Congressional sources: Rich, Dozoretz not at White House on Jan. 19

From CNN Correspondents Kate Snow and Ted Barrett

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sources on the House Government Reform Committee told CNN Tuesday that Denise Rich and Beth Dozoretz were not at the White House on former President Clinton's last night in office.

ALSO Rich calls pardon 'humanitarian act' List of presidential pardons   IN-DEPTH The Clinton Years     DOCUMENTS Clinton pardon documents U.S. v. Rich case  Part 1 | Part 2 (FindLaw) (PDF Format)   MESSAGE BOARD Clinton pardons

The news comes in response to confusion over whether Secret Service records obtained by the committee indicate that the two women attended a January 19 engagement party for a former aide to then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Initially, sources told CNN that the records showed Rich and Dozoretz arriving at the White House about 5:30 that evening.

But other sources on the committee angrily refuted those claims. "They were not there. And the records do not indicate that they were actually in the White House but rather that they were approved to attend an engagement party that evening," said a source on the committee.

Denise Rich is the former wife of financier Marc Rich, one of 140 people pardoned by Clinton hours before he left office on January 20. He had been listed as an international fugitive by the Justice Department, wanted on tax and fraud charges.

The White House visits are an issue because of the pardon. Dozoretz, a Democratic fund-raiser and a booster of the Clinton library, is a friend of Denise Rich. Both women supported Rich's pardon. Denise Rich has been a major contributor to Democratic campaigns and the Clinton Presidential Library Foundation. Dozoretz has pledged to raise $1 million for the library.

Critics of the pardon want to know if the contributions played any role in the decision to grant the pardon, a suggestion Clinton has denied.

Democrats on the committee were angry about the release of the original information on Monday night.

"The list was used inappropriately. I think what they did was deeply offensive," one Democratic source said, referring to Republicans on the committee.

Denise Rich's attorney, Martin Pollner, told CNN that Rich was invited to the party that night but did not attend. He confirmed that Rich visited the White House 13 to 19 times during Clinton's eight years in office.

He said those numbers coincide with his client's recollection of the number of times she visited.

A source with the Secret Service told CNN that the records system used at the White House is not intended for accounting purposes. "The system is set up to show us that everyone who is scheduled to go to something at the White House is cleared," the source said. "It is the first level of security."

The source said the records can be misleading in showing who actually came to the White House.

Lawyer: Clinton ally won't testify on Rich pardon
February 26, 2001
Attorney: Pardon figure plans not to testify
February 26, 2001
Clintons to partially comply with donor list subpoena
February 22, 2001
Stuart Rothenberg: Clinton actions hurt friends and help adversaries
February 22, 2001

See related sites about Politics

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.