Former US president Mr Bill Clinton began working on his pardon of fugitive financier Mr Marc Rich long before the Justice Department was notified of his plans, according to a report released in America last night.
White House transcripts of Mr Clinton's telephone conversations with then-Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ehud Barak obtained by the weekly Newsweekshow the two leaders first discussed the case on December 11th, the magazine reported in today's edition.
In response for Mr Barak's pitch on behalf of Mr Rich, Mr Clinton said he was aware of the case because he knew the billionaire's ex-wife, Mrs Denise Rich.
But the fact that Mrs Rich was one of the top contributors to the Democratic Party, shoveling more than $1.3 million dollars into its coffers, including more than $400,000 dollars for Mr Clinton's presidential library, has given rise to allegations she effectively bought the pardon.
Mr Clinton has repeatedly denied any quid-pro-quo in the case and said he issued the pardon on its merits.
However, Justice officials have told Congress they were notified of Mr Clinton's plans to pardon Mr Marc Rich only on the eve of the president's departure from the White House on January 20th.
AFP