Hillary Clinton was complicit with Bill in his final days as president in 2001 in granting pardons to terrorists, drug dealers, swindlers and members of the Arkansas mob in exchange for monetary gain and political advantage.

Hillary’s brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, orchestrated some of these pardons. Hugh Rodham convinced Bill to pardon Carlos Anabel Vignali who was sentenced to fifteen years for shipping half a ton of cocaine to Minnesota; Hugh received 200,000 dollars from Vignali’s father. Hugh netted another 200,000 dollars when he secured a pardon for Almon Glenn Braswell who had been sentenced to three years for fraudulent business practices. Hillary’s other brother, Tony Rodham, secured the pardons of Edward and Vonna Jo Gregory, who had been imprisoned for bank fraud; the released convicts gave 102,000 dollars to Hillary and the Democrats. Given the Clintons’ proven track record for deceit and corruption and the obvious quid pro quo in these transactions, it is difficult to believe Hillary’s denial of any knowledge of her brothers’ role in the pardons.

Hillary also participated in the release of convicted terrorists when she believed this would help her 2000 election campaign as senator of New York. In order to obtain votes of Puerto Ricans and Hispanics for his wife, Bill extended pardons to sixteen members of the terrorist FALNC (The Armed Forces of National Liberation); fourteen were accepted. From 1974 to 1983, the FALNC conducted 130 bomb attacks in Chicago, New York and Washington—many of these targeted law enforcement agencies. Hillary expressed her support for these pardons before public pressure mounted against them; at that point she tried to distance herself. Yet, it is obvious she was working with her husband in order to win the goodwill of a New York constituency.

A similar situation was replicated when Bill attempted to win over the Hasidic community for Hillary’s Senate election. He pardoned four New York Square leaders who had been convicted of swindling 40 million dollars of taxpayer money for their religious school. Hillary was present when Bill met Hasidic leaders at the White House in December 2000 but claims “she did not speak at the meeting.” This defense is pure farce.

In the last days of the Clinton presidency, 140 pardons were granted to an assortment of crooks—some of these being members of the Arkansas mob. Susan McDougal, convicted in the Whitewater scandal, was also pardoned. And the billionaire Marc Rich was pardoned while his wife, Denise, gave the Democratic Party 1 million dollars and a huge sum to the Clinton library.

The previous scandals pale in comparison to this last-ditch attempt to maximize the power the Clintons could exercise to their advantage. These brazen actions demonstrate the extent of the Clintons’ ruthlessness and utter lack of regard for their country. Hillary will have a hard time proving to the nation she can be tough on crime and national security in light of her participation in overturning the verdicts of juries and releasing convicts upon the American people.

The Clintons have not yet been held accountable for these misdeeds. The Republicans should investigate the pardons and their consequences in great detail—and prove to the American people without the shadow of any doubt that Hillary does not belong in the White House.

- Washington Watch is a weekly column published in Insight (www.insightmag.com).