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Posted on 12/14/2001 1:13:17 AM PST by Bad~Rodeo
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal judge said lawyers for Marc Rich acted "principally as lobbyists" in helping the fugitive financier win a pardon from President Clinton and must hand over documents withheld from a grand jury investigating the controversial pardon.
U.S. District Judge Denny Chin said attorney-client privilege does not protect the materials from release.
"The Marc Rich lawyers were acting principally as lobbyists, working with public relations specialists and individuals - foreign government officials, prominent citizens and personal friends of the president - who had access to the White House," Chin wrote. "They were not acting as lawyers or providing legal advice in the traditional sense."
After the ruling, which did not give details of what is in the materials, Rich lawyer Laurence Urgenson said: "We're reviewing the opinion and considering our options."
Rich was indicted in 1983 on federal charges of evading more than $48 million in income taxes and illegally buying oil from Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis. Rich, ex-husband of Denise Rich, a major financial contributor to the Democratic Party, left the United States before he was indicted and has been living in Switzerland.
He received one of 176 pardons and clemencies Clinton issued on his last day in office, Jan. 20.
The pardons and commutations prompted congressional hearings and an investigation by federal prosecutors in New York.
Clinton said in February that he granted the Rich pardon based "on the merits as I saw them, and I take full responsibility for it."
He rejected any suggestion that he granted the pardon because of political contributions to the Democratic Party or donations Rich's ex-wife made to the Clinton library foundation.
Clinton spokeswoman Julia Payne referred queries to the former president's lawyer in Washington, David Kendall, who did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
Former White House counsel Jack Quinn, whose work on behalf of the Rich pardon received special note in the judge's ruling, also did not return a call.
The judge said Quinn was hired not because of his legal skills but because he was "Washington wise" and understood "the entire political process."
"He was hired because he could telephone the White House and engage in a 20-minute conversation with the president," the judge said. "He was hired because he could write the president a 'personal note' that said 'I believe in this cause with all my heart,' and he would know that the president would read the note and give it weight."
Quinn and Denise Rich have denied allegations that the pardon was tied to her political contributions.
Lawyers for Rich's pardoned business partner, Pincus Green, also must release documents, the judge said.
This sounds kind of convoluted to me. I wonder what the precedents are.
Sounds like a self serving statement to make these creeps sound like honest citizens.
True, but there's already laws against lawyers engaging in crime with their clients, and the attorney/client privilege is invalid in such cases. This judge seems to be talking about something different.
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Not to be captious, but where did you learn law? Your statement is completely ridiculous. Attorney-client priviledge exists in all matters of discussion between the two whether there's a court case or not.
Frankly, I loathe all the players in this scandal; Clinton, Rich, and Quinn, as well as the corrupt bargain they struck. But as someone who's had many dealings with lawyers in business, I know that lawyers are hired as de facto lobbyists all the time, but that doesn't nullify priviledge. A good lawyer is simply well-connected and can get results. A ten minute call from a lawyer may cost you $100, but may get more accomplished than you could do yourself in a month's work. A good lawyer is worth every penny of their fee.
This sets a frightening precedent that this judge had no right to set. I question the judge's understanding of the role of lawyers in business.
I believe Rich, Clinton, and Quinn need to pay for their criminal conspiracy, but undermining attorney-client priviledge for the expediency of catching one high profile criminal is not worth it.
There is no way this ruling can stand or the legal profession and business as we know it now is over. Could you ever confide in your attorney again if you have to wonder whether some judge is arbitrarily going to rule your conversation is not covered by attorney-client priviledge? Scary.
Marc Rich was a fugitive from justice and on the FBI most wanted list.
According to Dan Burton there was an incident where the U.S. Marshalls in a jet were birddogging Marc Rich in an effort to arrest the fugitive Rich (in his private jet) which resulted in Rich being forced to return to his Swiss safe haven.
These documents could be anything... from personal communication notes to a connection between Rich and OBL. One has to wonder if the documents even 'exist' anymore.
Would you really hire someone who charges $200 a hour to clean your gutters? Do you think someone who can make that much would clean your gutters?
That doesn't seem like American justice to me. That's third world justice.
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