-Caveat Lector-
Money Said New to Pardon History
by CHRISTOPHER NEWTON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A direct descendant of the divine right of
monarchs, the presidential pardon is protected under the
Constitution from any need for justification. Its use has drawn
protests before, but those who study the history of executive
clemency say President Clinton's last-minute pardons have a
unique twist.
Never before has money been at the center of a pardon
controversy.
''To my knowledge, this is the first time that there has ever
been a pardon that was riddled with big money payoffs to
organizations connected to a president or people with links to
the president,'' said political historian Peter Carpenter of San
Jose, Calif., who formerly practiced law.
''That is part of the reason this situation is generating so much
heat,'' Carpenter said in an interview. ''There is a growing
sense of true impropriety -- not just bad judgment or political
back-rubbing like controversial pardons in the past.''
The furor began with the pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich,
whose former wife has given $450,000 to the Clinton library.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that lawyer Hugh Rodham,
Clinton's brother-in-law, received and then returned $400,000
from two pardon-seekers that he represented.
Hillary Rodham Clinton has acknowledged that her Senate campaign
treasurer had been paid $4,000 in legal fees to prepare two
pardon applications that were sent to the Justice Department.
The former president has denied any wrongdoing, saying all the
clemency decisions were made on the merits.
Historically, other pardons have sparked debate, and even
outrage.
When former President Ford pardoned former President Nixon for
the Watergate scandal in 1974, critics claimed he was protecting
a friend and one of the party faithful.
In 1863, Abraham Lincoln was accused of being too quick to
forgive, when he gave amnesty to Confederate soldiers during the
Civil War.
Former President Bush drew criticism for pardoning former Defense
Secretary Casper Weinberger and several other key figures in the
Iran-Contra affair in 1992.
But some historians differentiate between those pardon debates
and Clinton's situation. They say past controversies involved
larger issues that had taken root in the American conscience.
''Clinton couldn't use the need to put a national scandal behind
us as an excuse for his pardons,'' said Robert Speel, professor
of political science at Pennsylvania State University. ''The only
thing that is noteworthy is that a lot of these people have a lot
of money and seem to have close ties to Clinton.''
Harvard law professor Richard Fallon said the presence of money
justifies congressional investigation of the pardons, even though
the pardoning power is irreversible. Large amounts of money
changing hands raises the specter of the only charge that could
undermine a pardon -- bribery, he said.
''This power is capable of being abused and there is good reason
for at least being suspicious that powers were abused in this
case,'' said Fallon, who teaches constitutional law. ''Congress
needs to look into the question. I imagine that if Clinton
pardoned you for a crime after you gave him money, you could
still be charged with bribery. Although in this case, I would be
astonished if there were anything that would tie him that tightly
to a money deal.''
Some other specialists say Clinton may just be the victim of
heightened political awareness. There may be dubious money
connections to other pardons hidden in history if you read
between the lines, said Texas Christian University political
scientist James Riddlesperger.
''Unlike presidents of the past, our presidents live in a glass
house,'' Riddlesperger said. ''Everything they do is subject to
close examination. In the past, presidents benefited from not
being subject to careful inspection. There could be other money
ties, and this has just been the first to be discovered.''
AP-NY-02-24-01 0037EST<
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