Word: marc
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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President Clinton's eleventh-hour pardon of fugitive financier Marc Rich has sparked a firestorm of controversy, launching investigations in both houses of Congress and igniting fierce protest from both Democrats and Republicans. The U.S. House and Senate have issued a rash of subpoenas calling for witnesses as well as financial records, as the House Government Reform Committee continued its hearings and the Senate Judiciary Committee geared up for its own proceedings...
...with almost everything relating to the former president, the Marc Rich pardon case raises a lot of questions. Some answers will surface only after all the Capitol Hill witnesses are heard and the U.S. Attorney's office does its thing. Others, happily, we can answer here...
...What was Marc Rich's alleged crime...
...Marc Rich's socialite ex-wife has donated an estimated $1 million to Democratic causes, including $70,000 to Hillary Clinton's successful Senate campaign and $450,000 to the Clinton presidential library fund. She also lobbied heavily for Marc's pardon. Investigators want to know if Denise's contributions led to a direct quid pro quo exchange for her ex-husband's pardon. Clinton has denied any connection, saying he relied solely on the information provided by Jack Quinn (former White House counsel and Rich's current lawyer) when he was weighing the pardon request...
...whom the pardons were bestowed. Included among the group are Clinton's brother, Roger, who was convicted of cocaine charges, and Susan McDougal, one of Clinton's business partners during Whitewater who was imprisoned for refusing to testify against Clinton. Perhaps most troubling was the pardon of commodities trader Marc Rich, who was wanted on 51 counts of tax evasion, racketeering and violating sanctions against trade with Iran. His ex-wife, songwriter Denise Rich, has donated millions of dollars to the Democratic Party and to Clinton's presidential library. Also controversial was the manner in which these 11th-hour pardons...