Arkansas Blog

His first job may be identifying all the Robertson U. grads, mostly incompetents, and finding other employment for them. It will take a long time to uncover all the unqualified, incompetent political operatives Rove installed throughout the DOJ.

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Chiquita

Agreed eLwood.
First day, go to HR and find all Regency University grads.
Second day, fire them all.
Third day, hire qualified individuals.

Big mistake on Obama's part. As Deputy Attorney General, Eric Holder effectively approved of Bill Clinton's sale of pardons to fugitives from justice in return for donations to the Clinton Library. He is corrupt.

An AG opposed to the death penalty is good with me (not that the position gives you the power to get rid of them, but it does give you some influence over reducing the number of executions...at least in federal cases).

The Chiquitta issue is disturbing, but let's keep in mind that the company was paying FARC because of extortion, not out of support. When your options are "pay us 'protection money'" or "we will burn your plantation and execute your employees" and the central government can't stop the rebel group from doing that, you have a serious ethical dilemna on your hands....

Mr/Ms AR Blogger:
Where is your evidence that he 'effectively approved" the pardon you are questioning? What does effectively mean in this case anyway?
Where is your evidence of a "sale of pardons"? Is that like all the furniture and keyboard 'w's that were missing later to be proven false by the GAO?
Was Mr. Rich singular or plural - you said sale of pardons - who were the other fugitives?
Were contributions to Clinton for the library or were they for previous campaigns or both?
Mr. Obama makes few mistakes, this is certainly not one of them. The mistake is your rush to judgement on non-existent evidence but lots of suppositions.

Janus, courtesy of the Grey Lady:

March 13, 2002
Panel Says Top Justice Dept. Aide Held Information on Rich's Pardon

By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
A forthcoming Congressional report on the last-minute pardons by President Bill Clinton says Deputy Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. was a ''willing participant in the plan to keep the Justice Department from knowing about and opposing'' a pardon for Marc Rich, the financier.

The 476-page report, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, harshly criticizes the Clinton White House for its handling of the 177 pardons and commutations granted on its last day.

But the report, by the House Government Reform Committee -- whose chairman is Dan Burton, the Indiana Republican who was a persistent critic of Mr. Clinton -- also takes the Bush administration to task for refusing to turn over pardon-related documents that may shed light on the White House deliberations. Mr. Clinton does not oppose the release of those documents.

The most controversial pardon went to Mr. Rich, a commodities trader who fled the country in 1983 rather than face trial on charges of tax evasion, racketeering and trading with the enemy. The report says that Mr. Rich's lawyers tried to circumvent prosecutors, who would oppose the pardon, and take their case straight to the White House.

Mr. Holder, the report says, played a major role, steering Mr. Rich's lawyers toward Jack Quinn, a former White House counsel. Mr. Rich hired Mr. Quinn, whose Washington contacts and ability to lobby the president made the difference, according to the report. It says that Mr. Holder's support for the pardon and his failure to alert prosecutors of a pending pardon were just as crucial.

The report says Mr. Holder became involved through a chance encounter with Gershon Kekst, a prominent public relations strategist who has advised Mr. Rich since 1997. The two men were seated together at a DaimlerChrysler dinner in November 1998, and Mr. Kekst asked what advice Mr. Holder had for someone who had been ''improperly indicted by an overzealous prosecutor.'' Mr. Holder recommended hiring ''a lawyer who knows the process, he comes to me, and we work it out.'' The report acknowledges that Mr. Holder did not realize he was speaking to someone in the Rich camp.

Pressed for a name, the report says, Mr. Holder pointed to Mr. Quinn nearby, saying: ''There's Jack Quinn. He's a perfect example.''

Mr. Holder's lawyer, Reid Weingarten, says the exchange was innocent. He said his client ''was at a Chrysler dinner, and a total stranger came up to him and engaged him in conversation about how the world works and mentions Jack Quinn.''

''Eric said positive things about Jack,'' Mr. Weingarten said. ''But the idea that he was hustling business for Jack Quinn didn't happen.''

The panel criticized Mr. Holder's conduct as unconscionable and cited several problems. It cited his admission last year that he had hoped Mr. Quinn would support his becoming attorney general in a Gore administration.

The report quoted an e-mail message on Nov. 18, 2000, that Mr. Quinn sent others on the Rich team as they wrote the pardon petition. In the message, Mr. Quinn recounts speaking to ''Eric'' the night before. ''He says go straight to wh. also says timing is good,'' Mr. Quinn wrote, using shorthand for the White House.

Mr. Weingarten said Mr. Holder did nothing improper. ''Eric never told Jack Quinn or anyone else to circumvent the Justice Department,'' he said.

The report faults Mr. Quinn for lobbying the White House at all in light of prevailing ethics rules that barred top aides from lobbying former colleagues for five years after leaving government. Mr. Quinn argued that the rules allowed flexibility for judicial proceedings. But Judge Denny Chin of United States District Court in Manhattan ruled in December that Mr. Quinn's role was more lobbying than lawyering.

The report also recommends that the Justice Department review its findings of ''a number of potential violations of law'' by Roger Clinton, Mr. Clinton's half-brother, in light of the criminal investigation being conducted by the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

The report said, for example, that Mr. Clinton, a musician, had failed to register as a lobbyist for two companies that paid him $30,000 to contact his brother and other officials about easing restrictions on dealings with Cuba. The ''consulting agreement'' that Mr. Clinton signed describes him as being ''in the business of providing counsel and advice in the areas of International Business Relations with respect to the importing and exporting of goods to and from the United States.''

Roger Clinton's lawyer, Bart Williams, said he would not comment until he had read the report.

The report provides the fullest account yet of Roger Clinton's involvement in pardons. Of 15 cases studied, the panel found 8 where he had weighed in. ''Roger Clinton repeatedly treated his relationship to President Clinton as a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder,'' it said.

One episode documented by the committee concerned his efforts to obtain a $35,000-a-month contract from a local government group to help it snare a high-level administration official for a symposium.

The report also criticizes the ''recalcitrance'' of the Bush White House for refusing to turn over pardon-related documents that even Mr. Clinton has not sought to block. One batch pertains to Rosario Gambino, a heroin trafficker.

Roger Clinton lobbied heavily on his behalf at the Parole Commission and received cash and favors from the inmate's family. President Clinton did not grant Mr. Gambino a pardon or commutation. But an aide ordered a background check, indicating that he was being considered.

A White House spokeswoman, Anne Womack, said some unproduced files were highly sensitive and had yet to be formally requested by the committee.

Janus,
Holder was in charge of previewing many of Clinton's pardons, and did approve the most controversial one, Mark Rich (although it wasn't exactly an enthusiastic approval). The "sale of pardons" is an unproven claim by rightwingers that influential people were donating money to the library funds in return for their "chosen ones" to be released.

Of course Clinton pardon of Rich was bad (whether purchased or not).. as was Ford/Nixon and all the Iran Contra pardons.

Mark Rich was pardoned with support of many folks, including Holder and Scooter Libby. The same kind Liebermanesque bipartisanship which has come to pass as centrist in this country.

Pardons are supposed to be issued (though not written in stone) after time served.. certainly not to coverup or not before convictions.

This is so far from change... we can't even afford to talk like that anymore.

Putting Bill Clinton's wife and Eric Holder together in the Obama cabinet will re-open the can of worms from the pardons-for-sale scandal. There are still many unanswered questions, so I can't wait 'til the Senate begins confirmation hearings. It will be kind of like the good old days.

With Hillary as Secretary of State, Roger Clinton will be able to get back into his old business of selling black-cover diplomatic passports.

THIS just in - Holder recuses: William Ayers accepts position of O'Bama's Attorney General!!! Right Wingnuts experience simultaneous, spontaneous head explosions. Film at 10!!!
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PumpkinCarver,

Didn't Marc Rich commit treason by outing a CIA operative?

Oh, no! It was Scooter Libby! Who was pardoned by GWB!

Get a grip...

RingDing - Libby was not pardoned. His sentence was commuted.

Ring Ding... Libby was Rich's pardon attorney..

It is so good to see that a new standard is being applied to ensure that only merit is considered when filling positions in the obama regime. We want change and we certainly have gotten a change---No White Boys Need Apply!

Aw yes. He's a good attorney and an ethical man but one of the biggest complaints about him is that he didn't prosecute that many corruption trials when he was the US Attorney for DC.