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U.S. Attorney investigating all Clinton pardons

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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Justice Department officials Tuesday confirmed the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan has been given authority to investigate all of the clemencies and pardons announced by President Clinton on his final day in office.

"An organizational decision was made a couple of weeks ago for a routine consolidation of allegations in all the pardon cases," said a Justice Department official who asked not to identified.

The allegations will be investigated by attorneys in the Southern District of New York under the control of U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White, a Clinton appointee.

The Justice Department officials dismissed a published report Tuesday which said "a special team of prosecutors" had been designated to pursue the investigations.

"There's no special team, there's no expansion of authority, there's no additional resources," an official said.

Although officials working for Attorney General John Ashcroft in Washington will be informed of White's findings, no prosecutors from the Justice Department in Washington will be involved in the probe, the sources said.

The former President announced 177 pardons and commutations on the morning of January 20th, only a few hours before he left office.

White's office has launched a criminal investigation into circumstances surrounding the pardon of fugitive businessman Marc Rich, for the commutations for Hasidic Jews convicted of fraud.

Officials refused to speculate on whether FBI investigators from New York or White's prosecutors will seek assistance from other field offices or U.S. Attorney's offices. Jurisdictional issues could require potential prosecutions to be transferred eventually to the federal districts where crimes were allegedly committed.



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