Clinton pardons fraudster

Dan Rostenkowski: Indicted for embezzling

President Bill Clinton has used special powers to pardon a former leading member of the House of Representatives convicted on corruption charges in 1996.

The former chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Dan Rostenkowski, was among 59 convicted criminals pardoned by Mr Clinton.

Long regarded as one of Washington's most powerful figures, Mr Rostenkowski was sentenced to 17 months in prison and fined $100,000 after admitting charges of mail fraud.

Susan McDougal: Whitewater property scandal

The White House said Mr Clinton was considering clemency for several other convicted criminals, including the former Wall Street financier Michael Milken, and a figure in the Whitewater property scandal, Susan McDougal.

As is traditional, the White House did not issue any statement explaining the president's reasons for granting any of the pardons.

Mr Rostenkowski was indicted for embezzling and misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars of government money in the operation of his congressional office.

He initially had denied any wrongdoing, but in April 1996 pleaded guilty to two felony counts of mail fraud.

He eventually served 15 months of his sentence, most of them in a minimum-security prison camp in Wisconsin, before he returned to civilian life in October of 1997.

'Abused your position'

In accepting Mr Rostenkowski's guilty plea, US District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson sternly rebuked him for a "betrayal of trust," denounced his conduct as "reprehensible" and said he had "violated the faith" of his constituents, who elected him from 1959 until 1994, when he was defeated.

"You shamelessly abused your position," she said.

Mr Rostenkowski admitted he knew that some of his congressional staff members had performed personal or political services in violation of House of Representatives rules.

He also said he knew that merchandise purchased with official funds from the House Stationery Store had been given away as gifts to friends, again in violation of House rules.

The plea deal reached with prosecutors also called for Mr Rostenkowski to pay a $100,000 fine, minus the $82,000 he already had reimbursed to the House store.

In return for the guilty plea, the prosecutors agreed to drop the remaining charges against him, allowing Mr Rostenkowski to avoid trial on corruption charges that he misused his office, including skimming more than $600,000 in taxpayer funds from various congressional allowances over a 20-year period.