Former FBI Director Louis Freeh testified today that the Marc Rich pardon was “corrupt” and that Attorney General-designate Eric Holder allowed himself “to be used” by the Clinton White House in January 2001. I discussed today’s testimony on Countdown in this segment.

Freeh testified that “The pardon of Marc Rich was a corrupt act” and that President Bill Clinton’s White House staff kept the FBI and Justice Department “in the dark.” He claims that Clinton and his staff “actively conspired” to keep the pardons secret and “went to extraordinary lengths to deceive the attorney general, myself, the Department of Justice and everyone about who was on the secret pardon list.”

It is striking that no one has demanded interviews with Clinton, whose abuse of the pardon power was a disgrace to his office. Once again, it is also striking that no one is asking Holder about the greatest abuse: the use of the pardon power to benefit Clinton’s own brother. Did Holder object to such a use of official power for personal benefit? These are legitimate questions in my view. I am not convinced by Holder’s portrayal of the Rich matter as simply not looking at the file. The Rich pardon stood out as an abuse — as did Roger Clinton’s pardon.

The fact is that Holder has quite a political reputation — one of the concerns about his willingness to investigate and prosecute inconvenient crimes like torture.

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