Peltier was not pardoned by
William Jefferson Clinton. Afterwards, he wrote an open letter to his supporters which I quote in part here.
Leonard Peltier wrote:
January 20, 2001, was a sad day for all of us. I know that this denial of clemency has affected many of you as much as it has affected both my family and myself.{...}
What Bill Clinton did to us was cruel. For eight years he ignored my clemency petition despite the major campaign that was waged. Then, just months before leaving office he publicly promised to make a decision on my case, one way or the other. {...} We were literally forced to get our hopes up because we did not want to be caught unprepared if I was suddenly set free. {...}
Although it feels like our sentiments were shooed away like an irritating fly by a president who did not want to face the the consequences of his own mistakes, I believe we put up a serious challenge. We can see who was granted clemency and why. The big donors to the president's campaign were able to buy justice, something we just couldn't afford. Meanwhile many political prisoners continue to languish unjustly, proof that this nation's tally about reconciliation is nothing but empty rhetoric.