MESSAGE BOARD: FALN clemency controversy  What is FALN? The Armed Forces of National Liberation, known as FALN for its Spanish initials, has been seeking independence for the island of Puerto Rico, a U.S. commonwealth. It is suspected of carrying out bombings of military and political targets, mostly in New York and Chicago, from 1974 to 1983. None of the 16 activists at the heart of the clemency offer was convicted in any of the bombings. They were convicted on other charges, ranging from bomb-making and conspiracy to armed robbery, and given sentences ranging from 35 to 90 years. They already have served between 14 to 19 years in prison.

September 15, 1999
Web posted at: 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT)

In this story: 'Administration accused of stonewalling' RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- In what could bring a showdown with the White House, a congressional committee has subpoenaed Clinton administration officials, FBI personnel and others to force them to tell what they know about President Clinton's clemency offer to 16 Puerto Rican nationalists associated with the militant group FALN.

Sources have told CNN that the FBI, Bureau of Prisons, and the United States Attorney from Chicago all opposed clemency to the FALN members, who were accused of helping facilitate terrorism.

The subpoenas, which also request documents, come from Rep. Dan Burton, R-Indiana, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, who plans a hearing on the issue Thursday.

The Clinton administration is considering whether to invoke executive privilege to prevent those called from having to testify.

The Justice Department on Tuesday blocked a senior FBI official from appearing before a Senate subcommittee looking into whether the clemency offer represents a shift in U.S. policy on terrorism.

In a letter to the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on terrorism, Justice Department officials wrote: "In light of....the fact that the hearing may in significant part address the exercise of an exclusive presidential prerogative, we are carefully reviewing this matter and consulting with the White House regarding how most appropriately to proceed."

The panel's chairman, Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Georgia, accused the administration of stonewalling his hearing.

"I think it's pretty clear that the White House is behind this," Coverdell said. "I think their silence is almost as damaging as the decision itself."

Jim Kennedy, a spokesman for the White House counsel's office, denied the White House had ordered the FBI not to appear.

Coverdell and others in Congress are requesting records the White House used in making the decision to grant clemency, including documents that allegedly show the Justice Department and other law enforcement agencies opposed the deal.

Burton issued the House subpoenas on Tuesday, the same day the Senate voted 95-2 to denounce the deal. The House of Representatives approved a similar nonbinding resolution last week 311-41.

Fourteen Puerto Rican prisoners accepted President Clinton's clemency offer, which required them to renounce violence and meet other parole conditions.

Eleven of them were freed from federal prison Friday.

One prisoner must serve five more years before he is released and two others, who were already out of prison, had their remaining fines eliminated.

Two rejected the offer.

Republicans and police officers have accused Clinton of extending the offer last month to boost his wife's all-but-announced Senate candidacy from New York, home to some 1.3 million Puerto Ricans.

Mrs. Clinton first came out against the clemency offer, angering many of New York's Puerto Rican leaders. Then, last week, she said she should have consulted further with Latino leaders before reaching a decision.

Correspondent Pierre Thomas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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