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March 23, 2001/Adar 28, 5761, Vol. 53, No.25
ADL's Foxman questioned by investigators
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
WASHINGTON - The Anti-Defamation League is cooperating with a congressional investigation into the pardon of businessman Marc Rich, and has acknowledged that Rich was a donor to the organization.
The House of Representatives' Government Reform Committee also has sent a letter seeking the cooperation of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, but has not yet received a response, a committee spokeswoman said.
The national director of the ADL, Abraham Foxman, met with committee investigators in Washington on March 19, the same day he released a letter saying he "probably" had erred by lobbying former President Clinton to pardon Rich.
Rich was indicted on 51 counts of tax evasion, racketeering and violating trade sanctions with Iran, but fled to Switzerland in 1983 before standing trial. He then became a major donor to Jewish charitable organizations and Israeli universities and hospitals, and many leading Israeli politicians and American Jewish figures lobbied Clinton on his behalf.
Clinton pardoned Rich in the waning hours of his presidency in January, and has said that the Jewish push - particularly Barak's intercession - was one of the major factors in his decision.
Myrna Shinbaum, ADL's director of media relations and public information, acknowledged that Rich has donated to the organization, but refused to divulge the amount he has given or when he gave it.
Foxman's meeting with investigators came the day he issued a statement explaining why he participated in the Rich pardon.
"I did so because I believed, along with many others whom I respect, that Mr. Rich deserved a second chance," Foxman said in the statement. "In hindsight, this case probably should not have had my involvement."
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