Senate panel opens new Rich pardon hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee opened its hearing on Wednesday morning

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Despite Bush administration concerns, senators opened new hearings Wednesday on former President Clinton's pardon of trader Marc Rich.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is raising questions about whether the last-minute pardon was valid. And Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch called on Clinton to testify voluntarily in the hearings.

"If I was President Clinton, I would want to come and clear the air and answer these questions that are in the mind of the public," Hatch, R-Utah, told CNN. "This is not going to go away easily, so the best way to answer this is to be straightforward and tell the truth."

VIDEO CNN's Bob Franken reports on the continuing controversy over the presidential pardon of Marc Rich Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

But President Bush has his own agenda to get through Congress, including a major tax cut, and the administration wants lawmakers to concentrate on his agenda rather than dive into a new probe of the former president.

"I think it's time to move on," Bush told reporters Wednesday aboard Air Force One. Bush also defended the Clintons against allegations that they and their supporters took numerous items from Air Force One as they left Washington, telling reporters the accusations were "simply not true."

Vice President Dick Cheney also expressed concern that a new Clinton investigation could divert attention from the Bush administration's agenda, GOP leadership sources said.

Rich fled to Switzerland in 1983 as prosecutors in New York prepared federal charges of tax evasion, fraud and participation in illegal oil deals with Iran. He was wanted by the Justice Department on those charges until Clinton's last-minute pardon.

Marc Rich (in a 1998 photo) was wanted by the U.S. government for almost 20 years for tax evasion and fraud.

Rich's ex-wife, Denise Rich, is a major Democratic donor, and critics have said the pardon gives the appearance of a quid pro quo.

Specter said Tuesday that Justice Department pardon guidelines were ignored in Rich's case, and he questioned whether all of the documents that supplemented the pardon were signed before Clinton left office at noon on January 20.

"There may be a real issue as to whether a pardon has been granted here," he said.

On Sunday, Specter raised the prospect that Clinton could be impeached again to strip him of his benefits as a former chief executive.

Rich's pardon was one of 140 approved by Clinton in the hours before he left office.

Justice Department pardon attorney Roger Adams is scheduled to be the leadoff witness in Specter's hearing. In prepared testimony, Adams said the White House did not tell him Rich was a fugitive when it submitted the application.

Specter said the hearings might be the first step toward a constitutional amendment restricting the president's right to grant pardons.

"Times have changed and the founding fathers provided for an amending process, and the Senate hearings are looking to the future," he said.

Wednesday's session follows similar hearings by the House Government Reform Committee last week. The committee Tuesday subpoenaed financial records in its effort to find out whether there was a link between Clinton's pardon and financial contributions made by Rich's ex-wife.

Denise Rich contributed an estimated $450,000 to the Clinton presidential library and more than $100,000 to Hillary Rodham Clinton's Senate campaign. She also is a prominent donor to the national Democratic Party.

Last week, she invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to appear before the House committee. Attorney General John Ashcroft said Monday he would be open to a proposal to grant her immunity in order to obtain her statement in the House probe.

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Senate Judiciary Committee

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