More remembering of the Clinton pardon ugliness

Thanks to this post at Pardon Power, I see another commentary today recalling the pardon scandal that Bill Clinton created his last day as president.  Though this op-ed, titled "Remembering and then forgetting the Clintons," covers a range of issues, and these excerpts highlight the pardon story:

Before Bill and Hillary jetted to their new New York home following George W. Bush's inauguration, he told supporters and former administration officials at a crowded Andrews Air Force Base hangar, "We are not going anywhere!"... The thought at the time was that he who would be free of the White House's trappings and scandals and could help propel the Democrats back to power as the majority party in Congress. 

But, when presented with a fresh start, Clinton made no use of it.  The same clouds of scandal and controversy, which cast shadows over HIS entire presidency set in at the beginning of his post-presidency.  Clinton garnered unwanted publicity for a greedy duo of mini-scandals first, by lifting several thousands of dollars of White House furniture and his pursuance of a high-priced office in a palatial New York City high-rise. 

Then there was his pardon of fugitive-financier Marc Rich, who had been on the run for evading millions of dollars in taxes and doing business with the Iranian government while it held American hostages? There was an indissoluble link between the pardon and the millions of dollars given to the Clintons by Rich's ex-wife, Denise, through campaign contributions, donations to the presidential library and even personal gifts. Despite his assurances at the time to the contrary, the pardon had all the appearances of a quid pro quo.  Clinton was on his own, calling friendly reporters and opinion-makers trying to explain his pardon.

Democrats, who had defended all of Clinton's intolerable actions in office, openly castigated the former president. Daily, Democratic members of Congress made the rounds on the 24-hour cable news channels to express their disgust for Clintons' departing actions.  Even The New York Times reported at the time that the Clinton/Rich scandal had a dramatic impact on the Democratic Party's fund-raising efforts. Various donors, who were being hit up at the time for campaign cash, cited the "cash for pardons" scandal as a key factor in their decision not to give.

Shortly after he left office Democrats just wanted Clinton to go away, because — they'd had enough.  Just last week, Hillary all but guaranteed that her husband wouldn't be the source of scandal in her White House if she was elected president. How could she be so confident?  She can't control him when he's out on the campaign trail.

Some recent related posts:

• When will the various Clinton clemency scandals become a campaign issue?
• "McNamee's Lawyer Predicts Clemens Pardon"
• The sad (unpardonable) state of compassion in the Bush Administration
• Will the new US Pardon Attorney "scandal" garner any serious attention?
• Editorial on presidential pardon practices
• Pardon politics and the 2008 campaign