Free Republic

WASHINGTON -- Former Gov. Edwin Edwards and former Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown are among the more than 2,000 people convicted of federal crimes awaiting word on whether President Bush will give them a pardon or commute their sentences during his final months in office. Edwards, who turns 81 on Aug. 7, will be eligible for release from the Federal Detention Center in Oakdale on July 6, 2011. He's serving a 10-year sentence for corrupting the state's riverboat casino licensing process. "I'm hopeful," said former Gov. David Treen, who joined former U.S. Sen. J. Bennett Johnston in filing the request on...

Felons Seeking Bush Pardon Near a Record By CHARLIE SAVAGE WASHINGTON — Felons are asking President Bush for pardons and commutations at historic levels as he nears his final months in office, a time when many other presidents have granted a flurry of clemency requests. Among the petitioners is Michael Milken, the billionaire former junk bond king turned philanthropist, who is seeking a pardon for his 1990 conviction for securities fraud, the Justice Department said. Mr. Milken sought a pardon eight years ago from President Bill Clinton, and submitted a new petition in June. In addition, prominent federal inmates are...

If you're going to promise "new politics," it would probably be wise to eschew the same old Beltway cronies and insiders who have served presidential nominees of yore. And if you're going to attack political opponents for playing "textbook Washington games," it would probably be best not to play them yourself. If you do, you'll end up tongue-tied in front of the cameras, hung by your own holier-than-thou rhetoric and faced once again with the decision to throw another bad choice under the bus. Yes, Barack Obama, we're talking about you. Again. It's getting mighty crowded under that bus, isn't...

On his first day as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama has made his first clear, serious mistake: He named Eric Holder as one of three people charged with vice-presidential vetting. As deputy attorney general, Holder was the key person who made the pardon of Marc Rich possible in the final hours of the Clinton presidency. Now Obama will be stuck in the Marc Rich mess. If ever there was a person who did not deserve a presidential pardon, it's Marc Rich, the fugitive billionaire who renounced his U.S. citizenship and moved to Switzerland to avoid prosecution for racketeering,...

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Pioneering rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters, who spent more than five years in prison on a 1991 attempted murder conviction and faced threats of deportation years after rehabilitating his life, was granted a full and unconditional pardon Friday by New York Gov. David Paterson. Walters, 43, has been under threat of being sent back to his native United Kingdom, although he has lived in the United States since he was a child. In a statement, he expressed gratitude to Paterson and his lawyers, and hoped that he could finally put the turmoil behind him. "This has...

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Gov. David Paterson is granting a full and unconditional pardon to rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters for the attempted murders of two men in 1991. The pardon is expected to halt efforts to deport Walters to the United Kingdom, the country he left as a child.

It was nearly 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve, 1982. Two officers on New York Police Department's elite bomb squad rushed to headquarters at One Police Plaza, where minutes earlier an explosion had destroyed the entrance to the building. Lying amid the carnage was Police Officer Rocco Pascarella, his lower leg blasted off. "He was ripped up like someone took a box cutter and shredded his face," remembered Detective Anthony Senft, one of the bomb-squad officers who answered the call 25 years ago. "We really didn't even know that he was a uniformed man until we found his weapon, that's...

 Finally, the Media 'Discovers' Obama-Ayers Relationship Rick Moran http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2008/04/finally_the_media_discovers_ob.html It is a major story in the New York Times, Politico, the New York Post, and the left wing Guardian in Great Britain. It is the most curious of all Barack Obama's problematic relationships and calls into question not only his judgement but the core of his politics. The story is about William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn - two members of the radical 1960's terrorist group the Weather Underground  - and the fact that the possible next president of the United States is on a first name basis with a...

Less than two years ago, Italy's prison system faced a crisis: Built to hold 43,000 inmates, it was straining to contain more than 60,000. So the government crafted an emergency plan. It swung open the prison doors and let more than a third of the inmates go free. Within months, bank robberies jumped by 20%. Kidnappings and fraud also rose, as did computer crime, arson and purse-snatchings. The prison population, however, fell so much that for awhile Italy had more prison guards than prisoners to guard. In Italy, it sometimes seems that no bad deed goes unpardoned. The nation's legal...

President Bush is coming under fire for yesterday's presidential pardons that includes forgiveness for drug smugglers, an embezzler and others, but not for jailed Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. Ramos and Compean entered prison in January of 2007 after a controversial ruling on their actions in apprehending a fleeing drug smuggler. "I believe the president's stolid refusal to pardon Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean is the most unconscionable act of disloyalty he has perpetrated upon those sworn to protect our well-being. I know this feeling is shared by many other patriotic Americans," said...

WASHINGTON —  The Justice Department announced Tuesday that President Bush has issued 15 new pardons and commuted one prison sentence. All 15 pardons were for men who were convicted of non-violent and mostly minor offenses, some dating back decades. Among the convictions were drug possession and distribution, illegal firearms dealing, false housing statements and wildlife infractions. The single commutation announced Tuesday was for a Portsmouth, Va., woman convicted of attempted drug distribution. Patricia Beckford was sentenced in 1992 to 23 years in federal prison for conspiracy and attempt to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine. Following the president's order,...

Hillary's White House itinerary is being released. Question, in late 1999, what were her contacts with Luis Nieves Falcon. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3827/is_199912/ai_n8877467 The FALN terrorists were pardoned for New York Puerto Rican votes for her Senate election. The 16 terrorists were convicted of a variety of charges that included conspiracy, sedition, violation of the Hobbes Act (extortion by force, violence or fear), armed robbery and illegal possession of weapons and explosives -- including large quantities of C-4 plastic explosive, dynamite and huge caches of ammunition. Observed Judge George Layton, who sentenced four FALN defendants for their conspiracy to use military-grade explosives to...

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained the official pardon application submitted to the Clinton White House by attorney Jack Quinn December 11, 2000, on behalf of former fugitive Marc Rich, who fled the United States in 1983 to avoid prosecution on racketeering, wire fraud and tax evasion charges. The fugitive Rich was one of about 140 criminals who received pardons from Bill Clinton in the last hours of his administration on January 20, 2001. The pardon application was made available in response to a Judicial...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Clinton Presidential Library withheld more than a thousand pages about clemency the former president granted during his last days in office — including a pardon to fugitive financier Marc Rich — from a batch of documents recently released to the public. The library released 2,830 pages of documents this week on pardons President Bill Clinton considered for Rich and others during his last months in office. But the library withheld another 1,114 pages that archivists said would disclose confidential discussion of advice the former president received from advisers or would violate someone's personal privacy. The...

More than a thousand pages covering pardons granted by former president Bill Clinton during his final days in office have been withheld from the public. Archivists at the Clinton Presidential Library decided to keep the papers out of a larger batch recently released because they covered confidential discussions with advisers. Included in the more than 2800 documents that have been made public, letters in support of fugitive financier Marc Rich and his partner, both of whom were pardoned by Clinton. The delays by the library in releasing documents have led to sharp criticism of Clinton and former first lady Hillary...

Remember how Barack Obama called Hillary Clinton one of the most secretive politicians in America? That apparently applies to both Hillary and her husband as a team. Archivists at the Clinton Presidential Library have decided to keep the records of Bill’s pardons locked away from prying eyes — such as those of Obama, John McCain, and the media: 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.That archivists’ decision, based on guidance provided by Bill...

While the pardon scandals that marked Bill and Hillary Clinton's final days in office are remembered as transactions involving cronies, criminals and campaign contributors, the FALN clemencies of 1999 should be remembered in the context of the increasing threat of domestic and transnational terrorism that was ramping up during the Clinton years of alleged peace and prosperity. To wit, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1995 Tokyo subway Sarin attack, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the 1995 "Bojinka" conspiracy to hijack airplanes and crash them into buildings, the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, the 1996 Summer Olympics bombing, Osama bin...

For those who have forgotten just how corrupt the Clinton’s are (like anyone could forget) this story should bring shivers down your spine. Debra Burlingame, the sister of Charles F. “Chic” Burlingame III, the pilot of American Airlines flight 77, writes about the Armed Forces of National Liberation [FALN] terrorist group that had wreaked havoc on American soil for decades. 146 bombings and armed robberies were linked to the group including this account of a bombing in 1982: It was nearly 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, 1982. Two officers on New York Police Department’s elite bomb squad rushed to...

It was nearly 10 p.m. on New Year's Eve, 1982. Two officers on New York Police Department's elite bomb squad rushed to headquarters at One Police Plaza, where minutes earlier an explosion had destroyed the entrance to the building. Lying amid the carnage was Police Officer Rocco Pascarella, his lower leg blasted off. "He was ripped up like someone took a box cutter and shredded his face," remembered Detective Anthony Senft, one of the bomb-squad officers who answered the call 25 years ago. "We really didn't even know that he was a uniformed man until we found his weapon, that's...

Just a sample here: Conspiracy to obstruct commerce by extortion, extortion, demanding or receiving illegal payments on behalf of a labor union, and demanding or accepting illegal unloading fees from a motor vehicle driver, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 1951, 29 U.S.C. §§186(b)(1) and (2) Bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 371 Conspiracy to commit securities fraud, sale of unregistered securities, and the use of manipulative devices in connection with the sale of securities, Theft of government property, Filing a false tax return Extortion under color of official right

(English-language translation) A group formed in Puerto Rico in support of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s goal of becoming the first female President of the United States includes as one of its members Vieques Mayor Dámaso Serrano, who appreciates her intervention in favor of the Navy’s withdrawal [from the island municipality]. “Puerto Ricans for Hillary” organizer José Marcano stated that the group will meet next Monday to give the campaign its first monetary contribution, whose amount was unspecified. In addition, he said arrangements are being made for a February 15 visit to Puerto Rico by former President Bill Clinton, the pre-candidate’s...

Cannot be posted due to copyright issues... http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712300354

Associated Press - President Bush praised U.S. troops yesterday and gave a special thank-you to military families who have turned the grief of losing loved ones into acts of compassion. For many relatives of U.S. troops, military service means packing up their belongings and moving on short notice, living in a foreign country or missing a family member as he or she serves overseas, Mr. Bush said in his weekly radio address. Mr. Bush taped his broadcast on Friday before leaving aboard the Marine One presidential helicopter to fly to Camp David with first lady Laura Bush; their daughter Jenna;...

Mike Huckabee vowed in Iowa Saturday that one of his first actions as president would be to review what he called the “absurd” convictions of Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean – and suggested he might pardon them immediately. In response to an audience question, Huckabee said he found it hard to accept that the agents were imprisoned for shooting an accused drug smuggler who illegally crossed the Texas border near El Paso in 2005. The two were convicted of assault, obstruction of justice and civil rights violations. The case caused a conservative firestorm, and remains one of...

Under fire, Mike Huckabee countered mounting criticism from GOP presidential rivals Thursday by playing the woe-is-me card - and then hitting back by suggesting they lack substantial agendas of their own. "Everything but the kitchen sink is being thrown at me," the Republican leader in Iowa polls complained at nearly every stop. "If the only thing some of these candidates have to run on is what's wrong with somebody else, they must not have much of a platform to talk about." The former Arkansas governor recently soared from behind the pack of GOP presidential candidates to overtake Mitt Romney in...

President Bush granted pardons on Tuesday to carjackers, drug dealers, a moonshiner and an election-laws violator but not to I. Lewis Libby Jr., who was once the top aide to his vice president. In all, Mr. Bush pardoned 29 convicts and reduced the prison sentence of one more in an end-of-the-year presidential tradition. Erik Ablin, a Justice Department spokesman, said Mr. Bush had granted 142 pardons and commuted 5 sentences since taking office in 2001 — far fewer than most modern presidents. That includes Mr. Bush’s decision in July to commute the sentence of Mr. Libby, who was convicted of...

(snip) Over the course of his 10 1/2 years as governor, Huckabee granted a staggering 1,033 clemencies, according to the Associated Press. That was more than double the combined 507 that were granted during the 17 1/2 years of his three predecessors: Bill Clinton, Frank White, and Jim Guy Tucker. In many cases, Huckabee's actions set loose savage criminals convicted of grizzly murders over the passionate objections of prosecutors and victims' families. "I felt like Huckabee had more compassion for the murders than he ever did for the victims," Elaine Colclasure, co-leader of the Central Arkansas chapter of Parents of...

...The acts of clemency benefited the stepson of a staff member, murderers who worked at the governor's mansion, a rock star and inmates who received good words from their pastors. "It seems to be true at least anecdotally that if a minister is involved, (Huckabee) seems likely to grant clemency," prosecutor Robert Herzfeld said in 2004 after successfully battling the then-governor over the release of a killer... Some inmates who benefited from some sort of personal connection: _James Maxwell, who killed a pastor of the Church of God in Arkansas. Maxwell worked at the Governor's Mansion when Huckabee announced his...

By ANDREW DeMILLO, Associated Press Writer Mon Dec 10, 3:10 AM ET LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee had a hand in twice as many pardons and commutations as his three predecessors combined. The case he's asked about most concerns the parole of a castrated rapist who later killed a woman. Although the Republican presidential contender plays down any personal involvement in that release, Huckabee granted 1,033 pardons and commutations in his 10 1/2 years as governor of Arkansas. The acts of clemency benefited the stepson of a staff member, murderers who worked at the governor's...

Gov. Huckabee probably never read the confession of a demented killer named Glen Green before he made the monster eligible for parole. Green's confession is so depraved, its sadistic details so scary that no sane, responsible adult would consider him for parole. If the governor didn't read the confession, he is guilty of dereliction of duty. But if he read the confession and still considers Green deserving of parole, he's certainly unfit to hold office. Who would free a madman who beat an 18-year-old woman with Chinese martial-arts sticks, raped her as she barely clung to life, ran over her...

If you're wondering how Gov. Huckabee's hundreds of clemencies compare with neighboring states, get ready for a shocker. Huckabee leads the pack. He has issued more commutations and pardons than all of the six neighboring states combined. Governors seldom reduce sentences in other states – and almost never for murderers serving life without parole or for rapists or for habitual drunk drivers, while in Arkansas it's a regular habit with Huckabee. Other governors use their clemency power only rarely, while Huckabee has made it routine. As we've told you before, he has issued more than 700 pardons and commutations during...

Mike Huckabee's most vigorous and able nemesis in Arkansas is the unabashedly liberal and uncommonly activist editor of the weekly free tabloid in Little Rock. I've been knowing and admiring Max Brantley of the Arkansas Times for 30 years, since we were lads breaking in at the late, lamented Arkansas Gazette. He went to bat with higher-ups to make me a columnist. Then, when I up and quit one day, they made him the columnist. There wasn't any drop-off that I could tell, and I'm being kind to myself. He's one of the smartest people I know. He's one of...

A public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption says it has obtained more than 30 photos taken at the White House in December of 2000 that link Hillary Clinton (D-New York) to some controversial pardons made by her husband the president. Judicial Watch says it obtained the 34 photos from the Clinton Presidential Library. The photos show Mrs. Clinton and then-President Bill Clinton with Grand Rabbi David Twersky and other community leaders at the White House. The meeting took place on December 22, 2000 -- after the New York based Hasidim sect delivered 1,400 votes to Hillary Clinton'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 Bush’s commutation of the prison sentence of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and the controversy surrounding Clinton’s “midnight pardons,” Congress has shown little appetite for making substantial changes to the executive branch’s 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...

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 Bush’s commutation of the prison sentence of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby and the controversy surrounding Clinton’s “midnight pardons,” Congress has shown little appetite for making substantial changes to the executive branch’s 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...

Excerpt - WASHINGTON - A brawl over presidential pardons punctured the normally courtly ambiance of the Senate on Thursday night, but Republicans and Democrats agreed to bury the hatchet and erase the evidence before the sun rose Friday. In the heat of a partisan spat, Democrats forced a vote on a nonbinding measure to instruct President Bush not to pardon former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. But there's no record of the 47-49 vote in the daily record of congressional proceedings — or anywhere else. That's because senators agreed less than an hour later to undo their vote...

President Bush sharply challenged critics of his stalled immigration-overhaul efforts on Thursday, suggesting that failure to pass a guest-worker program could trigger a labor shortage in the United States. At a town-hall style meeting, Bush also rebuffed a question about whether he would consider pardoning two Border Patrol agents in prison for the cover-up of the shooting of a drug trafficker in Texas. "No, I won't make you that promise," Bush told a woman who asked about a possible pardon. Many Republicans in Congress have said the men should not have been convicted and have criticized the federal U.S. attorney...

In commuting the defendant's thirty-month term of incarceration, the President stated that the sentence imposed by this Court was "excessive" and that two years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine alone are "harsh punishment" for an individual convicted on multiple counts of perjury, obstruction of justice, and making false statements to federal investigators. July 2, 2006 Statement by the President on Executive Clemency for Lewis Libby at 1. Although it certainly is the Presidents prerogative to justify the exercise of his constitutional commutation power in the manner he chooses (or even to decline to provide a reason for his...

Did President Bush pull a classic Machiavellian move to outmaneuver Team Clinton over last week's Fourth of July holiday? In my opinion, the timing of President Bush’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison term was no accident. The President was well aware that former President Clinton would be joining his wife on the fourth for her visit to Iowa in an attempt to raise her sagging poll numbers there. The President is also very aware of the former President’s own record on pardons. President Bush also correctly judged that Team Clinton would resort to defending their own pardon record as soon...

A rant or two about current events. How about those Clintons complaining about presidential pardons? Nerve? Audacity? Chutzpah? I'm sick of all this "save the earth" nonsense and I've got stories from the 60's plus sensible ways to protect our precious environment without need of rock bands or Madonna. Finally, a review of my new VuPoint camera and some video of Kaitlyn Mae laffing and with an ugly face.

LISTEN ONLINE TO KABC Joseph Connor, whose father was murdered by FALN terrorists, will be the guest of Al Rantel this morning during the 11am hour on the West Coast. In the hopes of squeezing out some more votes for his evil wife from Puerto Ricans in New York, Bill Clinton pardoned FALN terrorists and set them free. How dare either of the Clintons say one word about the communtation of the sentence of Scooter Libby. Their shamelessness, arrogance, and hubris knows no limits. And, of course, the press uttered very few words about it.

Let me now -- and not for the first time -- rush in where angels fear to tread. I support President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence. I have never met Mr. Libby. I have not been asked by any of his friends or family to assist him. So why am I taking this step, which is sure to be criticized by many of my friends and supporters? It is because I believe in fairness. To remain silent because speaking out would not be popular is to invite punishment in the world to come. What are the facts in...

NOTE: I had Joe as a guest on my Rightalk Radio show a few years ago and am trying to get him on other shows. If you know of a host who wants him on, I have his contact info. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (Joe has written a current op-ed for the NY POST and hopes they will publish it) BILL PARDONED TERROR FALN CLEMENCY ENCOURAGED KILLERS By JOSEPH F. CONNER Killed by the FALN: Frank T. Connor, the author's father. September 27, 2006 -- BILL Clinton's scath ing, defensive attack against Chris Wall ace and Fox News on Sunday left me once...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Tennessee lawsuit against the brother of US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to be settled before the trial begins next Thursday. The suit accuses Tony Rodham of failing to repay debts to a Tennessee carnival operator. The case could have revived stories about how Clinton's brothers accepted money from people pardoned by her husband, President Bill Clinton. Rodham is accused of failing to repay $107,000 plus interest to the bankrupt estate of Edgar Allen Gregory Junior and his wife, both of whom received a presidential pardon in 2000. The Gregorys received pardons for a...

It is this reporter's opinion that President Bush's commutation of Lewis "Scooter" Libby's sentence marks a sharp contrast in our nation's history. In order to convict Libby, a jury had to conclude that he not only knowingly and repeatedly lied to the FBI and a grand jury, he leaked classified information about CIA operatives. But the Libby case is only one example of those in government found guilty of bribery, voter fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy, tax evasion, obstruction of justice, racketeering, extortion, drug possession, and perjury. Recently it was revealed that at least 20 former members of Congress were convicted...

Anybody who watched presidential spokesman Tony Snow face a pack of snarling White House press corps correspondents following President Bush's commutation of Scooter Libby's prison sentence will understand the meaning of the word hypocrisy. These are the very same media hacks who turned a blind eye to Clintonista Sandy Berger stuffing national security documents in his socks, stealing them from the National Archives and destroying them and then getting nothing more in the way of punishment than a mere slap on the wrist. Then there was Mrs. Hillary Clinton, who had the gall to issue a statement saying, "Today's decision...

The White House yesterday ridiculed Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton for complaining about President Bush's decision to keep former vice-presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr. out of jail, saying their criticism smacks of hypocrisy. "I don't know what Arkansan is for chutzpah, but this is a gigantic case of it," press secretary Tony Snow said. The White House also suggested that a slew of pardons granted by Mr. Clinton on his final day in office were never properly investigated and said they ought to be. "This provides a nice chance to go back and look at the Clinton pardons....

Anybody who watched presidential spokesman Tony Snow face a pack of snarling White House press corps correspondents following President Bush’s commutation of Scooter Libby’s prison sentence will understand the meaning of the word hypocrisy These are the very same media hacks who turned a blind eye to Clintonista Sandy Berger stuffing national security documents in his socks, stealing them from the National Archives and destroying them and then getting nothing more in the way of punishment than a mere slap on the wrist. Then there was Mrs. Hillary Clinton, who had the gall to issue a statement saying, "Today's decision...

Rep. John Conyers Vows Full Review of Presidential Pardon Power Thursday , July 05, 2007 FC1 ADVERTISEMENT WASHINGTON — A House Judiciary Committee hearing into the decision to commute the sentence of former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby will also take a look at other presidential pardons, the chairman of the committee said Thursday. "Yes, we’re going to review all of them, including Clinton’s, Bush one, Bush two, we’ll go back as far as they want," Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., said in an exclusive interview with FOX News Radio. Conyers added that the Nixon pardon would also be...