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Hillary's Brother Returns Pardon Money NewsMax.comThe brother-in-law of former President Bill Clinton received nearly $400,000 for successfully lobbying for a pardon and a prison commutation that Clinton granted on his last day in office, the Associated Press and TV networks reported this evening. Attorney Hugh Rodham, brother of Sen. Hillary Clinton, was paid for work on the prison commutation request of Carlos Vignali and received a "success fee" for helping win the pardon of Almon Glenn Braswell, sources said. Rodham returned the payment in the past 24 hours at the Clintons' request, according to news reports. "This is deeply troubling," a House Government Reform Committee source told Fox News, "and the committee is looking into it." Clinton issued this statement after the story broke: "Yesterday, I became aware of press inquiries that Hugh Rodham received a contingency fee in connection with a pardon application by Glenn Braswell and a fee for work on the Carlos Vignali commutation application. Neither Hillary nor I had any knowledge of such payments. We are deeply disturbed by these reports, and insisted that Hugh return any monies involved." According to AP: A source close to Clinton said then-White House adviser Bruce Lindsey had been contacted and was aware of Rodham's involvement with the Vignali request but that no White House officials were aware of Rodham's involvement in the Braswell pardon. The Braswell pardon has stirred controversy because after it was granted on Jan. 20 it was disclosed that the businessman was under investigation on new allegations. Justice Department spokeswoman Chris Watney would not comment Wednesday. Braswell did not apply for his pardon through the Justice Department. Vignali, son of a wealthy donor, applied for his commutation through the department in August 1998. Watney would not say whether Justice recommended that Vignali be pardoned. Federal prosecutors are investigating Braswell in "a massive tax evasion and money-laundering scheme," according to court documents filed in 1999 in Los Angeles. The White House claims ignorance of this. Braswell's last-minute pardon application was among about two dozen that bypassed the traditional route through the Justice Department and the FBI. President Bush's campaign and the Florida Republican Party last fall returned $175,000 in contributions from Braswell after learning he was a felon. Vignali walked out of prison Jan. 20 after serving six years of a 15-year sentence for participating in a major cocaine ring. Prosecutors in Minnesota, and the sentencing judge, defended his 15-year term and described Vignali as having a central role in the drug conspiracy. He is the son of Horacio Vignali, a wealthy Los Angeles political contributor.
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