J O H N C O O K S E Y , M.D. V COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ON 5TH DISTHICT, LOUISIANA w_ 113 C A N N O N B U I L D I N G W A S H I N G T O N , DC 20515 (202)225-8490 FAX: ( 2 0 2 ) 2 2 5 - 5 6 3 9 i DEPARTMENT OPERATIONS, OVERSIGHT, NUTRITION, A N D FORESTRY Congre^ of tfje iBmtet) H>tate? 01 liCT COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE O N EUROPE SUBCOMMITTEE O N MIDDLE EAST DISTRICT OFFICES: 2011 M A C A R T H U R DRIVE A L E X A N D R I A , LA 71301' (318) 4 4 8 - 1 7 7 7 FAX: ( 3 1 8 ) 4 7 3 - 8 1 6 3 1101 H U D S O N L A N E , S U I T E B M O N R O E , LA 71201 (318) 3 3 0 - 9 9 9 8 FAX: ( 3 1 8 ) 3 3 0 - 9 9 5 0 G;;NEY of & e p r e ? e n t a t t e Washington, B C 20515-1805 AND SOUTH ASIA PAROOH COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION VICE C H A I R M A N SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND EMERGENCY M A N A G E M E N T September 24, 2001 United States Department of Justice Office of the Pardon Attorney 500 First Street, Northwest Suite 400 Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Sir: At the suggestion of a member of your staff, I am forwarding the attached letter from Mr. L. R Collier, M.D. 1 hope this information will be helpful to you. Sincerely, John Cooksey Member of Congress JC:dv Attachment PRINTED O N RECYCLED PAPER 1 % Collier, M . 2). A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION GENERAL SURGERY B6 WINNFIELD, LOCIiSiAMA 7148XM85 Qg 6 & August 23, 2001 Congressman John Cooksey 1101 Hudson Lane Suite B Monroe, La 71201 Dear Congressman Cooksey Please note from enclosed that I have become a member of the Republican Round Table with a total of $S,000 contribution to the Republican cause and upcoming elections. >> I talked with Senator Mike Smith during the past week and he discussed a pardon situation with attorney Patrick Martin of Governor Mike Foster's office and advised me to call Mr. Martin. I called Mr. Martin on Wednesday, 8-15-01 and had about a 30 minute discussion with him about the State Pardon Board and pardons and clemency hearings, etc. Mr. Martin apparently handles most of these details for the governor. I was informed that a state pardon, although it might be granted, would not clear m y felony federal conviction as far as powers that be in Washington DC are concerned. In fact, Mr. Martin informed me that if I pursued the matter with the State Pardon Board and was granted a pardon that this might make matters more awkward and difficult with the Attorney General's Office in Washington DC and might work against my efforts to obtain a Federal pardon. Therefore, I do not plan to seek a state pardon for my Federal felony conviction of 1993, concerning Federal bribery of Federal official who was a state game warden as you probably recall. My request of you might seem presumptuous, but I don't know who else to call on but my elected officials in a situation such as this. If it would be possible, a word from you to President Bush regarding signing my application would be very helpful. Also a word from you to Governor Mike Foster, who might in turn, communicate with President Bush concerning granting a Federal pardon to me, would also possibly be of great benefit to me. I do not know Governor Mike Foster personally, but I have supported him in both of his campaigns and I think he has made a fine governor. I submitted my pardon application 5 years after my release from prison through Senator John Breaux' office because Senator Breaux, of course being a Democrat, was the person that I felt most appropriate to Page 1 of 3 handle my pardon with President Clinton and I was advised to do this by numerous people. It is my understanding that according to Mr. Patrick Martin that Senator Breaux might also possibly be very influential with President Bush in this matter. I contacted Ms. Julia Segal of Senator Breaux' office in Washington DC, who is very familiar with my pardon application and she informed me that Senator Breaux sent 11 applications to a pardon attorney in Washington DC and one of theie~~was mine,none oT which were signed by President Clinton,'"are still in the active file, so I did not think it would be necessary for me to submit a completely new application as my jDardon""is still apparently active and~only rieea^" che" president. Any assistance in this matter, perhaps not right now, but perhaps after the president has been in office for a year or longer, and before you go out of office, I would certainly be grateful for your efforts on my behalf and I will be glad to show my gratitude by lending all possible support to your upcoming campaign for the US Senate. I have heard that you have great fund-raising capabilities and I am certainly glad for you, but this old country boy surgeon might be able to help your cause just a bit too. Unfortunately, my mother died before she saw a pardon signed by President Clinton and she was heartbroken about this situation even though she had Alzheimer's, but of course, some situations cannot be helped. Again, any assistance in this matter by you and any influence you may have with Governor Foster or any other Republicans who might say a word for me with the president would be most appreciated and since I have always been a man of my word, I will be most happy to do everything in my power to help you in your race for the US Senate and I wish you well in that endeavor. I know that Senator Breaux, of course, is a Democrat, but I worked through his office only because President Clinton was president when I was trying to get my pardon before and I am sure I don't have to tell you what happened with the pardon by President Clinton. Again, keep up the good work and if you can help me, I would be most appreciative. If you cannot help me, I will certainly understand and if you do run for the US Senate I wish you well and I will be more than happy to help you in any way I possibly can. Sincerely Zi. R. Collier M.D. FACS pl P.S. When my pardon was not signed by President Clinton during the waning days of his presidency, I investigated the possibility of obtaining gun rights through the ATF. We have a local man named Jordan Page 2 of 3 here that was shot and nearly killed during the Waco fiasco, but he is still working with ATF in Little Rock, I believe, and I contacted him and we were told before my prison release in August of 95, by the probation officer for the Southeast United States that the ATF did not do background checks for convicted felons because the ATF was not funded to carry out same. The local man who works for the ATF, Mr. Jordan, informed me he had not done a background check since the 1980's so I don't think that is an avenue that would be appropriate to pursue in the future. Page 3 of 3 U. S. Department of Justice Pardon Attorney Washington, D.C. 20530 OCT - 4 200: The Honorable John Cooksey U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman Cooksey: This is in response to your letter of September 24, 2001, forwarding correspondence from your constituent, Dr. L.R.Collier, concerning his application for a presidential pardon. The pardon petition Dr. Collier filed during the Clinton Administration remains pending, and therefore he is not required to file a new application in order to be considered for clemency by President Bush. We will make Dr. Collier's letter and yours part of his clemency file. The executive clemency process frequently is lengthy, and we can give no assurance that the President will act upon any given case within a particular time frame. While we thus cannot advise you when Dr Collier may expect a decision to be reached regarding his pardon application, please be assured that he will be notified promptly when final action has been taken in his case. Thank you for your interest in this matter. Sincerely, Roger C. Adams Pardon Attorney