-Caveat Lector- "Mr. Fink said that Mr. Quinn, having worked in the White House, was barred from lobbying the White House but that temporary prohibition did not apply to representing clients in criminal or civil proceedings." <http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/23/politics/23RICH.html> January 23, 2001 THE PARDON Prosecutors Not Consulted by Clinton on a Pardon By PATRICK McGEEHAN The pardon of Marc Rich, the commodities trader who has been a fugitive for almost two decades, came as a surprise to federal prosecutors when President Clinton granted it as one of his final acts on Saturday. Lawyers for Mr. Rich headed off opposition to the pardon by waiting until December to ask for one and by appealing directly to President Clinton. The last-minute pardon of Mr. Rich and his former partner, Pincus Green, was not warmly received by officials who had been involved in prosecuting Mr. Rich, who fled to Switzerland in 1983 after he was charged with 51 counts of conspiracy, tax evasion, racketeering and trading with the enemy. Mary Jo White, the United States Attorney in Manhattan who was nominated by President Clinton, said yesterday: "We were totally unaware that pardons for Marc Rich and Pincus Green were under consideration. The Department of Justice was also bypassed in a number of pardon applications for defendants from this district." The Justice Department is usually given the chance to review applications for pardons, a department spokeswoman said, but the president has absolute authority to grant them. Robert F. Fink, a partner with the law firm of Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe, said the application went directly to the White House because Mr. Rich and Mr. Green were not eligible for consideration by the Justice Department because they had not been convicted. The application said it had the support of prominent people including Ehud Barak, the prime minister of Israel. Mr. Fink said he believed Mr. Barak discussed the pardon on the phone with Mr. Clinton. Mr. Rich's former wife, Denise Rich, a songwriter who has been a fund-raiser for the Mr. Clinton and the Democratic Party, also weighed in on Mr. Rich's behalf, Mr. Fink said. He said Ms. Rich had always believed that Mr. Rich "was a victim and her feelings were unchanged after the divorce." Mr. Fink said Ms. Rich called the White House and "made it clear she wanted it to happen." Ms. Rich wrote a letter dated Dec. 6 and solicited by Mr. Rich's lawyers, asking for the pardon. "Exile for seventeen years is enough," Ms. Rich wrote. `Marc has made the lives of countless others better." In their application, dated Dec. 11, Mr. Rich's lawyers emphasized Mr. Rich's philanthropy. He and Mr. Green gave more than $200 million in charitable contributions over the last 20 years, the application said. Much of Mr. Rich's charitable giving has been to organizations in Israel. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, has been outspoken in his criticism of the pardon of Mr. Rich, who was accused of evading $48 million in taxes and violating United States sanctions by trading oil with Iran. Yesterday, Mr. Giuliani called on Congress to review the decision, questioning the connection to the "enormous amounts of money" Mr. Rich's family members raised for the president. Ms. Rich could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a spokesman, Bobby Zarem, said that she, too, had been surprised by the pardon. "She was so taken aback by this, more or as much as anyone else," Mr. Zarem said. Mr. Fink and Jack Quinn, a former White House counsel in the Clinton administration, argued in the pardon application that there was no basis for criminal charges against Mr. Rich and that the case should have been resolved with regulators and did not merit the involvement of the Justice Department, Mr. Fink said. Mr. Fink said that Mr. Quinn, having worked in the White House, was barred from lobbying the White House but that temporary prohibition did not apply to representing clients in criminal or civil proceedings. ================================================================= 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 ================================================================= <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
