Federal Grand Jury Investigating Roger Clinton

June 18, 2001 -- Bill Clinton's little brother is once again under investigation on a pardons-for-cash allegation.

In August, 1998, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Dallas, Roger Clinton and two business partners were allegedly paid $30,000 cash as a down payment for the promise of two diplomatic passports for Texas businessman Richard Cayce.

ABCNEWS has obtained a copy of the statement Cayce made to federal prosecutors. In it, he says, "They told me they could lobby anyone that they wanted to and that Bill Clinton would do whatever Roger wanted him to do."

Presidential Pardon, ‘No Problem’

According to Cayce, Clinton and his partners also said they'd have "no problem" getting a presidential pardon for a friend of Cayce's, Garland Lincecum, who had just been convicted of fraud.

The price? $225,000 to $250,000.

The money was paid, but neither the passports nor the pardon were obtained.

"We did not receive our favorable passports," said Jay Ethington, Cayce's lawyer. "We didn't even receive a cigar. There was either influence peddling that never came through or we were just defrauded."

Roger Clinton, who was at his home in Torrance, Calif., did not respond to a request for interviews with ABCNEWS.

The lawyer for his business partners, George Locke and Dickey Morton, called Cayce's statement "totally false." They said their clients never discussed pardons or diplomatic passports with Cayce.

Guarantees vs. Lobbying

However, Lincecum's family told ABCNEWS that they paid Clinton and his partners a total of $235,000 and had "numerous conversations" with them about a pardon.

"Morton told Garland directly as did Locke that he was paying for a pardon," said Edward Hayes, lawyer for Garland Lincecum. "He wasn't paying for lobbying to get a pardon. He was paying for the guarantee of a pardon."

President Clinton's spokesperson declined to comment on the case but repeated Mr. Clinton's earlier statement that "Presidential pardons were granted solely on the merits."

A federal grand jury in New York is now investigating the case. Prosecutors are reviewing Cayce's statement, which he's offering in exchange for full immunity from prosecution.