-Caveat Lector-
Questions for Barak
Congress wants information from the outgoing Israeli prime minister.
National Review Online
March 6, 2001 7:00 p.m.
By ByronYork
House Government Reform Committee investigators will soon send a
list of written questions to outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud
Barak as part of their expanding investigation into the
presidential pardon scandal, according to congressional sources.
Committee lawyers want to learn how � and how many times � Barak
appealed to President Bill Clinton on behalf of fugitive
tax-evader Marc Rich. Appearing before the committee last week,
three top Clinton administration officials � former White House
chief of staff John Podesta, former White House counsel Beth
Nolan, and Clinton confidant Bruce Lindsey � testified that a
call from Barak to Clinton on the afternoon of January 19 was a
key factor in Clinton's decision to pardon Rich. "While the bulk
of that call concerned the situation in the Middle East," Podesta
testified, "Prime Minister Barak raised the Rich matter at the
end and asked the president once again to consider the Rich
pardon."
All three witnesses said that before Barak's call, they believed
Clinton would not pardon Rich. After Barak's call, they said,
Clinton appeared to change his mind. "It certainly seemed that he
[Clinton] was not going to grant it [the pardon], and then that
Mr. Barak's phone call had been significant," Nolan testified.
Podesta, Nolan, and Lindsey also said Barak's call on the 19th
was not the first time the Israeli prime minister discussed the
Rich case with the president. "I'm certain that it came up prior
to January 19," John Podesta testified. "I think it may have been
three times that he [Barak] raised it."
Lindsey told the committee that Clinton said Barak's call was
"the third time at least that Barak had mentioned it to him." "I
thought he said fourth," Nolan added.
Their testimony conflicts with a report Sunday in the Jerusalem
Post, which said Barak maintains he brought the Rich case up with
Clinton just once. "The prime minister made one call and the
matter was only raised at the end of the phone call," the Post
quoted a source inside the prime minister's office. "It is
obvious that a marginal telephone mention did not play a deciding
role in the granting of the pardon. Even if it is convenient to
say so, it is untrue."
In addition, there is evidence to suggest that whatever Barak
said to Clinton on the 19th, the president had already made up
his mind to pardon Rich. Three weeks ago, investigators released
a January 10, 2001 e-mail from a close associate of Rich's to
Jack Quinn, the former White House counsel who represented Rich
in the pardon matter. The e-mail said Clinton had called top
Democratic fundraiser Beth Dozoretz and discussed the Rich case
with her. Clinton, according to the e-mail, "wants to do it
[grant the pardon] and is doing all possible to turn around the
WH counsels."
That leaves investigators with several questions. Did Clinton and
Barak speak about Rich on several occasions, as Clinton contends,
or just once, as Barak apparently believes? If they spoke just
one time, why would Clinton tell his top aides that he and the
prime minister had discussed the matter at least three, and
perhaps four, times? Finally, and most importantly, if the two
men spoke about Rich just once, on the 19th, and Clinton had made
up his mind well before then � at least by January 10, the date
of the e-mail � why did Clinton's top aides testify that Barak's
call had been so important to the pardon decision?
Investigators believe Barak can help them begin to answer those
and other questions. Late Tuesday afternoon, committee chairman
Dan Burton okayed the proposal to contact Barak, who leaves
office Wednesday. Committee lawyers plan to send written
questions to Barak within the next few days.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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