Pardongate

The presidential authority to issue pardons is established in Article 2, Section 2 of the constitution. During his time in office President Trump has already pardoned or commuted the sentences of 8 individuals. Many of the pardons issued by a president come on the final day in office. President Clinton was no exception. In his final hours in office President Clinton issued 450 pardons.

Several of the pardons were controversial, some of which involved what was perceived as pay to play arrangements, not just with Bill and Hillary but also Hillary's brother Hugh Rodham. Probably the most controversial was the pardon of international fugitive Marc Rich. Rich had made his way to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List by trading with America's enemies including Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iran, Khadafy’s Libya, Cuba and the Soviet Union. Rich's pardon drew the ire of Republicans and Democrats alike.

The FBI's attention was drawn by the actions of Rich's ex-wife, Denise Rich. Denise was born Denise Joy Eisenberg and is a song write who has written songs for Aretha Franklin, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, and Mary J. Blige. Denise was also a large contributor to the Democratic Party and the Clintons in particular. In the time leading up to Rich's pardon, Denise gave $867,000 to Democratic Party Committees, $450,000 to the Clinton Library, $66,300 to individual Democratic candidates, $70,000 to Hillary's Senate campaign, and $10,000 to the Clinton Legal Defense Fund. It's easy to understand the suspicion of these donations being a payoff to obtain the pardon for Rich.

In early 2001, the Director of the FBI, Robert Mueller, in conjunction with the DOJ launched and investigation into all of the pardons issued by President Clinton. The DOJ investigator was Mary Jo White who left the DOJ in 2002 and was made chairman of the SEC in 2003. Ms. White was replaced at the DOJ, and the Clinton investigation, by none other than James Comey.

At the opening of the investigation into the pardons, it seems like a relatively clear case of bribery to get Marc Rich pardoned. For Rich who was a billionaire, a million here and a million there is nothing to assure your freedom. Mueller and Comey kept the investigation going until 2005 when it was closed down. Some reports say Mueller closed it from the FBI and others say Comey decided not to pursue the case any longer. In August of 2005, after the closing of the case Comey announced his departure from the DOJ to return to private practice.

I do find it interesting that rather than leave the case open for a new DOJ attorney to review and make a decision on whether it should be closed or not to be interesting. By closing the case prior to Comey leaving the DOJ it was assured the all the issues surrounding the pardons would be buried. This is the first instance I was able to find the names Clinton, Mueller, and Comey come together during a, let's say, troubling period. It's not the last....

Sources:
In 2005, Mueller Closed Grand Jury Probe into Clintons’ Pardon of Marc Rich
Bill Clinton pardon controversy
Bill Clinton’s pardon of fugitive Marc Rich continues to pay big
The Face of Scandal
James Comey
Mary Jo White
Robert Mueller