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Clinton Aides Face Subpoenas Over Pardon NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON (UPI) - Former Clinton aides John Podesta, Bruce Lindsey and Beth Nolan will be subpoenaed by the House Government Reform Committee to testify about their roles in the controversial pardoning of fugitive financier Marc Rich, committee sources said Thursday. The decision to summon Lindsey and Nolan, former White House counsels, was made by the committee Thursday, but it was unclear when the paper would be issued as no hearing is scheduled yet. Both failed to appear before the committee last week, despite a request that they do so. Former Chief of Staff Podesta will be asked to testify at the next hearing, expected in late February or early March, and will be subpoenaed if he fails to show, the source said. Committee spokesman Mark Corallo said the panel recently sent subpoenas to a slew of organizations - including two banks, the Secret Service, the Clinton presidential library and others - to determine if any relationship existed between the pardon and several huge donations made to the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's funds by Denise Rich, the former fugitive's ex-wife. Rich was originally indicted and later pardoned by then-President Bill Clinton for his alleged role in an oil commodity trading scheme, tax evasions and other international trade and finance violations in 1983. After he refused to return to the United States from his home in Switzerland, Rich was classified as a fugitive. Despite the pardon, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York is beginning an investigation into whether the pardon was obtained through illegal influence peddling. The timing of the pardon, and the apparently unusual way in which it was considered and granted in the waning hours of the Clinton presidency, have raised eyebrows on both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill. Podesta, Nolan and Lindsey are commonly mentioned in documents and e-mails subponead by committee investigations from former White House General Counsel Jack Quinn and New York attorney Bob Fink, who both represented Rich in the pardon campaign. While none of the documents indicate that any of the three were overly involved in the pardon issue, investigators hope they can shed more light on how the pardon was granted. Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
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