ANOTHER ONE: HILLARY SENATE CAMPAIGN TREASURER HELPED IN PARDONS...

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Sen. Clinton Aide Helped in Pardons

By John Solomon Associated Press Writer Thursday, Feb. 22, 2001; 11:51 a.m. EST

WASHINGTON –– In addition to her brother's efforts to secure clemency for clients, Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign treasurer helped obtain last-minute pardons for two convicted felons from former President Clinton, lawyers told The Associated Press on Thursday.

The treasurer, New York attorney William Cunningham III, is the law partner of longtime Clinton adviser Harold Ickes and said Ickes referred the two Arkansas men, both Republicans, to him about a week before Clinton left office.

"Harold does not do this kind of work, and we are partners so Harold contacted me and asked if I would speak with them," Cunningham told AP in an interview. "I told them I would be happy to review the paperwork and submit the applications."

Cunningham said his and Ickes' firm was paid just $4,000 for the work of preparing and sending the applications to the Justice Department. He said neither contacted the White House nor discussed the pardons with Hillary Clinton or the former president.

Cunningham said he did not believe his role as Mrs. Clinton's treasurer during her Senate campaign in New York last year had any effect on the ex-president's decision.

"My connection is really with Senator Clinton, and not the president," Cunningham said. "These applications really cried out on the merits that these are the folks who should be pardoned, and the fact that their request was assembled by me really operates independently," he said.

Ickes said he did not talk to either Clinton about the two men – Robert Clinton Fain and James Lowell Manning – who were convicted in the 1980s on tax charges.

"He (Cunningham) acted as a lawyer. He never consulted her (Hillary) in any way shape or form, nor did I," said Ickes, who served as deputy White House chief of staff to the former president and later as a key adviser to Mrs. Clinton's campaign.

The revelation comes one day after Mrs. Clinton's brother returned nearly $400,000 he collected for helping secure a pardon and a prison commutation for two other clients.

At the request of the Clintons, Hugh Rodham refunded the payments Wednesday. A congressional investigative committee immediately demanded documents and answers.

The Clintons said they were unaware of the arrangements with Rodham and were "deeply disturbed" by what had happened.

Rodham contacted Clinton's closest adviser in the White House, Bruce Lindsey, at least once in connection with one of the cases, which involved a major political contributor's son convicted on drug charges, legal sources said.

Rodham "acceded to his family's request that he return legal fees earned in connection with pardon requests," his attorney Nancy Luque said.

"Their request, presumably made because of the appearance of impropriety, is one he cannot ignore," Luque said. "There was, however, no impropriety in these matters."

Legal sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Rodham, who is a lawyer, was paid for months of work on the prison commutation request of Carlos Vignali and received a "success fee" for helping win the pardon of Almon Glenn Braswell.

The money included $200,000 after the Braswell pardon was granted and the rest paid over a period time as Rodham worked on the Vignali commutation, the sources said. They declined to provide an exact amount but said it totaled just below $400,000. The money was returned to Braswell and Vignali's family, the sources said.

"Yesterday I became aware of press inquires that Hugh Rodham received a contingency fee in connection with a pardon application for Glenn Braswell and a fee for work on Carlos Vignali's commutation application," the former president said in a statement. "Neither Hillary nor I had any knowledge of such payments. We are deeply disturbed by these reports and have insisted that Hugh return any monies received."

Mrs. Clinton added, "I was very disturbed to learn that my brother ... received fees in connection with two clemency applications. Hugh did not speak with me about these applications."

A source close to the former president, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Lindsey had been contacted by Rodham and was aware of Rodham's involvement with the Vignali request. The source said Lindsey did not know about the presidential relative's involvement in the Braswell matter.

The source said Clinton didn't know Rodham was working on behalf of the two pardon applicants and the decisions on both men were made on the merits of their situations.

The Braswell pardon has generated controversy because after it was granted on Jan. 20 it was disclosed that the businessman was under investigation on new allegations.

Braswell didn't apply for his pardon through the Justice Department, but Vignali did seek his commutation through the department in August 1998.

The 140 pardons and 36 commutations Clinton granted just hours before President Bush took office have generated criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike and prompted congressional probe and a U.S. attorney's criminal investigation.

Until now, however, critics have mainly focused on the clemency Clinton granted to fugitive financier Marc Rich, who was indicted in 1983 on charges of tax evasion and making illegal oil deals with Iran. Investigators want to know whether donations by Rich's former wife contributed to the pardon.

Clinton has denied any wrongdoing, saying all the clemency decisions were made on the merits.

New information was to be released Thursday about the hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations by Rich's ex-wife, Denise, to Clinton's presidential library project. The Clinton foundation in Little Rock, Ark., was to release the information in response to a congressional subpoena, a person familiar with the matter said. However, Clinton's personal attorney, David Kendall, also was expected to release a letter explaining why some documents covered by the subpoena were not being provided.

Todd Jones, the former U.S. attorney who prosecuted Vignali, said Thursday he was "quite shocked" to see Vignali on a list of prisoners granted clemency by Clinton. "This was a straight-up drug dealer, a source of cocaine, proven at trail, convicted by a jury and sentenced to a fair sentence," Jones said.

Jones, who is black, added during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" that "the fact that Hugh Rodham may have had some impact on whether or not this was granted ... further erodes any confidence that the public, particularly communities of color, may have that federal drug laws are enforced fairly and that people who are primarily responsible for providing dope on the streets do get prison time and serve prison time."

Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., a longtime critic of Clinton and chairman of the House committee investigating the pardons, called the revelations of the payments to Rodham "deeply troubling" and vowed an investigation.

"This makes it look like there is one system of justice for those with money and influence, and one system of justice for everyone else," Burton said.

Burton sent letters Wednesday night demanding answers and records from the key players, including Rodham and Vignali's family.

© Copyright 2001 The Associated Press

ANOTHER ONE: HILLARY SENATE CAMPAIGN TREASURER HELPED IN PARDONS...

-- Ain't Gonna Happen (Not Here Not@ever.com), February 22, 2001

Answers

The Clinton’s are major league control freaks…not necessarily a bad thing. However, to suggest that neither of them was aware of these recent revelations is just plain ludicrous. The lies, people, it’s all about the lies.

-- Barry (bchbear863@cs.com), February 22, 2001.

The lies, people, it’s all about the lies.

In the Clinton's eyes, it's all about the money.

-- Ain't Gonna Happen (Not Here Not@ever.com), February 22, 2001.


Mrs. Clinton's campaign treasurer, William Cunningham III, received $4,000 in legal fees to prepare two pardon applications sent to the Justice Department.

At a news conference Friday, Cunningham denied any impropriety.

``I have no qualms about anything I did here,'' he said. ``I am a former federal prosecutor. I am an experienced defense attorney.''

Cunningham said neither of the two Arkansas men - restaurateurs Robert Clinton Fain and James Lowell Manning of Little Rock - knew President or Mrs. Clinton. Cunningham said that he never spoke with either of the Clintons about the cases, and that the two men are supporters of President Bush and made no contributions to Mrs. Clinton's campaign.

``The work that I did had nothing to do with my responsibilities as treasurer of the campaign. In the light of day, I think there was no conflict and no appearance of conflict,'' Cunningham said.

On Friday, Harry Thomason, the Hollywood producer and Clinton family friend, said he pitched the idea for the two men's pardons that ultimately were handled by Cunningham.

The men were convicted in 1982 on income tax fraud charges. They completed their sentences in 1983 but sought pardons because they were prohibited under Arkansas law to hold liquor licenses and obtain financing. They were also unable to obtain hunting licenses.

http://www.cnn.com/2001/LAW/02/23/clinton.pardons.probe.02/index.ht ml

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), February 24, 2001.


Cherri, your post should remind us that not ALL of Clinton’s pardons have a stench to them, but enough DO to cause major concern.

-- Barry (bchbear863@cs.com), February 24, 2001.

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