Pardon Me?

Deutch, now a professor at MIT, gave Sen. Clinton the maximum allowable donation, $2,300.

Neither Herdlinger nor Regalado nor Deutch could be reached for comment.

"This is another argument for restoring the presidential public financing system," said Common Cause's Mary Boyle. "Is there an appearance here that this is kind of a payback for the pardons? I'm sure it could look that way for some people. But they're exercising their free and perfectly legal right to give a campaign contribution."

Related

WATCH: VIDEO: Political Plays of the Day

Bloomberg BUZZes Out of '08 Run

Controversial Pardons

The 177 pardons and commutations President Clinton issued in the closing hours of his presidency in January 2001 ignited a firestorm of controversy, most especially the one issued for financier Marc Rich, considered the biggest tax cheat in history, whom Rudy Giuliani had successfully indicted as a U.S. attorney.

But other controversies more closely involved Hillary Clinton.

In August 2000, during her first Senate run, Clinton met with the Hasidic community in New Square, where many members were working to obtain clemency for four members of their community who had been convicted of stealing tens of millions of dollars from the state and federal government.

The town overwhelmingly voted for Clinton, and in January 2001, the four men were granted clemency. Hillary Clinton had met with members of the community in August 2000, but said the issue did not come up.

The subject of clemency was raised in a December 2000 meeting between President Clinton and Sen.-elect Clinton, and leaders of the village, but the outgoing-first lady said at the time she had no opinion.

In June 2002, then-U.S. attorney James Comey closed an investigation into the matter with no action against anyone.

Clinton's Brothers Paid

Hillary Clinton's brother Hugh Rodham , was paid approximately $200,000 from Almon Glenn Braswell, whom President Clinton pardoned for mail fraud and perjury, as was Carlos Vignali, whose sentence for cocaine trafficking was commuted. News of his involvement in the pardon controversy prompted an outrage in Washington, D.C.