By MARY DEJEVSKY
WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and now Senator for New York, has said she was "heartbroken and shocked" when she learnt that her brother had been paid for soliciting White House pardons and insisted that the money be returned. Her brother's action, she said, was "a terrible misjudgement" and "very sad".
Mrs Clinton was speaking at a press conference at the US Capitol, amid a mounting scandal about the pardons granted by the former president, Bill Clinton, in his last days in office.
President George Bush, whose first month in office has been completely eclipsed in US headlines by the reverberating Clinton scandals, drew an implicit contrast between himself and Mr Clinton yesterday, saying: "Should I decide to grant pardons, I will do so in a fair way. I'll have the highest of high standards." Asked what he would say to any of his politically active relatives, he said: "My guidance to them is: 'Behave yourself.' And they will."
Answering questions at his first full White House press conference, Mr Bush deflected most questions about his predecessor, saying only: "He made the decisions he made, and he can answer the questions raised by the American citizens and the press corps." The President then repeated his familiar line that it was time to "move on".
Once again, however, Mr Bush's limelight was stolen by the Clintons, this time Mrs Clinton. Until yesterday, she had insisted she had no involvement in the pardons process. But accusations that her brother, Hugh Rodham, had accepted a sum of $400,000 (£280,000) for representing two of the more controversial beneficiaries, had given her no option but to respond.
Exhibiting her customary unflappability, but also an unusual directnessand spontaneity, Mrs Clinton said: "I was very disappointed and saddened by this whole matter. It came as a surprise to me and was very disturbing."
"Disappointed" was a word that she used repeatedly in 20 minutes of bombardment with reporters' questions. The former first lady said: "I love my brother; I'm just extremely disappointed with the misjudgement he made." This was not, she said, the start to her term as Senator that she had "preferred or planned".
In a personal statement the previous evening, Mrs Clinton had insisted that her brother – a lawyer and lobbyist in Florida – had not spoken to her about his role and said that it was her understanding thathe was repaying the money.
With a fresh admission yesterday from her Senate campaign treasurer, William Cunningham, that he had also been paid, although many times less, for representing pardon applicants, it was clear that Mrs Clinton had to respond in person.
Cash-for-pardons scandal engulfs Hillary
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