Hypocrisy: Clinton Pardon Papers Remain Sealed

March 7, 2008 · Filed Under Politics

Hillary Clinton likes to accuse the Bush administration of excessive secrecy and a variety of alleged wrong doings, but it looks increasingly like she’s throwing stones from a glass house.

The Clinton Presidential Library withheld more than a thousand pages about clemency the former president granted during his last days in office—including a pardon to fugitive financier Marc Rich—from a batch of documents recently released to the public.

The library released 2,830 pages of documents this week on pardons President Bill Clinton considered for Rich and others during his last months in office. But the library withheld another 1,114 pages that archivists said would disclose confidential discussion of advice the former president received from advisers.

Bill Clinton issued 140 pardons and 36 commutations during the final hours of his administration, but Bill and Hillary have guarded the details of those pardons ever since. Hillary should take some of her own advice and let the sunlight in and be an example of the kind transparency she’s always recommending for others.

-Chris Jones