| This is in the San Fran Chronicle. When the White House loses the Chronicle, it's just lost ... |
Debra J. Saunders
When he served as deputy attorney general, now Attorney General Eric Holder gave a "neutral leaning positive" recommendation that led to President Bill Clinton's pardoning of gazillionaire fugitive Marc Rich, who was on the lam in Switzerland hiding from federal charges of fraud, evading more than $48 million in taxes, racketeering and trading oil with Iran in violation of a U.S. embargo.
Holder also had a role in the 1999 Clinton pardons of 16 Puerto Rico independence terrorists - members of the bomb-happy FALN or the splinter group Los Macheteros - who had been convicted on such charges as bank robbery, possession of explosives and participating in a seditious conspiracy - even though none of the 16 had applied for clemency. As the Los Angeles Times reported, two of the 16 refused to accept the pardon - as it required them to renounce violence - while another later was killed in a shootout with federal agents.
During his confirmation hearing in January, Holder refused to explain why the Clinton Department of Justice changed its earlier position against the 16 commutations - citing Clinton's claim of executive privilege.
So you'll forgive me if I don't buy into the argument that, as a simple lawman, Holder had no choice but to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged abuses during CIA interrogations of high-value detainees.
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