-Caveat Lector-
Can Bush Undo a Pardon?
Rollback: The new team eyes ways to keep the heat on Marc Rich
By Daniel Klaidman and Mark Hosenball
NEWSWEEK
Feb. 5 issue — Bill Clinton had done it one last time: left the
GOP hopping mad. When the exiting president issued his
eleventh-hour pardon of Marc Rich, the fugitive financier living
in Switzerland, Republicans immediately went on the attack,
accusing Clinton of abusing power and once again diminishing the
dignity of the Oval Office.
EVEN MORE FRUSTRATING: there was nothing they could do about it.
The pardon was a done deal the moment Clinton signed it.
Or so it appeared. Just days after the pardon was announced,
NEWSWEEK has learned, a handful of Bush Justice Department
lawyers began searching for a way to block it. Young and
zealous, they hit the law books, convinced they could find
something that would give their new boss the power to undo the
damage. They found what they were looking for in a series of
obscure, 19th-century court cases. According to the Bush
lawyers’ interpretation, a pardon is much like a warrant—it must
be served on the person or his lawyer to be valid. Some of
Clinton’s pardons, though signed by the president, hadn’t been
processed at the Justice Department and awaited delivery. Rich’s
was among them. The discovery touched off a weekend debate among
Justice lawyers. Could—or should—Bush order the department not to
deliver Rich’s pardon to his lawyer, thereby invalidating it?
It was more than just an academic debate. What would the
political fallout be if the new president simply brushed aside
the judgment of his predecessor? Some argued Bush shouldn’t even
try, since it would inevitably touch off a media and legal
hailstorm that would distract the president from his agenda.
Then again, the move might enjoy bipartisan support—and could
endear Bush to prosecutors. By Saturday night, sources told
NEWSWEEK, the lawyers were still hunkered down, arguing the pros
and cons.
CLINTON HANGOVER
It was the latest twist in a week during which the Clinton
hangover competed hard for attention with Bush’s first days.
The former president may have retired to New York, but he left
behind enough controversy and ill will to keep him front and
center on talk TV—and Capitol Hill—for weeks.
Rep. Dan Burton, the conservative Indiana Republican who made a
career of investigating Clinton’s questionable behavior, fueled
the controversy, announcing he would begin an official inquiry of
the Rich pardon. The facts of the case certainly provoked
questions. Why would Clinton want to help an indicted tax
swindler living on the lam? It probably didn’t hurt that Rich’s
ex-wife had given generously to Bill and Hillary Clinton’s
campaigns. But according to Clinton aides, it was former White
House counsel Jack Quinn, hired by Rich, who persuaded the
president to give Rich the nod—despite opposition from Justice
Department officials. Now Burton and other Republicans want to
know why he made the list. Burton has already sent a letter to
the Justice Department asking for documents on the case, and has
requested copies of Quinn’s billing records.
Quinn says he’ll cooperate with any investigation. A spokesman
added Quinn was so moved by Rich’s arguments that he did not
charge him for his work over the last several months.
Clinton is also taking heat for shortening the prison sentences
of four men convicted of swindling the government out of millions
of dollars. The men, Hasidic Jews from New Square, a small
village outside New York City, had set up a phony religious
school and used it to steal federal grants. Republicans now
accuse Hillary of buying the town’s votes with promises of
shortened jail time for their brethren. In November, New Square
had voted overwhelmingly for Hillary, while surrounding Hasidic
towns voted 20 to 1 for her opponent. Last August, Mrs.
Clinton visited New Square and met with its spiritual leader,
Rabbi David Twersky. But her spokesman, Howard Wolfson, insists
she first heard about the imprisoned men after the election, when
Twersky visited the Oval Office shortly before Christmas to push
the president for clemency.
WHITE HOUSE IN RUINS?
There was one small consolation for Clinton: his staff may not
have trashed the White House quite as badly as the Bushies
claimed earlier in the week. They said they found the place in
ruins, with power cords ripped from machines and furniture
destroyed. In fact, aside from a few lame attempts at humor—W’s
were removed from some computer keyboards—the offices were
intact, as Clinton transition staff hastened to announce. The
specter of scandalous behavior, the justifications and spin—maybe
private life won’t be all that different for Clinton after all.
=================================================================
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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