The Tribune on Dec. 23 made a Page 1 story of former powerhouse Congressman Dan Rostenkowski’s pardon from outgoing President Clinton. What the article did not mention is exactly what such a pardon means.
President Bush’s Christmas Eve pardons in 1992 of key Iran-Contra figures triggered outrage and dismay among many Americans but elation among those pardoned and their supporters. On TV, former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger registered relief coupled with near glee, reiterating his insistence that he was innocent.
In 1975, I visited the late Otto Kerner, shortly before his death, at the federal penitentiary in Lexington, Ky., where he was serving a three-year term on a bribery conviction. The prosecution of the respected former governor of Illinois and federal appellate judge was based almost entirely on the immunized testimony of two prominent racetrack owners. After the trial, Kerner said in a statement from prison, “I was convicted by witnesses who were induced to lie.” I asked a downcast but nonetheless dignified Kerner if he had considered seeking a pardon. He was emphatic in his response.
“No,” he told me, “I would neither seek nor accept a presidential pardon, which requires an admission of guilt. I would not perjure myself to obtain a pardon. I am innocent.”
Kerner died some months later steadfastly proclaiming his innocence.
Sometime later, after my conviction by the same set of prosecutors, friends urged me to seek a pardon.
Based on Kerner’s opinion and my own strong belief in my innocence, I flatly rejected the suggestion.
I did so after my understanding was confirmed by Deputy U.S. Atty. Gen. Charles B. Renfrew, a former federal judge serving in the Carter Justice Department. Renfrew told me that no application for a federal pardon would be passed on by the Justice Department to the White House unless the petitioner formally acknowledged guilt. In short, a presidential pardon, contrary to the widespread public perception, does not erase the guilty finding by a judge or jury but only restores any civil rights lost by the guilty party.
Weinberger, perhaps Rostenkowski and others seem to believe they have been exonerated of alleged criminal conduct once they have received pardons.
That is not so, however, if Gov. Kerner, Mr. Renfrew and other legal authorities are correct.
Nowhere have I seen this critical point made in media accounts of the Rostenkowski and other pardons, and more are expected from President Clinton in his final days.
