Anyone recall Marc Rich pardon and his connection to Scooter Libby? I ask because

[blm]

his name popped up in a list of questions that needed further investigation of BCCI - which is a blueprint for pretty much everything happening today. And with Libby and Cheney outing Plame who happened to work on PROLIFERATION of weapons for that same region, this seems like there is so much more that can be mined here. And I wonder how far Fitz can go down this road.

I think the whole thing about Rich's ex-wife buying the pardon was an enormous smokescreen to distract us from the IranContra- BCCI connection.

Octafish Journal entry:

Regarding BCCI -- the Bank of Credit and Commerce International -- Kerry and his investigators documented a corrupt bank, founded by a corrupt Pakistani, funded by Middle Eastern petrobillions, used to facilitate operations by international terrorists, nuclear proliferators, the KGB and the CIA. It's how Dr. A.Q.Khan was able to build Pakistan's H-bomb, technology (at a minimum) they shared with Libya and North Korea (at a minimum). Here's Kerry's list - FROM 1992 - of things which warrant further investigation:



There have been a number of matters which the Subcommittee has received some information on, but has not been able to investigate adequately, due such factors as lack of resources, lack of time, documents being withheld by foreign governments, and limited evidentiary sources or witnesses. Some of the main areas which deserve further investigation include:

1. The extent of BCCI's involvement in Pakistan's nuclear program. As set forth in the chapter on BCCI in foreign countries, there is good reason to conclude that BCCI did finance Pakistan's nuclear program through the BCCI Foundation in Pakistan, as well as through BCCI-Canada in the Parvez case. However, details on BCCI's involvement remain unavailable. Further investigation is needed to understand the extent to which BCCI and Pakistan were able to evade U.S. and international nuclear non-proliferation regimes to acquire nuclear technologies.

2. BCCI's manipulation of commodities and securities markets in Europe and Canada. The Subcommittee has received information that remains not fully substantiated that BCCI defrauded investors, as well as some major U.S. and European financial firms, through manipulating commodities and securities markets, especially in Canada, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. This alleged fraud requires further investigation in those countries.

3. BCCI's activities in India, including its relationship with the business empire of the Hinduja family. The Subcommittee has not had access to BCCI records regarding India. The substantial lending by BCCI to the Indian industrialist family, the Hindujas, reported in press accounts, deserves further scrutiny, as do the press reports concerning alleged kick-backs and bribes to Indian officials.

4. BCCI's relationships with convicted Iraqi arms dealer Sarkis Soghanalian, Syrian drug trafficker, terrorist, and arms trafficker Monzer Al-Kassar, and other major arms dealers. Sarkenalian was a principal seller of arms to Iraq. Monzer Al- Kassar has been implicated in terrorist bombings in connection with terrorist organizations such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Other arms dealers, including some who provided machine guns and trained Medellin cartel death squads, also used BCCI. Tracing their assets through the bank would likely lead to important information concerning international terrorist and arms trafficker networks.

5. The use of BCCI by central figures in arms sales to Iran during the 1980's. The late Cyrus Hashemi, a key figure in allegations concerning an alleged deal involving the return of U.S. hostages from Iran in 1980, banked at BCCI London. His records have been withheld from disclosure to the Subcommittee by a British judge. Their release might aid in reaching judgments concerning Hashemi's activities in 1980, with the CIA under President Carter and allegedly with William Casey.

6. BCCI's activities with the Central Bank of Syria and with the Foreign Trade Mission of the Soviet Union in London. BCCI was used by both the Syrian and Soviet governments in the period in which each was involved in supporting activities hostile to the United States. Obtaining the records of those financial transactions would be critical to understanding what the Soviet Union under Brezhnev, Chernenko, and Andropov was doing in the West; and might document the nature and extent of Syria's support for international terrorism.

7. BCCI's involvement with foreign intelligence agencies. A British source has told the Bank of England and British
investigators that BCCI was used by numerous foreign intelligence agencies in the United Kingdom. The British intelligence service, the MI-5, has sealed documents from BCCI's records in the UK which could shed light on this allegation.

8. The financial dealings of BCCI directors with Charles Keating and several Keating affiliates and front-companies, including
the possibility that BCCI related entities may have laundered funds for Keating to move them outside the United States. The Subcommittee found numerous connections among Keating and BCCI-related persons and entities, such as BCCI director Alfred Hartman; CenTrust chief David Paul and CenTrust itself; Capcom front-man Lawrence Romrell; BCCI shipping affiliate, the Gokal group and the Gokal family; and possibly Ghaith Pharaon. The ties between BCCI and Keating's financial empire require further investigation.

9. BCCI's financing of commodities and other business dealings of international criminal financier Marc Rich. Marc Rich
remains the most important figure in the international commodities markets, and remains a fugitive from the United States following his indictment on securities fraud. BCCI lending to Rich in the 1980's amounted to tens of millions of dollars. Moreover, Rich's commodities firms were used by BCCI in connection with BCCI's involving in U.S. guarantee programs through the Department of Agriculture. The nature and extent of Rich's relationship with BCCI requires further investigation.

10. The nature, extent and meaning of the ownership of shares of other U.S. financial institutions by Middle Eastern political
figures. Political figures and members of the ruling family of various Middle Eastern countries have very substantial investments in the United States, in some cases, owning substantial shares of major U.S. banks. Given BCCI's routine use of nominees from the Middle East, and the pervasive practice of using nominees within the Middle East, further investigation may be warranted of Middle Eastern ownership of domestic U.S. financial institutions.

11. The nature, extent, and meaning of real estate and financial investments in the United States by major shareholders of BCCI. BCCI's shareholders and front-men have made substantial investments in real estate throughout the United States, owning major office buildings in such key cities as New York and Washington, D.C. Given BCCI's pervasiveness criminality, and the role of these shareholders and front-men in the BCCI affair, a complete review of their holdings in the United States is warranted.

12. BCCI's collusion in Savings & Loan fraud in the U.S. The Subcommittee found ties between BCCI and two failed Savings and Loan institutions, CenTrust, which BCCI came to have a controlling interest in, and Caprock Savings and Loan in Texas, and as noted above, the involvement of BCCI figures with Charles Keating and his business empire. In each case, BCCI's involvement cost the U. S. taxpayers money. A comprehensive review of BCCI's account holders in the U.S. and globally might well reveal additional such cases. In addition, the issue of whether David Paul and CenTrust's political relationships were used by Paul on behalf of BCCI merits further investigation.

13. The sale of BCCI affiliate Banque de Commerce et de Placements (BCP) in Geneva, to the Cukorova Group of Turkey, which owned an entity involved in the BNL Iraqi arms sales, among others. Given BNL's links to BCCI, and Cukorova Groups' involvement through its subsidiary, Entrade, with BNL in the sales to Iraq, the swift sale of BCP to Cukorova just weeks after BCCI's closure -- prior to due diligence being conducted -- raises questions as to whether a prior relationship existed between BCCI and Cukorova, and Cukorova's intentions in making the purchase. Within the past year, Cukorova also applied to purchase a New York bank. Cukorova's actions pertaining to BCP require further investigation in Switzerland by Swiss authorities, and by the Federal Reserve New York.

14. BCCI's role in China. As noted in the chapter on BCCI's activities in foreign countries, BCCI had extensive activity in China, and the Chinese government allegedly lost $500 million when BCCI closed, mostly from government accounts. While there have been allegations that bribes and pay-offs were involved, these allegations require further investigation and detail to determine what actually happened, and who was involved.

15. The relationship between Capcom and BCCI, between Capcom and the intelligence community, and between Capcom's shareholders and U.S. telecommunications industry figures. The Subcommittee was able to interview people and review documents concerning Capcom that no other investigators had to date interviewed or reviewed. Much more needs to be done to understand what Capcom was doing in the United States, the United Kingdom, Egypt, Oman, and the Middle East, including whether the firm was, as has been alleged but not proven, used by the intelligence community to move funds for intelligence operations; and whether any person involved with Capcom was seeking secretly to acquire interests in the U.S. telecommunications industry.

16. The relationship of important BCCI figures and important intelligence figures to the collapse of the Hong Kong Deposit and Guaranty Bank and Tetra Finance (HK) in 1983. The circumstances surrounding the collpase of these two Hong Kong banks; the Hong Kong banks' practices of using nominees, front-companies, and back-to-back financial transactions; the Hong Banks' directors having included several important BCCI figures, including Ghanim Al Mazrui, and a close associate of then CIA director William Casey; all raise the question of whether there was a relationship between these two institutions and BCCI-Hong Kong, and whether the two Hong Kong institutions were used for domestic or foreign intelligence operations.

17. BCCI's activities in Atlanta and its acquisition of the National Bank of Georgia through First American. Although the Justice Department indictments of Clark Clifford and Robert Altman cover portions of how BCCI acquired National Bank of Georgia, other important allegations regarding the possible involvement of political figures in Georgia in BCCI's activities there remain outside the indictment. These allegations, as well as the underlying facts regarding BCCI's activities in Georgia, require further investigation.

18. The relationship between BCCI and the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro. BCCI and the Atlanta Branch of BNL had an extensive relationship in the United States, with the Atlanta Branch of BNL having a substantial number of accounts in BCCI's Miami offices. BNL was, according to federal indictments, a significant financial conduit for weapons to Iraq. BCCI also made loans to Iraq, although of a substantially smaller nature. Given the criminality of both institutions, and their interlocking activities, further investigation of the relationship could produce further understanding of Saddam Hussein's international network for acquiring weapons, and how Iraq evaded governmental restrictions on such weapons acquisitions.

19. The alleged relationship between the late CIA director William Casey and BCCI. As set forth in the chapter on intelligence, numerous trails lead from BCCI to Casey, and from Casey to BCCI, and the investigation has been unable to follow any of them to the end to determine whether there was indeed a relationship, and if there was, its nature and extent. If any such relationship existed, it could have a significant impact on the findings and conclusions concerning the CIA and BCCI's role in U.S. foreign policy and intelligence operations during the Casey era. The investigation's work detailing the ties of BCCI to the intelligence community generally also remains far from complete, and much about these ties remains obscure and in need of further investigation.

20. Money laundering by other major international banks. Numerous BCCI officials told the Subcommittee that BCCI's money laundering was no different from activities they observed at other international banks, and provided the names of a number of prominent U.S. and European banks which they alleged engaged in money laundering. There is no question that BCCI's laundering of drug money, while pervading the institution, constituted a small component of the total money laundering taking place in international banking. Further investigation to determine which international banks are soliciting and handling drug money should be undertaken.

[leetrisck]

1. Scooter Libby was Marc Rich's

attorney (at one time) and had tried to get a pardon for him. When "they" held hearings on why Clinton had pardoned Rich, Scooter Libby ended up having to testify as to why he had recommended Rich for a pardon. I remember someone asking him at the hearings if he thought that Rich should be pardoned and he said yes. That's not much info = just what I remember.

[blm]

2. I never believe anything is that simple with BushInc. Rich was armsdealing in the

same region that Plame was focused on.

And undergod knows that if Libby was Cheney's trusted righthand man, then they undoubtedly go way back. No way would he have gained that position without being a longtime loyalist and insider to decades of the BFEE's covert actions.

[emulatorloo]

5. a snippet from Libby wikipedia entry - George HW Bush admin, Cheney, etc

interesting overlapping dates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Libby

------

Libby first entered government service in the United States Department of State in 1981, as a member of the Policy Planning Staff in the Office of the Secretary. From 1982 to 1985 he served in that department as director of special projects in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs. During the George H. W. Bush administration, Libby served in the United States Department of Defense as principal deputy under secretary (Strategy and Resources), and later was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy under secretary of defense for policy. Libby co-authored the draft of the "Defense Planning Guidance" with Paul Wolfowitz for the then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney in 1992.

Libby authored a 1996 novel titled The Apprentice, about a group of travelers stranded in northern Japan in the winter of 1903 during a smallpox epidemic. <16> <17> Beginning in 2001, Libby was nicknamed "Germ-Boy" at the White House, for insisting on universal smallpox vaccination. <18>

Libby has also, at various times in his career, held positions with the American Bar Association, been on the advisory board of the RAND Corporation's Center for Russia and Eurasia, and been a legal advisor to the United States House of Representatives. He has consulted for the defense contractor Northrop Grumman. He has also been active in the Defense Policy Board of the Pentagon while it was chaired by Richard Perle. <19> Libby was a founding member of the Project for the New American Century. He joined Wolfowitz, William Kristol, Robert Kagan, and others in writing its 2000 report titled, "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategy, Forces, and Resources for a New Century." <20>

In his work as a private lawyer, Libby's most famous client was billionaire commodities trader Marc Rich, a former white collar fugitive. <21> Libby represented Rich from 1985 until 2000, during which time Libby's firm received more than $2 million from Rich for representing him. Rich was pardoned by President Bill Clinton in January 2001, during the last hours of the Clinton administration, which drew heavy criticism from Republicans. At a Congressional hearing to review Clinton's pardons, Libby denied that Rich had violated any tax laws. <22>

--

[blm]

6. I think turning it into a Clinton problem was another Machiavellian move but

Clinton is not stupid, he HAD to know that he was extending another pardon to an IranContra, BCCI criminal.

Taxes, nothing. This was all about WHAT he was trading in - illegal arms and facilitating the covert operations of the BFEE.

[ellie]

11. I remember

an interview with Clinton and the interviewer asked him about the pardon and he said that if he wouldn't have done it, Bush would because Marc Rich was friends with Cheney. The interviewer seemed astounded by the news and didn't ask a follow up question.

[Catherine Vincent]

3. Libby denied advocating a pardon for Marc Rich.

He was lying then and he's lying now.

[blm]

4. That's what I believe - I also read a recent article that adds another angle to this.

A whole other angle that certain sex scandals certainly kept from public view - now I am wondering if BFEE trumped up the sex scandal to keep their REAL business from being noticed.

http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/IA20Ak01.html

[mod mom]

10. Would you mind explaining something to me: (Clinton/Iran Shipments)

from the atimes article:

"Indeed, the history of US-Qods cooperation in Bosnia and subsequently in Afghanistan is instructive, given the avalanche of negative commentaries in the US media that portray a completely adversarial relationship between the US and Iran. In 1996, Newt Gingrich, then Speaker of the US House of Representative, set up a special committee to investigate US-Iran relations in Bosnia, which some US senators, including John Kerry, castigated as Clinton's version of the "Iran-Contra affair", with Kerry accusing Clinton of "turning a blind eye to Iranian shipments".

As a result of such political pressures, the Clinton administration shifted its policy toward the Iranians in Bosnia: the Revolutionary Guards' offices in Bosnia were ordered closed and, in one case reminiscent of the Irbil incident, US forces took over one of those liaison offices and temporarily apprehended several Iranians whom they accused of subversive activities."


Is Clinton's friendliness to HW a way to know thy enemy or as I learned today (pardoning of Marc Rich-Libby's client; turning a blind eye on arms shipments, DLC ties to PNAC etc; is it more sinister?

[starroute]

7. This area is kind of a mine field

Partly because when you google on Marc Rich, a lot of what turns up ultimately stems from the LaRouchies, for whom he is a major figure in their conspiracy theories. But also because there is some kind of attempt going on -- as recently detailed by Marcy Wheeler at The Next Hurrah -- to claim that Fitzgerald is simply targeting Libby in some kind of payback for the Rich affair.

http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/01/the_pending_mar.html

I suspect Libby's team wants to suggest that Libby's indictment was direct retaliation for the work Libby did to get Rich a pardon.

This point is made explicitly in the WSJ's recent opinion piece.

"As it happens, Messrs. Fitzgerald and Libby had crossed legal paths before. Before he joined the Bush Administration, Mr. Libby had, for a number of years in the 1980s and 1990s, been a lawyer for Marc Rich. Mr. Rich is the oil trader and financier who fled to Switzerland in 1983, just ahead of his indictment for tax-evasion by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bill Clinton pardoned Mr. Rich in 2001, and so the feds never did get their man. . . . Two of the prosecutors who worked on the Rich case over the years were none other than Mr. Fitzgerald and James Comey, who while Deputy Attorney General appointed Mr. Fitzgerald to investigate the Plame leak."

At least from a PR stance, they're trying to argue that Fitzgerald and Comey selectively prosecuted Libby--and not Armitage or any other shiny objects--because they were still pissed about Rich. Libby's minions will make the case--at least in the public sphere--that this is all one big revenge prosecution.

But it may not just be a matter of public sphere. You see, Libby's lawyers are threatening to call Fitzgerald to the stand, under the guise of challenging his assertion that Judy tried not to testify. They want to get Fitz on the stand--so they can turn this into a trial of his decisions.

It's interesting that Libby's relationship with Rich goes back into the 1980's -- one other source I looked at referred to it as an "eighteen year collaboration." Since Libby was working in the Department of State from 1981 to 1985, and then in the Department of Defense under Wolfowitz during the Bush Sr. administration, it leaves a fairly narrow window in the late 80's for him to have served as a private lawyer for Rich.

This would have been after Rich had fled to Switzerland (having been indicted on tax evasion charges in 1983 by then-US Attorny Rudy Giuliani and placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list), but in precisely the period (1986-87) when Rich was making a fortune speculating in aluminum. It's also the same period that other Neocons, like Feith and Perle, were getting out of the Reagan administration and involving themselves in dodgy business dealings in places like Israel and Turkey.

Something interesting and probably semi-legal at best was certainly happening in those years, but it was far from limited to BCCI and really deserves consideration on its own.

[blm]

8. As you can see by the list of unanswered questions, it DOES extend far beyond BCCI, but definitely

everything going on today is ROOTED in BCCI/IranContra matters.

Pointing at Clinton as if he was corrupted by accepting donations from Denise Rich was certainly an easy distraction for the REAL matters involving Rich.

[blm]

9. Hoping some Plame watchdogs have some insight.

.

[DemReadingDU]

12. morning kick