U.S. Attorney to Review Rich Pardon

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2001 -- A U.S. attorney has kicked off an investigation to determine whether fugitive billionaire Marc Rich effectively bought a pardon from President Clinton.

Sources tell ABCNEWS that 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, the sources say.

White was said to be outraged that Clinton failed to consult her before issuing the pardon on his last day in the White House. Prosecutors call the investigation a "natural progression of the case."

News of the investigation comes late on the same day a Senate committee opened hearings into whether or not Denise Rich, ex-wife of the financier, made large monetary contributions to Clinton's campaign and presidential library in exchange for the pardon.

Denise 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. Senate Began Hearings This Morning

The Senate Judiciary Committee is seeking to understand why Clinton pardoned Rich and his partner Pincus Green, commodities traders who U.S. law enforcement had viewed as two of the most-wanted fugitives in the world.

Sources believe the investigators' first step will be to collect financial documents related to the pardon.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, today said the former president himself should say whether Denise Rich paid for the pardon.

"There are many appropriate ways President Clinton could do thatin a variety of settings that would respect the office he used to holdas well as help the public understand what has happened," Hatch said.

The Senate Committee also sent a letter to Attorney General John Ashcroft today requesting the Justice Department's opinion on whether or not Ms. Rich should get immunity in exchange for testimony.

It will take at least one week for the Justice Department to arrive at a final conclusion on this matter," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Dan Burton, R-Ind., in a statement.

Committee Democrats today uniformly condemned the pardon but said it was time to move on. Republicans, however, are not ready to do that. Some suggested the ex-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.

Former White House counsel Jack Quinn, the lawyer who brokered the deal for Rich, said nothing of the sort occurred. Quinn confirmed today 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. He 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 pardon might seriously go forward until midnight Jan. 19, with only 12 hours left in the Clinton presidency.

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

Rich Letter Subpoenaed

The House Government Reform 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.

Last week, Ms. Rich refused to answer the committee's questions, citing her Fifth Amendment right to avoid incriminating herself. That deepened GOP suspicions that she had something to hide, and that her contributions and access — not the merits of the case — helped persuade Clinton. Some Republicans have suggested granted her immunity so that she could be compelled to testify.ABCNEWS' Jackie Judd, Josh Gerstein and Brian Hartman contributed to this report.