Asa Hutchinson: “I believe that this happens to be about issues of law enforcement, about issues of safety, and about issues of justice.…”

“I believe that this happens to be about issues of law enforcement, about issues of safety, and about issues of justice. And as a former federal prosecutor, I look at it from that context. I am concerned about the President and his anticipated action in this regard. Clearly, the President has the constitutional authority to grant clemency, but I believe it is the responsibility of this Congress to express itself on this issue. In this case there are 16 individuals who have been given a conditional grant of clemency. These individuals are principals and leaders of the Armed Forces of National Liberation, or the FALN. They have launched a terror campaign; 130 bombings, killing six people. Clearly, as has been pointed out, these individuals were not prosecuted specifically for those acts, but they went through the criminal justice system; and they received a certain number of years, of which they have not completed their service yet. So in this case the individuals went through the criminal justice system; and the system worked through the jury, through the judge, and now through the prison system. I think there are a number of problems granting clemency in this case.”