Two Biden Cabinet Picks Were Reprimanded For Roles In Clinton-Era ‘Pardongate’ Scandal

 
by CHUCK ROSS

Two of President-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet selections successfully lobbied the Clinton White House on behalf of a cocaine trafficker seeking early release from prison, according to a 2002 congressional report on the Clinton-era “Pardongate” scandal.

The report, from the House Committee on Government Reform, detailed Xavier Becerra and Alejandro Mayorkas’s efforts to secure a presidential commutation for Carlos Vignali, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1994 for drug trafficking.

Biden nominated Becerra to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and Mayorkas to oversee the Department of Homeland Security. Becerra was a U.S. congressman in Los Angeles and Mayorkas was the U.S. attorney for the city when they sought reprieve for Vignali.

The report from the House committee asserted that Mayorkas’s advocacy was “totally inappropriate” given his position as a federal prosecutor. The report also detailed evidence that Vignali’s father, Horacio Vignali, made a series of campaign contributions to Becerra, who currently serves as California’s attorney general

The Vignali family donated more than $11,000 to Becerra’s political action committee from 1998 to 2001 and nearly $6,000 to Becerra’s congressional and mayoral campaigns, the report said.

The issue of presidential pardons is poised to come roaring back in the waning days of President Donald Trump’s administration. The president has already come under scrutiny for pardoning Michael Flynn, his former national security adviser.

Trump is also reportedly weighing pardons for family members and other associates. (RELATED: Biden Pick For DHS Chief ‘Exerted Improper Influence’ To Help Rich Foreign Investors)

Largely forgotten over the past two decades is the slew of pardons and commutations that President Bill Clinton issued before leaving the White House, a scandal which came to be known as “Pardongate.”

Clinton commuted Vignali’s sentence on his last day in office, Jan. 20, 2001.

Becerra and Mayorkas could face questions during their Senate confirmation hearings over their role in the Vignali clemency process, one of the more prominent cases that falls under the Pardongate umbrella.

Mayorkas gave a conflicting account of his role seeking commutation for Vignali during a Senate confirmation hearing in 2013 to serve as deputy secretary of DHS.

He said at the hearing that he advocated for Vignali after being contacted by the Clinton White House, but the House report cited an email from Mayorkas that said otherwise, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2015.

The House report cites an email that Mayorkas wrote to his staff in 2001 in which he said he “called the White House counsel’s office” regarding Vignali and conveyed support for a commutation. He also apologized for his role in the Vignali case.

Allegations of bribery also swirled around Vignali’s commutation, though neither Mayorkas nor Becerra were accused of any wrongdoing in that regard.

According to the House report, Hillary Clinton’s younger brother, Hugh Rodham, was paid $204,200 for two months of work that involved contacting the White House in support of Vignali’s release from prison.

Rodham received nearly all of his payment — $200,000 — on Jan. 24, 2001, days after Clinton left office. House investigators asserted that the timing of the payment indicates that Rodham’s payment “was contingent upon his success” in helping Vignali get out of jail.

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All of that, and other aspects of Clinton's "Pardongate," are worth keeping in mind as Trump's pardons inevitably cause all sorts of media outrage.

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) December 7, 2020