-Caveat Lector-
Committee To Subpoena 3 in Probe
by JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Three of President Clinton's closest White
House aides -- former chief of staff John Podesta, lawyer Beth
Nolan and adviser Bruce Lindsey -- will be subpoenaed for the
next House hearing into millionaire Marc Rich's pardon, officials
said Thursday.
The questioning will reach into the Bush administration this
time, a committee source said, with the committee likely to call
Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis ''Scooter''
Libby, one of Rich's former lawyers.
The House Government Reform Committee also asked Clinton and Rich
to release all their aides and lawyers from any executive
privilege so they can testify at the committee's March 1 hearing
without betraying any confidentiality oaths.
''We're also asking Mr. Rich, if he has nothing to hide, to let
his counsel speak freely and that goes for the documents that
have been claimed by them as well,'' said committee spokesman
Mark Corello.
This comes as a U.S. attorney in New York announced she had
opened a criminal investigation into whether money played any
role in Clinton's last-minute pardon of the fugitive financier.
Senate and House committees are also probing that possibility,
with the House holding its second hearing on the matter next
month.
Rich was wanted by the Justice Department on charges of evading
more than $48 million in taxes, fraud and participating in
illegal oil deals.
Critics have noted that Rich's ex-wife, Denise, contributed an
estimated $450,000 to the Clinton Presidential Library Fund, more
than $1.1 million to the Democratic Party and at least $109,000
to Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign.
Clinton has denied any wrongdoing.
The House panel asked Podesta, Nolan and Lindsey to testify at
their first hearing last week but none of them appeared. This
time the committee plans to issue subpoenas to ensure their
presence at the March 1 hearing, officials said.
A Jan. 16 e-mail between Rich lawyers Robert Fink and Jack Quinn,
who also is a former White House counsel, detailed a conversation
another person had with Podesta: ''It seems that while staff are
not supportive they are not in a veto mode, and that your efforts
with POTUS are being felt,'' the e-mail read. ''It sounds like
you are making headway and should keep at it as long as you can.
We are definitely still in the game.'' POTUS is government
shorthand for president of the United States.
A November 2000 e-mail from Quinn listed the people he expected
to read the pardon application: ''POTUS, Beth Nolan, the White
House Counsel (she worked for me when I was there; is a former
Georgetown Law Prof and an expert on legal ethics); conceivably
Bruce Lindsey, Beth's deputy, but more importantly a very close
confidant of the Pres from Arkansas and some whose law practice
was in labor relations,'' Quinn wrote.
Quinn and Libby also will be called for the March 1 hearing.
Democrats pointed out Libby's connection to Rich during the House
and Senate hearings and called for him to be questioned. Burton
is likely to approve that request, a committee source said.
The committee sent letters to Clinton and Quinn on Thursday
asking them to waive their aides' confidentiality oath and not to
claim any privacy privileges on any documents or communication.
Clinton spokeswoman Julia Payne referred questions to lawyer
David Kendall. A message left for Kendall was not immediately
returned.
The Justice Department also plans its own investigation of the
pardon. Officials will focus on issues such as whether the
department got the proper information to process the pardon, said
a Justice official, who requested anonymity.
Attorney General John Ashcroft doesn't want Justice to get
involved in a political investigation but has to balance that
with the need to look at whether there were any illegalities in
the way the pardon was handled, the official said.
AP-NY-02-15-01 1939EST<
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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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