Free Republic

The journalists at the center of an embarrassing scandal for the grass-roots organization ACORN also paid a visit to the ACORN office in San Diego County. Grass-roots organizing has gotten a black eye on the national stage after undercover videos involving ACORN, a controversial group with a local office, were released that were shot during a series of visits from a hidden-camera crew. At 6 p.m. on Wednesday, a video was broadcast on Fox's "Hannity" that purported to show a San Diego ACORN staffer discussing human trafficking with two people who were undercover. Earlier in the day, local ACORN officials,...

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...

Virginia’s Democratic governor has ignited public outrage by pardoning—at the request of a major political donor—three men convicted of raping and killing a teenager. Gov. Tim Kaine ordered freedom for three of four former sailors who raped and murdered another sailor's 18-year-old wife in 1997. The men had all confessed to the gruesome crimes and were serving life sentences before the good governor came to their rescue this week. Kaine said he decided there are “serious doubts about at least the level of their complicity in the crime,” though the governor did find that the “combined weight of all the...

COOPERSTOWN - Thanks to the behind-the-scenes lobbying from some of the most influential Hall of Famers, commissioner Bud Selig is said to be seriously considering lifting Pete Rose's lifetime suspension from baseball. The tip-off that Selig may now be inclined to pardon baseball's all-time hit king was Hank Aaron's seemingly impromptu interview session with a small group of reporters in the lobby of the Otesaga Hotel on Saturday. In declaring for the first time that he would want an asterisk put on the achievements of any steroid cheats elected to the Hall of Fame, Aaron brought up Rose, who, in...

The saga of Scooter Libby continues with an in-depth report from Time on the final hours of the George Bush administration and Dick Cheney’s desperate attempt to get clemency for his former aide. Cheney “really got in the President’s face” like never before, according to one source close to Bush, but to no avail. By that time Bush had already been burned on one pardon — and for the president, the issue came down to one question: ----------------------------------------------------- On the Sunday before he left office, Bush invited Sharp to the executive mansion for a farewell cigar. While packing boxes in...

We have plenty of basis and evidence that [Binyam] Mohammed is dangerous. But Holder’s sense of “responsibility ... as attorney general ... for the safety of this nation” did not stop him from agreeing to Mohammed’s release and transfer to England — where he now plots freely while on the British dole. Naturally, having discerned that all the tough talk was just that, talk, British authorities are back on the administration’s doorstep, demanding the release of Shaker Aamer. He’s a bin Laden confidant who trained aspiring terrorists at al-Qaeda camps, met with shoe-bomber Richard Reid, and traveled widely in the...

Top brass flew to Baghdad with publicity-shy empowerment businessman Mzilikazi Wa Afrika, Jessica Bezuidenhout and Andre Jurgens Two of the ANC's most powerful officials travelled to Iraq with a controversial Johannesburg businessman just weeks before he landed a R1.2-billion state oil deal. Sandi Majali is one of about 270 people around the world who have been named in an alleged sanctions-busting scam involving oil from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime. The names appeared in Iraqi State Oil Marketing Organisation documents found after the fall of Saddam. Majali, 41, who heads the media-shy empowerment company Imvume Resources, has for the...

Former Vice President Dick Cheney disagreed publicly with his boss just four times in the eight years they served together. Yesterday, however, on the first day after the official end of the Bush administration, Cheney disagreed with George W. Bush once more. Cheney told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that his former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, whom he described as a "victim of a serious miscarriage of justice," deserved a presidential pardon. Asked for his reaction to Bush's decision Cheney said: "Scooter Libby is one of the most capable and honorable men I've ever known. He's been an outstanding...

In a move that has keenly disappointed some of his strongest conservative allies, President Bush has decided not to pardon Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, for his 2007 conviction in the CIA leak case, two White House officials said Monday. On Bush's last full day as president, Bush did commute the sentence of two former Border Patrol agents—Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos—for shooting a Mexican drug dealer and then lying about it. But White House press spokesman Tony Fratto told NEWSWEEK "you should not expect any more" pardons and commutations from Bush before...

In a move that has keenly disappointed some of his strongest conservative allies, President Bush has decided not to pardon Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, for his 2007 conviction in the CIA leak case, two White House officials said Monday. On Bush's last full day as president, Bush did commute the sentence of two former Border Patrol agents—Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos—for shooting a Mexican drug dealer and then lying about it. But White House press spokesman Tony Fratto told NEWSWEEK "you should not expect any more" pardons and commutations from Bush before...

Commutations Ronald Henderson Blackley Bert Wayne Bolan Gloria Libia Camargo Charles F. Campbell David Ronald Chandler - federal death row inmate[1]. Lau Ching Chin Donald R. Clark Loreta De-Ann Coffman Derrick Curry Velinda Desalus Jacob Elbaum Linda Sue Evans Loretta Sharon Fish Antoinette M. Frink David Goldstein Gerard A. Greenfield Bob F. Griffin, former Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives, who was serving two years on bribery charges[3] Jodie E. Israel Kimberly Johnson Billy Thornton Langston Jr. Belinda Lynn Lumpkin Peter MacDonald - Navajo Chairman (sentence for 14 years in 1993 for fraud and racketeering convictions.) Kellie Ann Mann...

As the clock ticks down on his presidency, George W. Bush has shown few signs he plans to indulge in the frenzy of last-minute pardons that marked Bill Clinton’s final hours in the Oval Office. But Bush could quickly leap back into the spotlight in the next two days if he issues a blanket pardon immunizing CIA and military interrogators, as well as their bosses, from criminal prosecution over harsh treatment of prisoners from the war on terror. “I’m sure he’s under pressure from some people to issue blanket pardons,” Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) told Politico. “I don’t think it’s...

Mr. Bush, please listen to your federal prosecutor who doggedly tracked down a convicted drug smuggler in Mexico to convict Border Agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos for allegedly over-zealously shooting at the smuggler after a car chase and then a foot sprint back across the border. To many supporters of the Border Patrol, Prosecutor Sutton himself was guilty of overzealousness in pursuing a criminal conviction of these agents. But this is what Sutton says about the two agents rotting in prison after two years separation from wives, children, parents and life (with nearly a decade still to serve): I...

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, made a final plea this week to President George Bush to commute the sentences of jailed U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean. “Because of the excesses of the prosecution against them, they will continue to sit alone in those cells for another decade,” Cornyn wrote, according to a report in the WorldNetDaily. “That is unless President Bush commutes their unjust sentences. In his remaining days as president, I ask President Bush to show mercy and use his clemency power to give back Agents Ramos and Compean the next 10 years of their lives.”

Obama pick faces questions over bombers' clemencyBy PETE YOST Associated Press Writer Originally published Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 2:05 PM WASHINGTON — New York police detective Anthony S. Senft's life changed forever when a bomb set by Puerto Rican separatists exploded, blowing him 15 feet in the air and blinding him in one eye. Now, he's angry that Eric Holder, who played a key role in awarding clemency to the bombers, is in line to be attorney general. Holder, as President Bill Clinton's deputy attorney general, worked closely with the Justice Department's pardon attorney to raise the possibility of...

Many investors who have lost money as clients of the financier Bernard L. Madoff have done what anyone might be expected to do in that situation: seek recourse through the courts. But one potential victim, Marc Rich, is not likely to go that route because of his own legal issues. Mr. Rich is the commodities trader who fled to Switzerland in 1983 to escape prosecution for financial crimes and later received a pardon from President Bill Clinton on the last night of his administration in 2001.

Conventional wisdom last week decreed that President-elect Barack Obama had done such a fine job culling his Cabinet that only one pick - Attorney General-nominee Eric Holder - would present a problem, but most likely, a surmountable hurdle. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson - Obama's presumptive commerce secretary - stepped on that happy tale when he withdrew his name from consideration Sunday in the midst of a federal corruption probe. Back to Holder. Inside money would bet that Republicans will use Holder's Jan. 15 Senate confirmation hearing to grill him on his role in President Bill Clinton's notorious last-day-in-office pardon...

A White House letter tells the father his request on behalf of Sgt. Evan Vela will be 'seriously considered.' The father of an eastern Idaho soldier convicted of killing an unarmed Iraqi says the White House has confirmed that President Bush is considering a request for a pardon. Curtis Carnahan said he received a letter from the White House last week. "Please know that your views on this matter will be seriously considered," it said. Sgt. Evan Vela,a 24-year-old U.S. Army sniper,was convicted in February and sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian who stumbled...

Tis the pardon season. As the clock strikes midnight on his administration, Santa Bush gets to decide which convicted criminals have been naughty or nice. Being one of Santa’s elves, I have prepared a pardon list for his consideration. A presidential pardon for Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Richard Cheney, would be one of the most controversial. Although he was investigated for leaking the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame, Libby was not even indicted for that crime. Scooter was convicted of lying and obstructing the investigation into the actual leaker. Many people suspect that...

We're now entering the final phase of an outgoing administration. And during this phase, George W. Bush, mere mortal but still president, has the practically supernatural ability to grant pardons. This endows him with the power of life over death, of clemency over conviction. For one month more, President Bush will be able to right wrongs, show mercy and restore faith. For one month more, he will have the opportunity to pardon Sgt. Evan Vela, now serving 10 years in a military prison for what a court martial called "murder" but what I, along with many, many Americans, call war.

(CNN) -- A lawyer who served in the Clinton administration and more recently was an adviser to California's lieutenant governor pleaded guilty to a child porn charge in a San Diego federal court Monday. Wade Rowland Sanders admitted to having 600 images of minors on his computer, including a video depicting "several prepubescent females engaged in sexual conduct with an adult male and performing oral sex on one another," according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Karen Hewitt. FBI agents raided Sanders' home last May after they suspected his home Internet service account was used to download several pictures and...

A stunning photo of President Bush shaking hands with the father of pardoned - then unpardoned - housing scammer Isaac Toussie emerged Friday as the White House reeled from the embarrassing scandal. The full-color picture - obtained exclusively by the Daily News - was taken early this year. It shows a smiling Robert Toussie clasping the President's hand as they stand in front of an American flag.

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - President George W. Bush on Wednesday withdrew a pardon he granted for a real estate developer convicted of fraud after reports that the developer's family had given $40,000 in campaign contributions this year to the Republican Party and its candidates, including Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). The pardon for 37-year-old Isaac Toussie, who was sentenced in 2003 to five months in prison and five months of home detention, only lasted a day. The president granted pardons for 19 people on Tuesday, but then revoked Toussie's hours before Christmas Eve. Toussie had pleaded guilty in 2001 to falsifying...

Tuesday, President George W. Bush granted pardons to 19 people and commuted the sentence of one person, according to the Justice Department -- but the names of two jailed Border Patrol agents were conspicuously absent. Thus ended any hopes of a Christmas commutation of sentence for Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean in the shooting case of Mexican drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila. The president left the White House today for the Christmas holiday at the presidential retreat at Camp David. According to a Bloomberg report, however, President Bush could issue more presidential acts of clemency. The White House “didn’t rule out...

President George W. Bush today added a convicted methamphetamine dealer, a cocaine distributor and two marijuana suppliers to the list of drug operators he's pardoned while in office, bringing his total of drug suppliers who have been pardoned or had their sentences commuted to 36. He's also pardoned more than a dozen thieves, seven embezzlers, an arsonist, several mail thieves, a man who violated the Neutrality Act and eight Thanksgiving turkeys, but there's been no clemency for U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted of shooting at a fleeing drug smuggler. Andy Ramirez, of Friends...

WASHINGTON – Before leaving for the holidays, President Bush on Tuesday commuted the prison sentence of a drug offender and granted 19 pardons, including one to a man who helped the Jewish resistance in the 1940s. With this latest batch, which includes forgiveness for convictions ranging from gun and drug violations to bank and mail fraud, Bush has granted a total of 191 pardons and nine commutations. That's fewer than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Reagan issued during their two terms. Included in the latest list is Charles Winters, who is considered a hero in Israel. Winters, who...

Shep Smith reporting that Blago will pardon 22 people...

“The fact that the president has neglected to free these men from their imprisonment while freeing drug dealers, embezzlers and other criminals is insulting to the American people. For the sake of justice, let’s hope this is not the last round of pardons and commutations.” - Congressman Dana Rohrabacher Apparently some in the Bush Administration believe drug dealers, tax evaders and bank embezzlers are deserving of pardons...... but former Border Patrol Agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos - serving a combined 23 years for what Congressman Tom Tancredo described as "doing their jobs" - don't even deserve the time of...

Eric Holder, Jack Quinn and the Rich pardon (updated below - Update II) Two weeks ago, in a largely positive assessment about Obama's likely Attorney General nominee -- entitled "Preliminary facts and thoughts about Eric Holder" -- I wrote: Holder's involvement in the sleazy Marc Rich pardon is definitely a blemish, though, given his peripheral role, it's a relatively minor one. Since then, The New York Times has published two pieces -- an Op-Ed by George Lardner and this article today by Eric Lichtblau and David Johnston -- which make conclusively clear that the word "peripheral" is inaccurate. Though Holder...

White House Lobbied on Behalf of Those Seeking Pardons, Commutations By ARIANE de VOGUE President George W. Bush has less than two months to decide whether to pardon or commute the sentences of some high profile figures including former Illinois Governor George Ryan, former junk bond King Michael Milken, former Senator Randall "Duke" Cunningham, and accused terrorist John Walker Lindh for their crimes. Last week, Bush granted 14 pardons, but the list was comprised of little-known figures and made no mention of high-profile individuals who have formally petitioned the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney....

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) on Monday dismissed any concern that Attorney General nominee Eric Holder’s confirmation process would be haunted by the pardon of Marc Rich. Speaking at a press conference to praise President-elect Barack Obama’s nominations, Leahy singled out Holder as “a longtime friend” and an “especially fitting” choice to lead the Justice Department. He predicted Holder’s involvement in the 2001 pardon of Rich — a fugitive commodities trader granted clemency on President Bill Clinton’s last day in office — would play only a minor role in the upcoming hearings. Leahy acknowledged that, while the topic...

Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who rode into state office pledging to clean up the corruption of his predecessor, said today that President George W. Bush should commute the federal prison sentence of former Gov. George Ryan to time served as an act of compassion. Blagojevich, making a Thanksgiving Day appearance at the Chicago Christian Industrial League, contended Ryan had paid "a significant price" for what he termed "mistakes." Citing the frail health of Ryan's wife, Lura Lynn, and the 74-year-old former governor's health concerns, Blagojevich said a commutation by Bush would be a "fine decision."

One of the country's best known conservative legal scholars, Steven G. Calabresi, on Wednesday suggested "blanket pardons" for "all officials involved in making decisions bearing on the war on terror." Calabresi's proposal, made in an e-mail posted on Politico's Arena forum, was roundly denounced by many other commentators in the forum, providing a small taste of the reaction should President George W. Bush actually issue such a pardon. The president's pardon powers are considered absolute. Blanket pardons — covering groups of unnamed individuals — historically have been rare but are not unprecedented. President Jimmy Carter pardoned Vietnam-era draft evaders, calling...

From the archives: Tynes kicks up cause for jailed brother Myers: Giants kings on Super subway Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes wants one more unlikely victory in this Super Bowl year - and he's hoping the Bush administration can make it happen. Tynes, the hero of the NFC title game, seeks a White House order freeing his jailed brother Mark, a convicted drug trafficker doing 27 years.   Lawrence Tynes acknowledges his older brother's guilt but believes the sentence is overly harsh.  "The situation that Mark found himself in was partly due to his own mistakes," says newly hired lawyer Robert...

Family members, friends and lawyers for convicted ex-Gov. George Ryan are pushing a plea for clemency during the final weeks of the Bush administration.

Black Leader Condemns Bush for Not Pardoning or Commuting Sentences of Jailed Border Agents During Pre-Thanksgiving Round of Executive ClemencyWashington, D.C. - Project 21 Chairman Mychal Massie is condemning President Bush’s inaction regarding incarcerated Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean and is reiterating his call for a pardon or commutation of the agents' sentences before the President leaves office in January. Massie’s call comes as the White House has announced that President George W. Bush granted pre-Thanksgiving pardons to individuals involved in the distribution of drugs and bank embezzlement and commuted the sentences of two men given...

November 25, 2008, 9:45 a.m. Opposed to Holder without ApologyThe shameful pardons are disqualifying. By Andrew C. McCarthy I’ll concede this much to Lanny Davis: Last Friday night, during our Hannity & Colmes debate over President-Elect Barack Obama’s selection of Eric Holder to be the next Attorney General, Davis said (or I should say, screeched) that I’d soon be apologizing, and he’s right. I am sorry that our discussion degenerated into a screaming match. That’s wince-making television that doesn’t edify anyone. So I do apologize to anyone who had to endure that segment. But Davis’s hysterical suggestion that I...

WASHINGTON - On Nov. 24, 2008, President George W. Bush granted pardons to 14 individuals and commutation of sentence to two individuals:

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/November/08-opa-1048.html President George W. Bush Grants Pardons and Commutations WASHINGTON - On Nov. 24, 2008, President George W. Bush granted pardons to 14 individuals and commutation of sentence to two individuals: PARDONS: · Leslie Owen Collier - Charleston, Mo. Offense: Unauthorized use of a registered pesticide, 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(F) and 136l(b); violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. § 668(a). Sentence: Feb. 2, 1996; Eastern District of Missouri; two years’ probation and $10,000 in restitution. · Milton Kirk Cordes - Rapid City, S.D. Offense: Conspiracy to violate the...

President Bush, who apparently uses the same pen for veto’s and pardons, has given out 14 and commuted the sentences of 2 others. All were pretty much low level scumbags who pretty much hurt no one but themselves, but what about the border agents? Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., noted that the list also did not include former Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who were convicted of shooting a drug smuggler and trying to cover it up. Ramos and Compean are each serving sentences of more than 10 years for shooting Osvaldo Aldrete Davila in the buttocks while...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President George W. Bush's latest list of pardons does not include some high-profile criminals who still hope the president will grant them clemency in his final weeks in office. On Monday, Bush granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others whose misdeeds included dealing drugs, evading taxes, killing bald eagles or mishandling hazardous waste. The most recent batch, however, did not include any well-known convicts like junk bond dealer Michael Milken, who is seeking a pardon on securities fraud charges, or two politicians convicted of public corruption — former Rep. Randy "Duke"...

Sweeping Pardons 'Unnecessary' White House Is Disinclined to Grant Clemency to Officials Involved in Terror PoliciesWASHINGTON -- The White House isn't inclined to grant sweeping pardons for former administration officials involved in harsh interrogations and detentions of terror suspects, according to people familiar with the situation.

- - Tonight an outrageous move from the White House, President Bush pardoning 14 people, including drug dealers. But not former border patrol agents Ramos and Compean. DOBBS: President Bush today granted 14 pardons and he commuted two prison sentences. Five of those given clemency were convicted of serious drug charges. In what is an outrageous miscarriage of justice, former border patrols Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean serving lengthy prison sentences were not included on the president's list. They are serving those sentences for shooting and wounding an illegal alien drug dealer who they were pursuing and who was given...

With a backlog of applications piled up at the Justice Department, high-profile criminals and their well-connected lawyers increasingly are appealing directly to President Bush for special consideration on pardons and clemency, according to people involved in the process. Among those seeking presidential action are former junk-bond salesman Michael Milken, who hired former solicitor general Theodore B. Olson, one of the nation's most prominent GOP lawyers, to plead his case for a pardon on 1980s-era securities fraud charges. Two politicians convicted of public corruption, former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.) and four-term Louisiana governor Edwin W. Edwards (D), are asking Bush...

I received today via email, the scan of a sworn declaration from a confidential witness. The hard copy will be in my possession in a few days. Neither the name nor sex of the witness will be revealed at this time. The witness is prepared to testify and should testify in the confirmation hearings of Hillary Clinton and Eric Holder. A statement by the witness will be on YouTube in a few days with a voice that is disguised. The witness is willing to submit to a polygraph. Senator Arlen Specter has indicated that confirmation hearings will involve a serious...

WHEN President Bill Clinton pardoned a billionaire fugitive from justice on his last day in office, even usually loyal Democrats were dismayed. Representative Henry Waxman of California called it “bad precedent” and “an end run around the judicial process.” He said it appeared to set a double standard for the wealthy and powerful. The billionaire was Marc Rich, a commodities trader, and his pardon is a subject of discussion again because Eric Holder, Mr. Clinton’s deputy attorney general at the time[.]

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York and chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, has authored a resolution demanding that President Bush refrain from issuing “pre-emptive pardons of senior officials in his administration during the final 90 days of office.” The resolution, Nadler says, is in response to Bush’s “widespread abuses of power and potentially criminal transgressions against our Constitution.” The goal, he says, is to prevent “undeserved pardons of officials who may have been co-conspirators in the president’s unconstitutional policies, such as torture, illegal surveillance and curtailing of due process for defendants.” “This...

WHEN President Bill Clinton pardoned a billionaire fugitive from justice on his last day in office, even usually loyal Democrats were dismayed. Representative Henry Waxman of California called it “bad precedent” and “an end run around the judicial process.” He said it appeared to set a double standard for the wealthy and powerful. The billionaire was Marc Rich, a commodities trader, and his pardon is a subject of discussion again because Eric Holder, Mr. Clinton’s deputy attorney general at the time and a key figure in the clemency process, is reported to be Barack Obama’s choice for attorney general. In...

President Bush has disappointed his staunchest supporters no few times during his presidency, but nothing — not even his failed attempt to force a flawed immigration bill upon the nation — has been more disappointing than his refusal to pardon or commute the sentences of incarcerated border agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean. On Dec. 11, 29 convicted criminals received presidential pardons. They included persons convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud, and drug smugglers and dealers and a moonshiner. However, while Mr. Bush was willing to extend the ultimate gift of the season to corrupt criminal elements, he...

An unpardonable use of power By Sen. Russ Feingold Nov. 20, 2008 | If President Bush cares about his place in history, he should think twice before issuing pardons that call his judgment, and the integrity of the rule of law, into question. A departing president probably can't help thinking about the judgment of history. At the end of eight years, President Bush likely isn't any different. With the nation's attention focused on his successor, it may seem as if there is little opportunity left for the current president to affect how he will be viewed. But there is one...