The Justice Department is expected within a month to shut down its probe into whether (then-President) Clinton gave clemency to four convicted felons of the Hasidic enclave of New Square after the town voted 1,400 to 12 for Hillary Clinton in her Senate election," the New York Daily News reported Thursday.
"The New Square part is likely to be closed without criminal charges being brought," a source familiar with the investigation told The News.
Four New Square Hasidic rabbis, who had been jailed for bilking the government out of millions of dollars earmarked for anti-poverty programs, were freed from jail earlier this year as a result of the Clinton clemency deal.
Hasidic communities surrounding New Square that weren't granted any special presidential favors voted heavily for Mrs. Clinton's opponent, Rick Lazio.
The decision to clear Mrs. Clinton comes despite earlier reports that at least one witness had fingered her in the vote-trading conspiracy.
Prosecutors had found a witness who says the senator was present during discussions of clemency before the election, sources familiar with the probe told the News in January.
The investigation into Clinton's illegal pardon of fugitive billionaire Marc Rich, as well smoking gun evidence that former first brother Roger Clinton traded pardon promises for cash, remains open. But after more than a year of relative inactivity, observers also expect those probes to end without indictments.
The contrast with other more recent Justice Department prosecutions couldn't be more stark, illustrating what government probers can do when they're not constrained by political considerations.
The accounting giant Arthur Andersen, for instance, was convicted just last week based on an indictment that charged the entire company with obstruction of justice. The conviction left more than a few legal experts wondering about prosecutorial overreach.
The recent conviction of Michael Skakel for the 26-year-old murder of Martha Moxley was based entirely on circumstantial evidence, in a case that appeared far weaker than the one prosecutors have built against the Clintons.
Though the Skakel conviction wasn't a federal prosecution, the surprise guilty verdict illustrates what prosecutors can accomplish when they're interested in actually enforcing the law.
Beyond Pardongate, the Bush Justice Department has either plea bargained or abandoned outright other possible prosecutions against the Clintons, while ignoring altogether additional serious reports of wrongdoing, including:
• Allegations that Indonesian billionaire James Riady illegally funneled millions of dollars into Clinton presidential campaigns.
• Reports that the Clinton White House withheld and or attempted to destroy millions of evidentiary e-mails that had been subpeonaed by the Office of Independent Counsel.
• Complaints from Clinton accusers Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick and Elizabeth Ward Gracen that they were subjected to politically motivated IRS audits after speaking out about sexual encounters with the president.
• Charges from Democratic Party contributor Peter Paul that the Clintons failed to report his $2 million donation to the Federal Election Commission.
• Allegations that Mrs. Clinton's acceptance of an $8 million book advance after she was elected to the Senate may have violated federal bribery statutes.
• A complaint from White House whistleblower Linda Tripp that officials with the Clinton Pentagon illegally leaked information from her confidential employment file to the media.
• Reports that a Westchester County police officer may have been threatened with the loss of his job for talking about an accident where he was seriously injured by a car carrying Mrs. Clinton.
Have this all occurring behind a thin veil swaying in the breeze under a big tent labeled "RepublicRats of America" and out front to the left have a seated CBSNBCABCMSNBCFNCCNN news reader who begins each new story (whereever you chose to display this graphic) with "ignoring our guys behind the curtains, today...." followed by whatever inanity is in the news that day.
Please. This tool is needed to lend some perspective to some events (like this one). Please see my profile page for my historically based concerns.
I agree with what you have said, Gore was willing to do ANYTHING to win; he was right...it WAS a contest between good and evil, and thank God "good" won.
Naaah, my medication seems to be wearing off. That happens occasionally. Now, if they'd just loosen up these straps a bit more.
I'm just so glad Good won out over Evil like Howlin says! :-)
Um ... she already DID, quite a number of them, as a matter of fact.
If an investigation even takes place, Laz.
Go back and peruse some of the "We gotta get Dubya in the WH" threads -- that is PRECISELY what they shouted was going to happen, Bush would PERSONALLY see to it that Clinton and his Wife-In-Name-Only would be held accountable.
Nope,this is Janet Rhino's replacement at work,Janet Ashcroft. He's following the orders of his political master,Bubba-2.
Welcome to the club,Race. It's not a happy club because nobody really wants to be in it. None the less,it may be the fastest-growing club in America.
With Lott's assistance, neither man upholding their oath to uphold the USCon. I'm sure Bush told them, "Look, don't challenge, let a dead man win. I'll give you the AG spot, and we'll look like good guys."
Which is probably what Bush told Ashcroft here as well, "Drop it, and we'll look like good guys."
For all these Bush-apologists who claim things will be different "when we have the majority back in the Senate," just remember that had Ashcroft and Lott not failed to uphold the Constitution, the GOP would RIGHT NOW have majority status, Jeffords' switch would have meant absolutely nothing.
You are entirely correct,this is the reason children keep doing bad things, because parents don't hold them accountable.It's the exact same thing.Another example:Pat Leahy office lets a secret intelligence memo out years ago, and is let back on the intelligence committee in a short amount of time.This just cannot happen;I may become physically ill if it does.The HildeBeast will laugh so hard when she goes to sleep the night Ashcroft does this.I can hear it now dialing his phone # to Harlem:" Hey Bill,did you hear? I got away with it just like you did!"It will (in the minds of DemoncRATS) officially close some of which Barbara Olsen wrote in her fantastic book,but I'll always know better!!!
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