Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Giuliani convicts, Clinton lacks conviction

From the Boston Globe: "Pardons re-emerge as issue in Clinton run"

President Clinton's pardons have been a political issue for Hillary Clinton because of her ties to a number of the cases. In addition to the people who paid her brothers, those receiving pardons included commodities trader Marc Rich, a fugitive who was prosecuted for tax evasion by then-US Attorney Rudolph Giuliani and fled to Switzerland. Rich was pardoned after his former wife, Denise Rich, contributed heavily to Hillary Clinton's Senate campaign.

Controversy over the pardons was reignited last week after Hollywood mogul and former Clinton supporter David Geffen criticized the Clintons for the Rich pardon.

"It is a legitimate campaign issue," said Stephen Gillers, professor of legal ethics at New York University School of Law. He said that Hillary Clinton should answer questions about her brothers' and her own involvement in the pardons because "the stench of the Marc Rich pardon still stinks and it has never been adequately explained."
Boy howdy, can you imagine this issue coming up during a Rudy-Hillary presidential debate? That's hot.

Extra - From RCP Blog: "Giuliani out front, Obama gaining on Hillary"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hidey ho, if you really think Guiliani's record as a prosecutor looms as a trump card over Hillary Clinton in a debate, you haven't taken more than a cursory look at Guiliani's record as a prosecutor.

Hillary's tawdry husband also pardoned a guy who'd been indicted by Guiliani named Salim Lewis... check out the merits of that case sometime. The ethical "stench" blows both ways.