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Suspect in Washington police murders could haunt Mike Huckabee
Mon Nov 30, 4:53 pm ET
The murder of four police officers in Washington on Sunday cast a pall on the nation's Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and now there's a political controversy brewing over the the main suspect in the killings. Investigators have named former Arkansas prison inmate Maurice Clemmons their primary suspect. Clemmons was released nine years ago after being granted clemency by then-governor and former GOP presidential-candidate hopeful Mike Huckabee. Huckabee now faces questions about that decision, which could damage his standing as a prospective Republican presidential nominee.
Huckabee commuted Clemmons' 1989 conviction for aggravated burglary and theft of property in 2000, citing the fact that Clemmons was only 17 at the time of the crimes. Clemmons, however, violated his parole and was returned to prison in Arkansas, where he remained until 2004. Just six days ago, he was released from a Washington jail on bail after being arrested several months ago for second-degree rape of a child and assaulting a police officer.
Huckabee distanced himself from Clemmons' release in a statement last night, arguing that the commutation was not the final word:
He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990. This commutation making him parole eligible and was paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him.
He went further today on Fox News Radio, saying: ''If I could've known nine years ago, looked into the future, would I have acted favorably upon the parole board's recommendation? Of course not."
Though he's been coy about possible future political ambitions, Huckabee is frequently mentioned as a contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and remains popular among conservatives. A recent poll of Republican voters conducted by The Washington Post found him trailing only Sarah Palin as the party's favorite candidate for the presidency in 2012. The conservative voters who dominate Republican primary contests, however, frown on anything less than a hard line when it comes to so-called "law and order" issues.
In fact, this line of attack has been used on Huckabee before. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney criticized Huckabee throughout 2007 for his role in the release of convicted murderer and rapist Wayne DuMond. DuMond was released from an Arkansas prison in 1999, only to rape and murder another woman. Romney and Arkansas parole officials claimed Huckabee had played a central role in securing DuMond's release. Huckabee denies it.
The DuMond case haunted Huckabee during his attempt to secure the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Some dubbed it "Huckabee's Willie Horton" in reference to the clemency case that dogged Michael Dukakis during the 1988 presidential campaign.
If Clemmons is found and convicted of this quadruple murder, the same thing could happen to Huckabee's attempts to win the nomination in 2012.
For now, however, Clemmons is keeping authorities on edge.
-- Brett Michael Dykes is a contributor to the Yahoo! News Blog
Mon Nov 30, 4:53 pm ET
The murder of four police officers in Washington on Sunday cast a pall on the nation's Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and now there's a political controversy brewing over the the main suspect in the killings. Investigators have named former Arkansas prison inmate Maurice Clemmons their primary suspect. Clemmons was released nine years ago after being granted clemency by then-governor and former GOP presidential-candidate hopeful Mike Huckabee. Huckabee now faces questions about that decision, which could damage his standing as a prospective Republican presidential nominee.
Huckabee commuted Clemmons' 1989 conviction for aggravated burglary and theft of property in 2000, citing the fact that Clemmons was only 17 at the time of the crimes. Clemmons, however, violated his parole and was returned to prison in Arkansas, where he remained until 2004. Just six days ago, he was released from a Washington jail on bail after being arrested several months ago for second-degree rape of a child and assaulting a police officer.
Huckabee distanced himself from Clemmons' release in a statement last night, arguing that the commutation was not the final word:
He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990. This commutation making him parole eligible and was paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him.
He went further today on Fox News Radio, saying: ''If I could've known nine years ago, looked into the future, would I have acted favorably upon the parole board's recommendation? Of course not."
Though he's been coy about possible future political ambitions, Huckabee is frequently mentioned as a contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination and remains popular among conservatives. A recent poll of Republican voters conducted by The Washington Post found him trailing only Sarah Palin as the party's favorite candidate for the presidency in 2012. The conservative voters who dominate Republican primary contests, however, frown on anything less than a hard line when it comes to so-called "law and order" issues.
In fact, this line of attack has been used on Huckabee before. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney criticized Huckabee throughout 2007 for his role in the release of convicted murderer and rapist Wayne DuMond. DuMond was released from an Arkansas prison in 1999, only to rape and murder another woman. Romney and Arkansas parole officials claimed Huckabee had played a central role in securing DuMond's release. Huckabee denies it.
The DuMond case haunted Huckabee during his attempt to secure the 2008 Republican presidential nomination. Some dubbed it "Huckabee's Willie Horton" in reference to the clemency case that dogged Michael Dukakis during the 1988 presidential campaign.
If Clemmons is found and convicted of this quadruple murder, the same thing could happen to Huckabee's attempts to win the nomination in 2012.
For now, however, Clemmons is keeping authorities on edge.
-- Brett Michael Dykes is a contributor to the Yahoo! News Blog
