Clinton brother adds to pardon scandal

Mr Clinton was apparently lobbied from all sides

Bill Clinton's half-brother Roger lobbied the former president for clemency for about 10 people, it has emerged, adding to the ongoing scandal over Mr Clinton's last-minute pardons.

Roger Clinton says he was not paid to intervene with the former president, and none of the people he mentioned got pardons, an aide to Bill Clinton said.

Roger Clinton was himself pardoned

But Congressional investigators looking into Mr Clinton's pardons on his last day in office have added Roger Clinton to their inquiry.

The Senate and a federal attorney are carrying out two separate investigations of Bill Clinton's 140 pardons and 36 reductions in sentence on his last day in office - an action unprecedented in modern American history.

Roger Clinton himself received a pardon for a 1985 cocaine offence.

Hillary's brother

The news of Roger Clinton's intervention came as Hillary Clinton's brother, Miami lawyer Hugh Rodham, admitted accepting nearly $400,000 to lobby for two men who did receive pardons.

Senator Clinton under investigation, says AP

The Clintons said they were unaware that Mr Rodham had taken money for his actions, and demanded that he return it.

Mr Rodham, who denies wrongdoing, has returned the money, his lawyer said.

Hillary Clinton - now a senator from New York - told a news conference on Thursday that she had nothing to do with the issuing of pardons.

In a separate development, Mrs Clinton has come under investigation over her possible role in the pardon of four Hasidic Jews from a district in New York state, the Associated Press reported on Friday.

The community voted overwhelmingly for her in her Senate race.

Successful intervention

Mr Rodham reportedly received the payment for months of work in securing a reduced sentence for Carlos Vignali, a convicted drug trafficker, and a pardon for Almon Glenn Braswell, a businessman guilty of fraud.

Mr Clinton has said the pardon was only intended to apply to the 1983 conviction, and that he was unaware there was a new investigation under way.

The 140 pardons and 36 commutations granted by Mr Clinton just hours before leaving office have been fiercely criticised by Republicans and Democrats alike.

Mr Clinton had not issued that many pardons in any previous single year of his presidency.

The main focus of the row has been the pardon granted to the fugitive billionaire Marc Rich, who was indicted in 1983 on charges of tax evasion and making illegal oil deals with Iran.