Libby/Rich relationship

[snopes]

Comment: I have heard it said on talk radio that Scooter Libby was the
lawyer for Mark Rich, the man President Clinton pardoned at the end of his
last term. On the talking head news shows Republicans keep bringing up
that pardon, but no mention is ever made by anyone about a Libby/Rich
connection. Is there one?

[Silas Sparkhammer]

I've also heard this one mentioned on "Liberal" talk radio. It's an indication of how small a town Washington D.C. really is: everybody pretty quickly gets to know everyone else.

Silas

[I'mNotDedalus]

As a private litigator, Libby represented Marc Rich from 1985 until the spring of 2000.

In 2001, before a House Committee investigating Clinton's final pardons, Libby still spoke for Rich's innocence. His only criticism was, "he thought Rich was a traitor for his company engaging in trades with Iran at a time when that country was holding U.S. hostages. 'I did not condone it, I didn't advise it, I don't admire it,' he said."

IIRC, last week, Clinton addressed the parallels during a phone interview, balking that the comparison of his pardons with GW's commutation are in no way similar. I'm having difficulty finding a cite, though.

[Ramblin' Dave]

You don't really need a cite to argue the point that there's no analogy, whether Clinton said it or not. Libby was tangled in a scandal that pertains directly to Bush, and Bush said he would punish whoever was responsible for the leak. Not so with Rich and Clinton.

[Ali Infree]

As a private litigator, Libby represented Marc Rich from 1985 until the spring of 2000.

In 2001, before a House Committee investigating Clinton's final pardons, Libby still spoke for Rich's innocence. His only criticism was, "he thought Rich was a traitor for his company engaging in trades with Iran at a time when that country was holding U.S. hostages. 'I did not condone it, I didn't advise it, I don't admire it,' he said."

Why did Libby feel the need to defend Rich's actions as above when the Iranian hostage crisis ended in January, 1981?


Ali Infree

[AnglRdr]

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

Why did Libby feel the need to defend Rich's actions as above when the Iranian hostage crisis ended in January, 1981?


Ali Infree

I think Marc Rich was trading with Iran while trading with Iran was illegal, which it has remained so long after the hostage crisis.

[RBCal]

Strange that Halliburton when run by Cheney was able to do business with Iran.

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney, who has called Iran "the world's leading exporter of terror," pushed to lift U.S. trade sanctions against Tehran while chairman of Halliburton Co. in the 1990s. And his company's offshore subsidiaries also expanded business in Iran.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,134836,00.html

[I'mNotDedalus]

Originally Posted by Ramblin' Dave

You don't really need a cite to argue the point that there's no analogy, whether Clinton said it or not. Libby was tangled in a scandal that pertains directly to Bush, and Bush said he would punish whoever was responsible for the leak. Not so with Rich and Clinton.

I agree. But I do think there is a general pattern evident in both pardons/commutations: verdicts (and most elections) are purchased in this country.

Originally Posted by Ali Infree

Why did Libby feel the need to defend Rich's actions as above when the Iranian hostage crisis ended in January, 1981?

Because he was subpoenaed before the House Committee on Government Reform, specifically by Rep. Henry Waxman (a Californian Democrat, who may have called Libby just to piss off Cheney). The Committee's Chairman at the time was Rep. Dan Burton, who remarked:

I want to work with members on both sides to get this done. Mr. Waxman asked us to call Scooter Libby to testify today. I, personally, didn't think that was necessary. There is no evidence that Mr. Libby was involved in the pardon process at all. But it was important to Mr. Waxman, so I agreed.

But apparently Clinton, himself, had stated Libby was involved from the get-go, advocating the pardon even though he was no longer Rich's lawyer by 2001. Libby adamantly denied ever meeting with Clinton to discuss such matters. Unfortunately, I've only been able to locate CNN's transcript of the Committee's first few minutes. The House/Committee web sites fish out nothing, as they generally do.

Originally Posted by AnglRdr

I think Marc Rich was trading with Iran while trading with Iran was illegal, which it has remained so long after the hostage crisis.

Yeah, wikipedia gives a few uncited details, the gist of which are supported by this Time article:

One of his biggest market coups came during the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74, when he used his Middle Eastern contacts to circumvent the embargo and buy crude oil from Iran and Iraq. After purchasing the crude for roughly $12 per bbl. Rich doubled the price and sold it to supply-starved U.S. oil companies. In 1974 he and Co-Worker Green set up their own company