From JUDICIAL WATCH
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2/26/2001 Press Office
202-646-5172

JUDICIAL WATCH AND BOB BARR JOIN TO BLOCK 44 PARDONS

Case Law Establishes That Pardons of Braswell, Roger Clinton, Henry Cisneros, Susan McDougal and Others Are Void and Invalid

(Washington, DC) Judicial Watch, Inc., the public interest watchdog that investigates and prosecutes government abuse and corruption, has joined with Congressman Bob Barr to pursue justice in the Pardongate scandal. With Judicial Watch's assistance, on February 20, 2001, Congressman Barr wrote this letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft:

The Honorable John Ashcroft
Attorney General
United States Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20530

In Re: Review of Former President Clinton's January 20, 2001 Clemency Grants

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

Thank you very much for taking my call today, and agreeing to look into this matter. As I indicated, on February 9, 2001, I wrote to you about former President Clinton's attempt to grant pardons for the 44 persons set forth in the attached letter dated February 6, 2001 from the Department of Justice Office of Legislative Affairs to the House of Representatives Government Reform Committee Chairman Dan Burton (Exhibit 1). As I pointed out,

Contrary to long-established and consistent precedent, former President Clinton did not issue separate clemency grants for each individual. Instead he signed a single document entitled, ŒExecutive Grant of Clemency, listing 138 persons by name, under the following statement:

AFTER CONSIDERING THE REQUESTS for executive clemency of the following named persons, I hereby grant full and unconditional pardons to the following named persons for those offenses against the United States described in each such request: As a result, and as further explained in my February 9, 2001 letter, these 44 persons could not - and did not ­ receive pardons. While the Department has not responded to my letter of February 9, 2001, on February 14, 2001 Chairman Dan Burton was advised by Acting Assistant Attorney General Sheryl L. Walter that the Department of Justice was proceeding to prepare and issue warrants to effect the attempted pardons (Exhibit 2). Incredibly, in her letter, Ms. Walter admits that the Department of Justice is unable to determine the nature and scope of the pardon for each individual based upon President Clinton¹s failure to describe the acts subject to pardon. Instead, much like Florida canvassing boards during the 2000 Presidential election, the Department has set out to divine Mr. Clinton's intent. This is patently ­ and constitutionally ­ improper.

Well-established case law demonstrates that presidential pardons are ­ and can only be ­ effective to the crimes specified in the President's pardon, here his "Executive Grant of clemency." See, e.g., Ex Parte Weimer, 29 F.Cas. 597, 598 (C.C.E.D. Wisc. 1878) (No. 17,362); Stetler's Case, 22 F.Cas. 1314, 1315-16 (C.C.E.D. Pa. 1852) (13,380) (Exhibit 3). Further, the law is clear that a pardon does not take effect until the warrant is issued, delivered and accepted. U.S. v. Wilson, 32 U.S. 150 (1833); In re DePuy, 7 F.Cas. 506 (D.C.S.D.N.Y. 1869) (3,814) (Exhibit 4). In this case, a warrant cannot be issued and delivered without knowing what was the express basis of the pardon. Finally, until the pardon is delivered, the President may cancel it. This applies even to a pardon issued by a President's predecessor in office. See, Id.

For all of these reasons, I urge you to reject the attempted pardons by President Clinton for the 44 enumerated individuals, particularly under the circumstances, where pardons were issued for political purposes and possibly in exchange for campaign contributions and other forms of remuneration (Exhibit 5). Also, insofar as it would be impossible to divine President Clinton's intent from the pardon document he issued, your staff would in effect be unconstitutionally exercising the pardon power by substituting the judgment of an inferior government official for that of the only person constitutionally empowered to grant a pardon ­ the President himself. If the President does not properly exercise a power only he possesses, another official cannot step in and correct his mistakes.

For the above reasons, and with all due respect, if you allow these pardons to proceed and warrants to issue and be delivered, a great injustice will have been done, and an unfortunate precedent will have been set. If the Office of the Attorney General does not act to prevent this, further steps may be initiated to prevent this result.

Thank you for your interest, and an early response to my inquiries, before the Department of Justice issues and serves the warrants for the attempted pardons at issue.

With warm regards, I remain,

very truly yours, BOB BARR
Member of Congress

Judicial Watch trusts that Attorney General John Ashcroft will not be prevented by President George W. Bush to pursue justice and not process the 44 attempted pardons at issue, which include but are not limited to the following persons: Tansukhlal "Tom" Bhakta, Almon Glenn Braswell, John Bustamante, Henry Cisneros, Roger Clinton, John F. Cross, Jr., Richard Douglas, Edward R. Downe, Jr., Alvarez Ferrouillett, Lloyd Reid George, John J. Hemmingson, Linda Jones, James H. Lake, James T. Maness, Susan McDougal, Richard H. Pezzopane, Charles "Pug" D. Ravenel, Adolph Schwimmer, Stephen A. Smith, John Fife Symington, III, Christopher V. Wade, Jack L. Williams, Jimmie Lee Wilson, William Stanley Yingling, Velinda Desalus, Kimberly D. Johnson, Arnold Paul Prosperi, Dorothy Rivers, Thomas W. Waddell, III, Ricky Lee Cunningham, Rubye Lee Gordon, John Robert Martin, Frank Ayala Martinez, Sylvia Leticia Beltran Martinez, Miguelina Ogalde, Orville Rex Phillips, Howard Winfield Riddle, Gerald Glen Rust, Jerri Ann Rust, Gary Allen Thomas, Larry Weldon Todd, Patricia A. Van De Weerd, Mitchell Couey Wood.

"The President must change his attitude and approach to justice, since illegal bribes and other improprieties are something which cannot be condoned by any administration,"stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman.

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