Clemency for the FALN. Following the President\’s grant of clemency to convicted terrorists of the Puerto Rican FALN, Congress considered a concurrent resolution which would express its disapproval with the Clinton administration\’s decision.
The 16 terrorists offered clemency had been convicted of \"seditious conspiracy,\" robbery, and weapons charges related to their masterminding a series of terrorist bombings in the 1970s and 1980s. President Clinton offered clemency to the convicted terrorists at a time when his wife Hillary was actively considering a Senate race in New York State. Many political observers guessed that the move was made in part to sway New York\’s large Puerto Rican ethnic voting block to support his wife\’s impending campaign.
The concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 180, was adopted by the House on September 9, 1999 by a vote of 311-41 (Roll Call 398). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.
