Hillary-ous Hypocrisy

by Bob Capano, Brooklyn YRs

In the beginning of July, Senator Clinton (D) expressed all kinds of outrage over President Bush’s decision to commute the sentence of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby. However, to this day, she has not expressed the same outrage over any former President Clinton’s many questionable pardons and commutations during his last days in office.

The most outrageous was her husband’s decision on August 11, 1999 to commute the sentences of 16 members of FALN, a violent Puerto Rican nationalist group that set off 120 bombs in the U.S., mostly in New York City and Chicago, who were convicted for conspiracies to commit robbery, bomb-making, and sedition, as well as for firearms and explosives violations.

Whether or not one agrees with President Bush’s decision relating to Mr. Libby, it seems clear that at least the same outrage, and I certainly believe more, should have been expressed by Senator Clinton regarding President Bill Clinton’s decision to free these members of FALN. As I noted in 1999 in a “letter to the editor” to various local newspapers, President Clinton’s decision was opposed by the two U.S. attorneys in the jurisdictions where the FALN members were convicted, and Justice Department officials who reviewed the case.

Of course, Hillary probably thought that doing so would cost her the Puerto Rican vote in New York for her first Senate race. America needs leaders who will do the right thing for the country and not a Senator (or President) who will offer commutations and pardons, or condemn them, for purely political reasons. Clearly, Hillary Clinton with her actions this week once again proves that she is not one of these leaders.

Bob Capano is Recording Secretary of the NYSYR and President of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club.