| For Immediate Release Jan 8, 2001 |
Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
Bush Justice Department Not Likely To Pursue Public Corruption Issues Bush Suggests He Will Pardon Bill Clinton (Washington, DC) Today, when asked whether he would pardon Bill Clinton, President-elect George W. Bush stated (see Associated Press story of January 9, 2001, �Bush: No Pardon Needed for Clinton�): (Click here) �Here�s my view [about pardoning Bill Clinton],� Bush told reporters after meeting in the Texas capital with his foreign policy team and members of Congress: �I think it�s time to get all of this business behind us. I think it�s time to allow the president to finish his term, and let him move on and enjoy life and become an active participant in the American system. And I think we�ve had enough focus on the past. It�s time to move forward. �But the suggestion that I would pardon somebody who has never been indicted, that doesn�t make any sense to me.� Indeed, President-elect Bush�s last statement, that a pardon for Bill Clinton is not necessary since he has not [yet] been indicted, strongly suggests that he will pardon Bill Clinton. Previously, Mr. Bush made similar statements. During the campaign, Governor Bush showed little interest in ethics issues and, in fact, stated: �While it�s clear that Al Gore engaged in a number of questionable fund raising activities and gave the FBI statements that continue to raise the issue of credibility, the American people are sick and tired of all these scandals and investigations. The best way to put all these scandals and investigations behind us is to elect someone new. I�m running to uphold the honor and dignity of the White House.� After the Republican Convention, William Safire, in an article entitled �Exegesis of Acceptance� of August 7, 2000, wrote: Running against Washington. The Yale graduate and child of privilege assumed, Jimmy Carter style, a hardscrabble pose to assert that his �background may lack the polish of Washington.� And then, following a focus-group distaste for controversy;, he dissociated himself from all investigations into Clinton-Gore scandals, including illegal fund-raising: �I have no stake in the bitter arguments of the last few years.� Republicans on the unpopular ramparts of the rule of law were coolly informed he preferred �civility and respect.� �It is clear that any Bush Justice Department is not likely to pursue government corruption issues. Apparently, the future President is so fixated on social welfare programs such as social security, health care and tax cuts, that the rule of law means little or nothing to him,� stated Judicial Watch Chairman and General Counsel Larry Klayman. | |