Clinton Pardon Inquiry Moves Forward

Feb. 15, 2001 -- A federal prosecutor has begun a preliminary investigation to find out if fugitive billionaire Marc Rich effectively bought his pardon, a suggestion former President Clinton vehemently denies.

Mary Jo White, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is set to begin issuing subpoenas in a preliminary investigation aimed at determining whether any criminal laws were violated. An FBI agent also has been assigned to the case.

"Various questions have been raised concerning the activities and pardons of Marc Rich and Pincus Green," said White in a statement issued today. "The United States Attorney's Office and the FBI New York office have opened an investigation to determine whether there have been any violations of federal law."

Sources told ABCNEWS this afternoon that Clinton's legal representatives have not received any subpoena or other requests from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

But the former president's lawyers expect to receive a subpoena before too long and say Clinton intends to "fully cooperate" with any such request.

White, whose office initiated the case in the 1980s, is said to be outraged that Clinton failed to consult her before issuing Rich's pardon on his last day in the White House. Prosecutors call the investigation a "natural progression of the case."

Rich and Green were partners as commodities traders. U.S. law enforcement officials viewed them as two of the most-wanted fugitives in the world.

Clinton: 'I'm Bewildered'

Clinton has repeatedly denied any impropriety in the case. His most recent comments on the controversy came this afternoon, when he called talk-show host Geraldo Rivera, of CNBC's Rivera Live, to discuss the matter.

"I'm bewildered," said Clinton, according to a transcript of his comments released by the show's producer. "There's not a single, solitary shred of evidence that I did anything wrong, or that his [Rich's] money changed hands. And there's certainly no evidence that I took any of it."

Clinton added that he had been "blindsided" by the furor over the case, and referred to the fact that Rich, who is a Republican, previously retained Lewis "Scooter" Libby as his lawyer.

Libby, who is now Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, had also worked to clear Rich's name in the past.

Democratic congressional sources also indicated to ABCNEWS this afternoon that Clinton called Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt of Missouri last week, to discuss the case and lay out his reasons for issuing the pardon.

One source said Clinton was "very familiar with the legal arguments" surrounding the case.

In a statement released Wednesday, the former president promised to cooperate in the investigation.

"As I have said repeatedly, I made the decision to pardon MarcRich based on what I thought was the right thing to do," Clinton said. "Anysuggestion that improper factors including fund-raising for the[Democratic National Committee] or my library had anything to do with the decision are absolutely false. I look forward to cooperating with anyappropriate inquiry."

Senate Begins Hearings

On Wednesday, a Senate committee opened hearings into whether Denise Rich, ex-wife of the financier, made large monetary contributions to Clinton's campaign and presidential library in exchange for the pardon.

Ms. Rich has donated more than $1.5 million to the Democratic Party, to Clinton's campaigns, to Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign, and to the $200 million Clinton library.

The Senate committee also sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft on Wednesday requesting the Justice Department's opinion on whether Denise Rich should get immunity in exchange for testimony. She earlier refused to testify before a House panel, invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. If granted immunity, she could be compelled to testify.

Former White House counsel Jack Quinn, the lawyer who brokered the deal for Rich, confirmed in his testimony he had enlisted the help of a key fund-raiser — Beth Dozoretz, a finance chair of the Democratic Party — in the campaign to win over the president. But Quinn insisted money was not the deciding factor.

"I emphasized to Ms. Dozoretz that this case could and must be made on the merits," Quinn said. "She did not have to be convinced of that."

In his testimony, U.S. pardon attorney Roger Adams shared the frustrations of those in the Justice Department who are tasked with vetting pardon applicants.

Adams told senators the Clinton White House sidestepped "regular procedures," did not reveal Rich was a fugitive at the start of the pardon process and surprised the pardon office by granting the clemency request in the final hours of the president's term. Rich fled the country in 1983, shortly before being indicted in what prosecutors call the largest tax fraud case in U.S. history, and has lived in Switzerland ever since.

Adams said he was surprised by the pardons of Rich and Green. He did not hear the pardons might seriously go forward until midnight Jan. 19, when there were only 12 hours left in the Clinton presidency.

The White House told him information on Rich and Green was hard to come by because they were "living abroad." It was only after he checked with the FBI that Adams discovered they were fugitives.

Time to Move On?

During Wednesday's Senate hearing, committee Democrats condemned the pardon but said the matter was not worth investigating further. Republicans, however, are not ready to do that, with some suggesting the former president may have acted criminally.

"If a person takes a thing of value for themselves or another person and that influences their decision in matter of their official capacity, that could be seen as a criminal offense," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

But President Bush downplayed the pardon in comments to reporters earlier this week, saying "it's time to move on."

At a press briefing today, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer reiterated the president's position, but stopped short of saying Bush thought the investigation was unnecessary.

"The president's point is that we should move on," Fleischer said, while adding: "'At the same time, he did say, 'Congress will do what Congress does,' because he is respectful of Congress' prerogatives."

Records Subpoenaed; House Committee to Reconvene in March

The House Government Reform Committee, which held hearings on the pardon last week, announced today it will hold its next hearing on the Rich pardon on March 1.

The committee plans to ask Clinton to waive his executive privilege so that John Podesta and other former White House aides can testify. The committee also wants to question Libby.

On Wednesday, committee Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., announced the committee would postpone its plan to grant Ms. Rich immunity for at least a week, saying it did not want to interfere with the federal investigation.

"It will take at least one week for the Justice Department to arrive at a final conclusion on this matter," said Burton in a prepared statement.

The committee subpoenaed records Tuesday relating to Ms. Rich's financial transactions from two of her banks, the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton library foundation.

The subpoenas are for checks and pledges of donations in excess of $5,000 from Ms. Rich, other family members, five companies and foundations connected to the Rich family and from Dozoretz.

The House committee also released copies of letters sent to the Secret Service and National Archives requesting records to determine when — and how often — Ms. Rich and others visited the White House during Clinton's two terms.

Burton asked the Defense Intelligence Agency for "any" information it may have gathered on Marc Rich and Green from 1985 to the present. In addition, Burton is asking CIA Director George Tenet to help declassify "certain materials" that were discussed at a Feb. 6 background briefing for committee staff.

ABCNEWS' Jackie Judd, Josh Gerstein and Brian Hartman contributed to this report.