President Bill Clinton was widely critized for some pardons and other acts of executive clemency; collectively, these are popularly known as Pardongate.

FALN Pardons of 1999

On August 11 1999, Clinton commuted the sentences of 16 members of FALN, a violent Puerto Rican nationalist group that set off bombs several times in New York City and Chicago, convicted for conspiracies to commit robbery, bomb-making, and sedition, as well as for firearms and explosives violations. [1] None of the 16 were convicted of bombings or any crime which injured another person, and all of the 16 had served 19 years or longer in prison, which was a longer sentence than such crimes typically received, according to the White House. Clinton offered clemency, on condition that the prisoners renounce violence, at the appeal of 10 Nobel Peace Prize laureates, President Jimmy Carter, the cardinal of New York, and the archbishop of Puerto Rico. The commutation was opposed by U.S. Attorney's Office, the FBI, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons and criticised by many including former victims of FALN terrorist activities, the Fraternal Order of Police [2], members of Congress, and Hillary Clinton in her campaign for Senator. [3] Congress condemned the action, with a vote 95-2 in the Senate and 311-41 in the House. [4] [5] U.S. House Committee on Government Reform held an investigation on the matter. The Justice Department prevented the FBI from testifying at the hearings.[6] President Clinton cited executive privilege for his refusal to turn over some documents to Congress related to his decision to offer clemency to members of the FALN terrorist group.

Final Day in Office Pardons

Clinton gave 140 pardons on his last day of office.[7] It is common practice for Presidents to grant a number of pardons shortly before leaving office. Some of these pardons were controversial. Carlos Vignali was pardoned for cocaine trafficking. Marc Rich, a fugitive, was pardoned of tax evasion, after clemency plea from Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and his brother Roger Clinton. Susan McDougal, who had already completed her sentence, was pardoned for her role in the Whitewater scandal; McDougal had served 18 months on contempt charges for refusing to testify about Clinton's role.

See also

• List of scandals suffixed with gate