Chelsea Clinton's Testimony Sought in Pardongate Lawsuit
NewsMax.com
Monday, June 18, 2001 11:25 a.m. EDT
Former first daughter Chelsea Victoria Clinton will be named as a material witness in a Pardongate lawsuit set to be filed this week in California state court - and the odds she'll have to testify are "excellent," a senior official with the law firm handling the case said late Saturday.
Russell Verney, the Southwest Regional Director of Judicial Watch, revealed the legal watchdog group's intention to depose the 21-year-old Clinton daughter as part of a civil lawsuit set to be filed Wednesday by Democratic campaign contributor and California media mogul Peter Paul.
Mr. Paul, a partner in Stan Lee Media, donated $2 million in cash and in-kind contributions to Mrs. Clinton's New York Senate campaign last year. He also says he was then solicited for $150,000 by then-Democratic National Committee chairman Ed Rendell in exchange for a presidential pardon.
Paul has two prior convictions for fraud and drug possession.
Rendell, Bill and Hillary Clinton will be named in the legal action along with the former first daughter.
Mr. Verney, a former senior official with Ross Perot's Reform Party and one-time director of United We Stand, revealed the Chelsea Clinton bombshell during an interview with WABC Radio's John Batchelor and Paul Alexander.
ALEXANDER: What are the odds that Hillary Clinton may have to sit for a deposition?
VERNEY: I think excellent.
ALEXANDER: Excellent? What are the odds that Bill Clinton may have to sit for a deposition?
VERNEY: I think excellent.
ALEXANDER: What are the odds that Chelsea Clinton will have to sit for a deposition?
VERNEY: Excellent.
"I can't see how they can avoid the depositions," Verney told WABC.
Mr. Verney said that Ms. Clinton's testimony would be neccessary based on a thank-you note she wrote to Mr. Paul for his help in staging a gala Hollywood fund-raiser last August.
"According to a note Chelsea wrote, she and Bill Clinton stayed up all night one night playing Scrabble and they were talking about him joining Peter Paul's company after he left the presidency and the fact that Peter Paul was putting on this big gala out in California."
The father-daughter conversation took place in the White House, Verney said, prior to the gala. Paul's request for a presidential pardon did not come up.
"Peter Paul and his partner Stan Lee and his company thought it would be wonderful to have Bill Clinton sit on the board of directors of Stan Lee media," Verney said. "It would instantly make that company recognized as a worldwide media firm. They were willing to commit some $17 million to the effort to get Bill Clinton on the board of directors."
Mr. Paul personally put up $2 million to finance the California gala at Stan Lee's ranch, Verney said. As part of the deal, Clinton was promised an additional $15 million in Stan Lee stock.
Mr. Paul got the idea to recruit Clinton after meeting another key Pardongate witness, Denise Rich.
"Peter Paul, through a person who used to work for him, became acquainted with Denise Rich and many of the Clinton fund-raisers around the country. ... The idea kept snowballing. Peter Paul wanted Bill Clinton on his team," he said.
"So eventually Peter Paul said, 'In order to get Bill Clinton I'm willing to help get Hillary Rodham Clinton elected U.S. senator. And I'll put up money to help elect her."
But the night of the gala fund-raiser, Paul's deal with the Clintons began to unravel, as the Washington Post readied a report on his criminal record, Verney said.
The report prompted the Clintons to immediately distance themselves from the media mogul. It was at that point that Paul decided to seek a presidential pardon.
After making the pardon request, Paul was contacted by then-Democratic National Committee chairman Ed Rendell, who allegedly suggested it would be "nice" if he made a $150,000 contribution to the DNC.
"Here's a guy who just gave $2 million and the Clintons disavowed him the day after the event because of some news stories that came up in the Washington Post," the Judicial Watch official said. "And then after that, Rendell asks for another $150,000."
Paul never got his pardon and the deal for Clinton to join Stan Lee Media's board collapsed.
"They reneged on every single promise the White House made," Verney said.
But Mr. Paul has produced canceled checks for the amounts he gave - donations the Clintons allegedly never reported to the Federal Election Commission.
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