CONGRESSIONAL PROBES OF PARDONS WINDING DOWN
By Tom Squitieri, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON ‹ Congressional inquiries into the last-minute clemencies granted by President Clinton are winding down amid calls for investigators to finish their work. The House Government Reform Committee led by Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., a longtime Clinton adversary, is tying up loose ends in anticipation of ending its 5-week probe and writing its report. "No hearings have been scheduled," committee spokesman Mark Corallo said. He said the panel is "weighing its options."

The House panel was the first to hold hearings on Clinton's pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich. It subsequently expanded its probe to include other clemencies by Clinton that were brokered by his brother-in-law Hugh Rodham and others with access to the president.

Though four congressional hearings have revealed possible evidence of influence-peddling to obtain pardons, GOP leaders say they feel that investigations by the House panel and the Senate Judiciary Committee have run their course.

"I'm inclined to move on," Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Monday.

Asked whether Congress should seek Clinton's testimony because he turned down a Judiciary Committee invitation for a private interview, Lott said, "I don't think we should get into trying to force him to appear."

Lott said he does not want the hearings to become a Clinton witch hunt, a concern shared by other GOP leaders. The goal of any new hearings should be to determine whether lawmakers need to take "remedial action" to prevent abuses of the presidential pardon process, Lott said. "I assume they've already had enough hearings to decide that," he said.

Lott's comments echoed those made earlier by President Bush, who has said he prefers Congress to concentrate on his agenda. Bush indicated three weeks ago that he was not happy about congressional investigations of Clinton's pardons. "It's time to move on," he said.

The House panel has been a dogged opponent of Clinton since Republicans took control of the House in 1995.

But many of its GOP members now want to declare victory on the pardons issue and move on. They are facing resistance from conservatives on the panel.

Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., the former Judiciary Committee chairman who ran the Clinton impeachment hearings in 1998, said the House committee should continue to investigate only if it truly suspects more evidence of wrongdoing would be found. "When you have people pleading the Fifth (Amendment), that is very disturbing," Hyde said, referring to the refusal of key witnesses to testify.

However, Hyde cautioned against holding hearings without any foundation. "I'm all against piling on. That creates a victim status for people who don't deserve it," he said. Some Republicans also say they're nervous that congressional focus on pardons is clouding Bush's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill. "When is this going to end?" Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., asked. "Bring it to a conclusion."

Rich fled to Switzerland 17 years ago to avoid prosecution on racketeering, wire fraud, income-tax evasion and illegal oil-trading charges. Clinton pardoned Rich and his business partner, Pincus Green, on his last day as president over the objections of top White House aides.

House investigators were scheduled to get more information on donors to the Clinton presidential library Monday. The list will have names of some of the individuals who pledged or donated more than $5,000 to the library. Investigators will try to match the donations to any quid-pro-quo for Clinton pardons.

The slowdown by the House and Senate committees also has been prompted by a shift of dynamics to the U.S. Attorney's office in New York, which is presenting evidence of possible wrongdoing in the clemencies to a grand jury. The federal probe is freezing potential witnesses and is in better position to conduct a more extended investigation, Republicans said.

Denise Rich, Marc Rich's former wife, reportedly has been granted immunity. She has met at least twice with the U.S. Attorney's office, according to persons with knowledge of the probe.

She exercised her constitutional right against self-incrimination when called to testify to the House panel. Her donations of more than $1 million to Democrats and $450,000 to the Clinton library helped spur the investigations.

Also pleading the Fifth Amendment was Beth Dozoretz, a major Democratic fundraiser. Her cooperation also is being sought by the U.S. Attorney. Dozoretz, a former finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee, has pledged to raise $1 million for the library.

As the congressional investigations appear to be winding down, Clinton is adjusting his strategy, current and former aides said.

Last week, aides said Clinton was seriously considering consenting to a high-stakes television interview as a way of fighting back against the avalanche of criticism against him and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y. But after a quiet weekend, and given the fact that last week's House hearing produced no bombshells, the former president is leaning toward saying nothing about the issue for months, aides said.

Staffers said the former president has no interest in an offer from Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who is chairing the Judiciary Committee hearings, to answer questions in a private meeting with Specter.

Instead, aides said Clinton wants to concentrate on building a record of philanthropic work. He also wants to put together a series of high-profile trips abroad, including India and, possibly, Africa. Clinton leaves for a weeklong visit to Europe this weekend, where he will do a combination of paid speeches and charity work.

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