She got it and she's overjoyed, but Susan McDougal, one of many Arkansans
ensnared in the nearly decade-long Whitewater investigation, said she
didn't initiate a request for a pardon.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
STILL IN DEBT:
Susan McDougal still faces SBA judgment.
By Jan Cottingham
February 2, 2001
She got it and she's overjoyed, but Susan McDougal, one of many Arkansans
ensnared in the nearly decade-long Whitewater investigation, said she
didn't initiate a request for a pardon.
"I heard my name on television," McDougal said, "and I called Mark and said, 'They're saying my name is on a list.' " Mark Geragos of Los Angeles is McDougal's lawyer. Geragos then asked McDougal if she wanted a pardon. She said yes.
"It was my impression through gossip that Clinton wouldn't pardon Whitewater people," McDougal told the Arkansas Times this week. "There was still an independent counsel." she said. "There was still an investigation. So I sort of gave up hope."
On Jan. 20, just hours before he was to give up the presidency, Clinton pardoned 176 people, among them McDougal. Some of the pardons have prompted intense criticism-because of who was pardoned and because of how the process was conducted.
Customarily, an individual formally applies to the federal Justice Department for a pardon. The department, with the help of the FBI, conducts a review of the convicted felon and makes a recommendation to the White House. The president, however, has complete power to pardon anyone he chooses.
One of those he chose was McDougal. Susan McDougal spent 18 months in prison, the maximum, for civil contempt. She had refused to answer questions before a federal grand jury investigating the Whitewater land deal in which McDougal and her then-husband, Jim McDougal, were partners with Bill and Hillary Clinton. McDougal said she refused because the Office of the Independent Counsel, then led by Kenneth Starr, wasn't seeking the truth but instead was seeking anything damaging to the Clintons.
McDougal also spent three months in prison on a two-year sentence after she was convicted of fraud in a Whitewater-related case. She was found guilty of taking part in a fraudulent scheme to borrow $300,000 from the federal Small Business Administration.
McDougal said she learned of her pardon from the television news. Asked her reaction, McDougal said, "I'll tell you what I told my mother. She said, 'How do you think you'll feel if you get this?' and I told her it must be how Miss America feels when she gets her crown-puzzlement, excitement, all those things at once."
Concerning her future plans, McDougal said, "I need surgery for my back. … It's terribly expensive so I've got to do something about that." McDougal, who was released from prison early because of her back problems, said she had six ruptured discs and no insurance.
McDougal has been living primarily with her elderly parents in Camden, her hometown, helping to take care of them. She also makes about two appearances a month speaking on behalf of women in prison and the hardships they face, but receives only expenses for the appearances.
She still owes the SBA $300,000 plus interest, she said
McDougal said she planned to stay in Arkansas and, though something of a folk heroine to some in the state, didn't plan to run for political office. "I would enjoy it, but I think I would do better to support someone running for office," she said. "I would enjoy running for office because the hypocrisy makes me so angry."
McDougal said she didn't know what kind of job she'd like to get, but added, "something with some meaning. [Working in a] women's health clinic would really give me a lot of pleasure."
McDougal said she had received no formal notice from the government of her pardon, though her Arkansas probation officer called her and told her she'd no longer have to report to the officer.
Wull, sheeit.
I've got a few choice comments/observations about that Back Problem of hers, but I'm leaving them for others.
"[Working in a] women's health clinic would really give me a lot of pleasure."
Great .... first she assisted Bill. Now she'll end up assisting an abortionist.
"[Working in a] women's health clinic would really give me a lot of pleasure."
Most of the women in the health clinic will probably have first hand stories to share with her about bubba.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
[
Top
|
Latest Posts
|
Latest Articles
|
Self Search
|
Add Bookmark
|
Post
|
Abuse
|
Help!
]
FreeRepublic , LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794 Forum Version 2.0a Copyright © 1999 Free Republic, LLC |