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White House Withholding Documents on Pardons August 28, 2002 By ELISABETH BUMILLER WASHINGTON, Aug. 27 - Bush administration officials said today that they were keeping secret more than 4,000 pages of Justice Department documents related to a flurry of last-minute pardons by President Bill Clinton to protect the right of all presidents to private deliberations. The conservative group Judicial Watch has been seeking the documents since last year in an effort to determine the propriety of Mr. Clinton's actions, which included his much-criticized pardon of Marc Rich, the fugitive financier charged with evading $48 million in taxes. But in court papers filed this month in United States District Court here, administration officials said they were withholding the documents under an exemption in the Freedom of Information Act that they said protected documents related to presidential pardons, even if the documents were generated outside the White House and the president had not seen them. Disclosure of the documents, Justice Department officials said in the court filing, would have a "chilling effect" on counsel that advisers might give a president concerning pardons. The filings by the administration were first reported by The Washington Post. "The pardon power is exclusively granted to the president," said Susan Dryden, a Justice Department spokeswoman. "Any information, any advice and any memos would be part of the deliberative process. We want to preserve the integrity of that process." Judicial Watch officials said that the administration's response was only its latest effort to clamp down on information that should be available to the public, and complained that the White House was trying to expand the scope of the president's privilege to deliberate privately with advisers. A Judicial Watch official also said the Bush administration was, for its own purposes, covering up the previous administration's "misbehavior." "I don't think they want to be seen as going after the Clinton administration," said Tom Fitton, the president of Judicial Watch. Former members of the Clinton administration quietly praised the Bush administration's position today. They noted, however, that releasing the pardon information would bring enormous pressure on Vice President Dick Cheney to turn over documents demanded by Congress as part of the investigation into any corporate influence in the formulation of the Bush administration's energy policy. The General Accounting Office, an arm of Congress, sued Mr. Cheney in February to force the White House to reveal the identities of energy industry executives who helped the administration develop a national energy policy last year. Mr. Cheney has maintained that the accounting office is overstepping its authority and that he has a right to keep the documents secret to preserve his ability to get "unvarnished" advice from outside consultants. Judicial Watch officials said they would continue to pursue their case in court. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/28/politics/28PARD.html?ex=1031536146&ei=1&en=d46a162d3bed217a HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
