By Aimee Pontier, Editor

Former President Bill Clinton’s final days in office were widely criticized after he issued a staggering amount of last-minute pardons.

In total, Clinton’s 450 presidential pardons dwarfed his predecessor George W. Bush, who only pardoned 75. And with just hours to go on his last day in the White House, Clinton pardoned 140 people and reduced the sentences of 36.

His executive privilege even extended to his half-brother Roger Clinton, nicknamed “Headache” by the Secret Service, for a 1980s cocaine conviction – and it seems like Roger is still causing headaches today. Rodger Clinton was arrested Sunday night in California on a charge of driving under the influence, and it left us wondering…

Where are some of the other Clinton pardon recipients now?

The Horn News did some digging, and found a few of the most publicized of Clinton’s pardons. At least one returned to crime — and others are still paying back the Clintons to this day.

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Melvin “Mel” Reynolds — A former Chicago Democratic Congressman, Mel Reynolds was convicted in 1995 of statutory rape, and in 1997 on federal fraud charges. He had two years left in his sentence in 2001 when he was pardoned by Bill Clinton.

In 2015, Reynolds was indicted for failure to file federal income tax returns from 2009 until 2012. He was granted permission to travel to Zambia to visit his sick daughter while his trial for tax charges was pending. He violated the conditions of his stay – not once, but twice – when he left Zambia to travel to South Africa without the court’s permission. When he returned to the United States on April 20, 2016, it was two weeks later than what was originally promised.

Upon his return, he was taken into custody and is awaiting trial. Reynolds, who is representing himself, claims that he can’t adequately prepare his case while in jail. There is currently no set trial date, and Reynolds has requested a change in the judge whom he believes is biased against him.

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Almon Glenn Braswell — Braswell, a small business owner, was pardoned by Clinton after being convicted for failure to pay millions in federal income tax. He has since died under mysterious circumstances.

Braswell’s mother-in-law claimed in his obituary that Almon had retreated to seclusion following his pardon, and all records indicate he continued to run his small business until 2006, when he was found dead in his Florida condo at the age of 63.

Investigators ruled the death to be from natural causes. Strangely, however, Almon’s brother Joel Braswell claimed he believed Almon had been poisoned — and he had the body cryogenically frozen.

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Marc Rich — This is the pardon that a New York Times editorial called, “a shocking abuse of presidential power.” Rich was on the FBI’s most wanted list for illegal commodities trading with countries like North Korea, Iran, Cuba, and the Soviet Union. He fled to Switzerland in 1983 to avoid conviction in America.

Leading up to the pardon, Marc’s ex-wife Denise Rich donated $450,000 to the Clinton Library and forked over $1 million to Democratic campaigns. Rich died in 2013, and critics say the Clinton’s are still benefiting from the pardon.

Rich’s friends, lawyers, and business partners have donated millions to the Clintons since the pardon was granted.

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Susan McDougal — One of the few people to actually serve prison time following Whitewater, Susan McDougal was pardoned by Clinton in 2001. McDougal and then-husband, Jim, were business partners with the Clintons’ in the failed Whitewater real estate venture.

When brought to trial, Susan refused to answer questions relating to whether she believed Bill Clinton lied in his testimony about an illegal loan. Her ex-husband Jim encouraged her to testify against the Clintons’, but she rejected his advice. She was ultimately sentenced for civil contempt of court, fraud and conspiracy relating to Whitewater – and then was pardoned by President Clinton.

Since her pardon, Susan wrote a book, “The Woman Who Wouldn’t Talk.” She is currently serving as the chaplain of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, an interest she said was sparked by her time spent in prison.

Husband Jim McDougal, a key witness in the Whitewater investigation, died in prison in 1998.

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John Deutch — Deutch was the head of the CIA from May 1995 to December 1996. After he left office, classified material was discovered on a government-owned computer in his house (sound familiar?), and a formal security investigation was opened within a month. He was in the midst of negotiating a plea agreement with prosecutors on charges relating to mishandling classified information when he was pardoned by Bill Clinton.

Deutch now serves as professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has served as chairman of the Department of Chemistry, dean of Science, and Provost. In 2013, he was appointed to the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board, a board serving as an independent advisory committee to the Obama administration’s Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.

— Aimee Pontier is an Editor of The Horn News