-Caveat Lector-
Justice Dept. To Study Pardons
By Karen Gullo
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, March 13, 2001; 12:56 PM
WASHINGTON –– The Justice Department has put a New York
prosecutor in charge of investigating last-minute pardons granted
by President Clinton, officials said Tuesday.
Attorney General John Ashcroft has made U.S. Attorney Mary Jo
White responsible for looking into cash-for-pardons allegations
concerning some of the 177 clemencies and commutations granted by
Clinton on the last day of his presidency, the officials said,
speaking on condition of anonymity.
They characterized the move as a routine consolidation of work
that allows White to investigate matters outside her
jurisdiction, the Southern District of New York. Some of the
allegations involve individuals in Arkansas, Texas and
California.
The move does not mark an expansion of the pardon probe,
officials said, adding that White can pursue allegations having
to do with any of the pardons but has not been asked to
investigate all 177.
The Justice Department has not assigned a special team of
prosecutors to work on pardon cases and no additional
investigators have been detailed to White's office for the pardon
investigation, officials said. A small number of investigators at
the Justice Department in Washington will be kept apprised of her
work, they added.
If White finds evidence of criminal wrongdoing, she would decide
whether to prosecute those cases or could refer any evidence she
gathers to other jurisdictions.
White's Manhattan office already is investigating three cases:
the pardon of fugitive commodities broker Marc Rich, commutations
for four Hasidic Jews convicted of fraud, and the allegation that
Clinton's brother, Roger, received up to $200,000 for promising
to help a Texas man win a pardon.
Under the new arrangement, White can also look into the pardon of
convicted drug dealer Carlos Vignali, whose father is a major
political contributor. Los Angeles leaders supported Vignali's
early prison release, and U.S. Attorney Alejandro Mayorkas in Los
Angeles phoned the White House on behalf of the Vignali family.
The Vignali commutation also is under scrutiny because of the
role of Clinton's brother-in-law, Hugh Rodham, who was paid
$200,000 by Vignali's father, Horacio Vignali, to help get his
son released from prison after serving six years of a 15-year
sentence. Rodham later returned the money.
Mayorkas told the Los Angeles Times he would seek Justice
Department guidance on how his office should work with the New
York U.S. attorney.
"I would have to consult with the department as to how they deem
it might be proper to proceed," Mayorkas said.
© 2001 The Associated Press
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