12 Puerto Rican Inmates Accept Clemency Offer : Law: Nationalists agree to conditions. Case is becoming a minefield for first lady’s Senate aspirations in New York.

Facing a fast-approaching deadline and a political firestorm, a group of Puerto Rican nationalists imprisoned for 19 years as terrorists accepted the conditions of clemency spelled out last month by the Clinton administration, their attorneys and the White House said Tuesday.

The announcement came as the controversy over the clemency offer reached new heights when First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton said she disagreed with her husband and said he should withdraw the offer.

“It just seemed it was becoming an issue for all the politicians to weigh in on,” said attorney Michael Deutsch of Chicago, explaining why the 12 prisoners accepted the offer after indicating they might reject it. “We’re not dealing with reality, we’re dealing with people’s political agendas.”

Administration officials continue to maintain that politics played no role in the president’s decision. “The president expects all those who accept the conditional clemency grant to abide fully by its terms, including refraining from the use or advocacy of the use of violence for any purpose and obeying all the statutory conditions of parole,” White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said in a statement.

In New York, the case--with its complex mesh of nationalism and terrorism--has proved to be a minefield for Hillary Clinton’s exploratory campaign for the U.S. Senate, showing the perils of running for office as first lady. The negative fallout from Mrs. Clinton’s weekend announcement opposing clemency continued to be heard throughout the political community.

The men and women, members of a Puerto Rican independence group that took responsibility for more than 100 bombings in the United States in the late 1970s, were convicted of seditious conspiracy and weapons charges. Prosecutors never linked those offered clemency to any deaths or injuries. Still, authorities say the group, known by its Spanish initials, FALN, was responsible for six deaths.

Over the holiday weekend, the Clinton administration had given the prisoners a Friday deadline to accept the conditions, which include a renunciation of violence and a promise to obey unspecified conditions of parole.

Two of the 16 prisoners offered clemency--Carlos Torres and Oscar Lopez--declined. Two others not in prison but whose fines would be reduced have more time to respond. Some of the prisoners signed the clemency offer Tuesday morning, family members said. Among those accepting the offer was Elizam Escobar, who called the terms “humiliating” in a prison interview with The Times last week.

A Justice Department spokeswoman said the administration had not yet received the prisoners’ formal acceptance of the offer and that it was too early to say when they might be released.

“It is a tragic day that these terrorists may soon be walking America’s streets,” said Rep. Vito Fossella (R-N.Y.), a leading critic of the clemency offer. “I call on the president to unconditionally reject this offer of clemency. I don’t want to see one more innocent American killed by this group.”

By contrast, the impending release of the prisoners was being celebrated by many in Puerto Rico, where the campaign on their behalf has become a cause celebre supported by former President Jimmy Carter, New York Archbishop John Cardinal O’Connor and others who said their prison terms were excessive. Although only a small minority of Puerto Ricans support independence, the prisoners received backing from many others who thought they were treated unfairly.

“Whenever they come out, there’s going to be one hell of a party in East Harlem and all over New York,” said attorney Gloria Quinones, a childhood friend of one of the prisoners. “They are our freedom fighters. They are our Nelson Mandelas.”

Such sentiments were echoed by a number of Puerto Rican politicians at a news conference Tuesday in Manhattan. Some prominent Latino leaders, who had already signed on to support Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, said her reversal on the clemency plan might prompt them to withdraw their support.

“Hillary Clinton’s statement was wrong. It was inappropriate,” said Democratic state Assemblyman Roberto Ramirez. “It is an issue the first lady will have to address.”

Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.) complained that Mrs. Clinton’s statement distracted attention from serious discussion of the case. “She is on a listening tour, isn’t she?” Velazquez asked. “I would advise her strongly to continue, and to come to our community to see what the issues are.”

Critics charged that Mrs. Clinton was trying to have it both ways on a politically sensitive issue. When the president first proposed clemency, Hillary Clinton had little to say, and the conventional wisdom was that the offer would help her among New York’s 1.3 million Puerto Rican residents. But Saturday, she said the offer should be rescinded, since the prisoners had not responded quickly enough.

But the first lady ultimately spoke out against the deal after a parade of law-and-order opponents--most notably New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, her probable rival in the Senate race--denounced the offer as being soft on terrorism.

“I know she originally strongly supported it, but now she strongly opposes it,” Giuliani said. “She’ll have to answer questions on why she changed her position.”

Republicans appeared likely to keep the issue alive by holding congressional hearings on the clemency proposal in the fall, all of which could have been an embarrassment and distraction for Mrs. Clinton’s campaign.

The Clintons’ Democratic allies appeared confused by the rapidly evolving controversy. The Democratic senator she hopes to succeed, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, opposed the clemency. Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York refused to speculate on why the president and Mrs. Clinton had taken their respective positions but insisted that it had no relationship to the U.S. Senate race. He urged the White House to release any documents showing that the prisoners, if freed, would no longer be a threat to public safety.

At first, several of the prisoners indicated they were inclined to reject the clemency offer. By law, they will be required to obey several conditions of parole, including a prohibition against associating with convicted felons--a condition that might prevent them from speaking to one another.

In the end, however, it became clear that the Clinton administration was not likely to make a better offer.

Among those accepting clemency were two sisters, Ida Luz and Alicia Rodriguez.

“I think it’s better that they come out, even if this is not the way we wanted them to come out,” said their mother, Josefina Rodriguez, 68, of Chicago. “You can imagine how we feel. They’ve been away from home for a long time.”

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Tobar reported from Los Angeles, Getlin from New York.