Friend of Clinton and Rich Takes Fifth

W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 27, 2001 -- ABCNEWS has learned that just hours before President Clinton made the controversial decision to pardon a billionaire fugitive, two major financial supporters were at the White House, presumably pressing a clemency request for him that they’d been pushing for months.

According to a source close to the House Government Reform Committee, which is investigating the pardon of financier Marc Rich, White House records show Denise Rich, ex-wife of the fugitive, and Democratic fund-raiser Beth Dozoretz both entered the White House residence on Jan. 19, the day before Clinton left office.

Dozoretz, former finance chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, had been there at least 75 times before, and Denise Rich had been to the White House at least a dozen times previously, the records show.

Committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., who reconvenes hearings Thursday aimed at determining whether Ms. Rich and her friends effectively purchased a pardon, wants to know what the two women were doing at the White House on Jan. 19 at 5:30 p.m.

But both women are refusing to talk to the committee. After Ms. Rich cited her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination earlier this month in refusing to testify, Dozoretz on Monday did the same.

But Dozoretz's husband, Ronald, told ABCNEWS that he and his wife were in California on Jan. 19.

"We have proof," he said. He said they attended a party for a Hollywood producer.

Martin Pollner, an attorney for Denise Rich, said he didn’t think his client was at the White House at that time.

“I doubt that she was at the White House on Jan. 19,” he told ABCNEWS, then hung up.

Another Takes the Fifth

Dozoretz informed the House Government Reform Committee she will not testify at hearings Thursday on her role in securing the pardon for Marc Rich. In a letter to Burton, Dozoretz' lawyer cited her Fifth Amendment right to avoid incriminating herself.

"Because of the pendency of other investigations, Ms. Dozoretz, on advice of counsel, has elected to invoke her consitutional privilege not to testify," attorney Thomas Green wrote.

House investigators want to ask Dozoretz how she managed to learn about Rich’s pardon before the Justice Department's pardon attorney. The Justice Department itself has launched a criminal probe that is asking many of the same questions.

In response to the letter, Burton said he is "extremely disappointed" and rebuffed her lawyer's request that she not be forced to appear in person to make her plea.

"It is my hope that when she comes before the committee on Thursday, she will change her mind and answer the committee's questions," Burton said in a statement Monday afternoon.

'Something to Hide'

"It is beginning to seem that the reason peoplearen't answering questions is because they are hiding something," Burton fumes in his statement. "This isunacceptable."

Attempting to combat other "stonewalling tactics," Burton on Monday threatened to hold the head of Clinton's library in contempt of Congress if he refuses to divulge financial backers of the project.

Burton and David Kendall, attorney for Clinton Presidential Foundation head Skip Rutherford, have been haggling over how much information about the library donors should be turned over to the committee.

Last week, Kendall rejected Burton's request for the complete list of people who have contributed or pledged more than $5,000 to the Clinton library, offering instead to turn over only information related to donations from Rich's family. Burton responded with his own compromise, and the threat.

The deal: Turn over the complete list, and "the names of individuals deemed to have no connection to the investigation" would be kept secret. The threat:

"I am prepared to consider requesting a vote to hold theClinton Library and Mr. Rutherford in contempt for failing toprovide these records to the committee," Burton wrote.

Burton wants to know whether Denise Rich managed to effectively buy a pardon for her ex-husband by donating hundreds of thousands to the Clinton library on top of the more than $1 million she gave to other Democratic causes.

In another development, ABCNEWS has been told congressional investigators are trying to determine if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham, was involved in any clemency efforts.

Specifically, they want to know whether he brought brother Hugh Rodham, a lawyer, into the successful effort to win a shortened prison sentence for convicted drug dealer Carlos Vignali.

Tony Rodham is not a lawyer, but did have family and political contacts in California, where Vignali's family lives.

Spokesman for both Clintons have claimed for several days they did not know whether Tony Rodham was involved and Rodham himself has refused to answer questions.

ABCNEWS' Jackie Judd and Alexa Miranda contributed to this report.