Just When Huckabee's Political Problems Couldn't Get Worse

It does. First, the head of his political action committee called it quits over the revelations surrounding his clemency.

The Arkansas coordinator for Mike Huckabee’s political action committee resigned Tuesday, citing the former Arkansas governor’s decision nine years ago to grant clemency to Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of murdering four police officers in Washington state.

Jason Tolbert, who runs a conservative blog, served as Arkansas state coordinator for HuckPAC in a volunteer capacity.

If anyone had dug a little deeper, they would have heard about the clemency issues even before Clemmons. Tolbert had to overlook those issues, including Wayne DuMond, when he took the job. It's only after Clemmons that he bails? Better late than never, I guess.

Now, the New York Times reveals a series of letters between prosecutors and Huckabee's office, and they show just how unserious Huckabee was about clemency issues.

One prosecutor wrote to Huckabee concerned over whether Huckabee was seriously considering parole board recommendations or independently coming to decisions. The response from Huckabee: he laughed out loud and then suggested that the prosecutor cut back on the caffeine.

Robert Herzfeld, then the prosecuting attorney of Saline County, wrote a letter to Governor Huckabee in January 2004, saying his policy on clemency was “fatally flawed” and suggesting that he should announce specific reasons for granting clemency. Mr. Huckabee’s chief aide on clemency wrote back: “The governor read your letter and laughed out loud. He wanted me to respond to you. I wish you success as you cut down on your caffeine consumption.”

The full documents are here.