The McDougal Pardon

THE way Hickman Ewing sees it, there’s a certain circularity in Bill Clinton’s decision to pardon Susan McDougal, the ex-president’s old partner in the Whitewater land deal. After being convicted of four Whitewater felonies, McDougal was held in contempt by Judge Susan Webber Wright for refusing to testify about Clinton’s role in the affair. A few years later, Clinton himself was held in contempt by Judge Wright for lying under oath in the Paula Jones lawsuit. “So what happened,” says Ewing, a longtime prosecutor in the independent counsel’s office, “is a person who was found in contempt pardoned another person who was found in contempt by the same judge for refusing to answer questions about the person who pardoned her.” In the legal Latin, Ewing explains, “a contemnor pardoned a fellow contemnor.”

Ewing’s objections aside, public reaction to the McDougal pardon was surprisingly muted. Clinton’s critics—and many of his supporters—were far more upset by another last-minute presidential pardon, the one given to fugitive tax-evader Marc Rich, whose ex-wife had showered the Clintons with campaign contributions and personal gifts. But which case was more troubling? Rich appeared to purchase his pardon with $1.1 million in soft money, plus two coffee tables and two chairs. McDougal paid a price far more dear: She spent a year and a half in jail rather than tell prosecutors what she knew about Clinton’s past. In the final reckoning, she may have done more damage to the administration of justice—with the president’s support—than Marc Rich ever contemplated.

About the Author

Byron York

Byron York is a former White House correspondent for National Review.

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THE way Hickman Ewing sees it, there’s a certain circularity in Bill Clinton’s decision to pardon Susan McDougal, the ex-president’s old partner in the Whitewater land deal. After being convicted of four Whitewater felonies, McDougal was held in contempt by Judge Susan Webber Wright for refusing to testify about Clinton’s role in the affair. A few years later, Clinton himself was held in contempt by Judge Wright for lying under oath in the Paula Jones lawsuit. “So what happened,” says Ewing, a longtime prosecutor in the independent counsel’s office, “is a person who was found in contempt pardoned another person who was found in contempt by the same judge for refusing to answer questions about the person who pardoned her.” In the legal Latin, Ewing explains, “a contemnor pardoned a fellow contemnor.”

Ewing’s objections aside, public reaction to the McDougal pardon was surprisingly muted. Clinton’s critics—and many of his supporters—were far more upset by another last-minute presidential pardon, the one given to fugitive tax-evader Marc Rich, whose ex-wife had showered the Clintons with campaign contributions and personal gifts. But which case was more troubling? Rich appeared to purchase his pardon with $1.1 million in soft money, plus two coffee tables and two chairs. McDougal paid a price far more dear: She spent a year and a half in jail rather than tell prosecutors what she knew about Clinton’s past. In the final reckoning, she may have done more damage to the administration of justice—with the president’s support—than Marc Rich ever contemplated.