Obama's AG Choice was Key Figure in Clinton Terrorist Clemency Controversy

Thursday, November 20, 2008
By Matthew Cover

(CNSNews.com) – Eric Holder, the long-time Washington lawyer chosen by President-elect Barack Obama to be the next attorney general, was a central figure in the controversy surrounding the clemency petitions of 16 convicted terrorists during the Clinton administration.

Holder, who was deputy attorney general from 1997 until 2001, oversaw all of the requests for clemency filed during those years, including requests from former domestic terrorists, drug traffickers and a number of disgraced politicians.

Most notable among the petitions for clemency granted during Holder’s tenure is the request from 16 members of a Puerto Rican Marxist terrorist group, the Armed Forces of National Liberation, known by its Spanish acronym FALN, which engaged in a robbery and terror campaign in both the U.S. and Puerto Rico during the 1970s and 1980s.

The clemency petition, which was supported by Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-N.Y.), Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) and Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), became the subject of fiery controversy after it was revealed that none of the convicted terrorists had renounced violence and that their victims had not been consulted during the clemency process.

The clemency petition was opposed by the FBI, the U.S. attorneys who had prosecuted the terrorists, and even the Justice Department’s own Office of Pardon Attorney – an office that was established to deal with the Clinton administration's overwhelming number of pardon requests.

As deputy attorney general, Holder was responsible for overseeing the investigations of the individuals filing for clemency in order to determine whether or not their requests should be granted by then President Bill Clinton, who possesses the constitutional authority to grant pardons.

A report issued by the House Committee on Government Reform on Dec. 12, 1999 states that senior Justice Department officials met with those who were asking for clemency for the terrorists, but the victims of the FALN were denied meetings.

“Victims were unable to get meetings with the White House or Department of Justice,â€