Burton seeks immunity for Denise Rich

Financier Marc Rich in 1998

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A top congressional Republican said Sunday he will seek immunity for Denise Rich, the ex-wife of pardoned fugitive Marc Rich who took the Fifth Amendment when called before a congressional committee last week.

Indiana Rep. Dan Burton, the chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, said he wants Ms. Rich to testify about what led to former President Clinton's 11th-hour pardon of her former husband.

"We're sending a letter to [the Department of] Justice Monday morning," Burton told NBC's "Meet the Press." "If there is no objection, we'll try to get her immunity so she'll testify."

Ms. Rich is a wealthy Democratic donor who has given $450,000 to the Clinton Presidential Library foundation and other funds to a variety of Democratic causes. Critics have suggested those donations may have influenced Clinton's decision to pardon her ex-husband, who has lived in exile in Switzerland since the early 1980s.

Last week, she invoked her rights against self-incrimination in refusing to go before Burton's committee, which is investigating the pardon. But House sources indicated that an immunity deal was likely.

Marc Rich was indicted in 1983 on charges of cheating the government out of $48 million in taxes and trading with Iran while American hostages were held in Tehran. He left the country and never faced trial. Prosecutors who brought the case did not know a presidential pardon was being considered.

Asked whether his inquiry could turn into a criminal investigation, Burton said, "I think that's a possibility." But he added: "I don't want to cast any aspersions on anyone until we get the facts."

Biden: Pardon 'totally indefensible'

Burton predicted that it would be about three weeks before hearings could be held, and that he would subpoena Ms. Rich's bank records and records of contributions made to the Clinton library foundation.

Burton called the Rich pardon "a travesty of justice" and said he might also call the former president to testify before his panel.

"If we find that there is a reason to call Bill Clinton to the committee, then we'll consider that," he said, raising the question of whether the pardon was granted in return for something.

Even some Democrats have criticized the Rich pardon, with Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden calling it "totally indefensible."

"I don't know whether he was misled. I don't know what the motive was," Biden, referring to Clinton, told "Fox News Sunday." "But the fact of the matter is, I can't come up with any rationale where I can sit before you and say, 'Look, I can see why he did this,' unless it was based on lack of information."

Rich was represented in his quest for a pardon by Jack Quinn, a former White House lawyer. Joseph DiGenova, a lawyer for Quinn, said Quinn was unaware of the contributions Ms. Rich had made to the Clintons.

"It was not relevant to what he was doing. He was working on the merits of the case and producing a document to be submitted, which was discussed with the Justice Department, discussed with the White House," DiGenova told CNN. "His discussions were on the merits. They had nothing to do with any of these other issues."

House committee investigates Rich pardon
February 8, 2001
Senate pardon probe wins conditional Democratic support
February 1, 2001

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