The former US president, Mr Bill Clinton, began working on his pardon of the fugitive financier, Mr Marc Rich, long before the Justice Department was notified of his plans, according to a report released on Sunday.
White House transcripts of Mr Clinton's telephone conversations with then-Israeli prime minister, Mr Ehud Barak, obtained by Newsweek show the two leaders first discussed the case on December 11th, the magazine reported in this week's edition.
In response to Mr Barak's comments on Mr Rich, Mr Clinton said he was aware of the case because he knew the billionaire's ex-wife, Ms Denise Rich.
Mr Rich's last minute pardon became one of the most controversial decisions of Mr Clinton's presidency. Even his fellow Democrats condemned him for it.
The commodities trader fled the US in 1983, when he was about to be indicted on tax fraud and racketeering charges. He has since renounced his US citizenship and conducts his business out of Switzerland. He also is an Israeli citizen.
But the fact that Ms Rich was one of the top contributors to the Democratic Party, giving more than $1.3 million to the party, including over $400,000 for Mr Clinton's presidential library, has given rise to allegations that she effectively bought the pardon.
Mr Clinton has repeatedly denied any quid-pro-quo in the case and said he issued the pardon on its merits.
His aides have said the justice department was property notified of the case.
However, justice department officials have told Congress they were notified of Mr Clinton's plans to pardon Mr Rich only on the eve of the president's departure from the White House on January 20th.
In the meantime, the transcripts reveal Mr Clinton and Mr Barak had a steady exchange of views on the Rich case.
"It's a bizarre case, and I'm working on it," Mr Clinton told the Israeli prime minister on January 8th, adding that "it's best that we not say much about that." By January 19th - the day before he left office - Mr Clinton had apparently made up his mind.
"The question is not whether he should get it ... but whether he should get it without coming back," he told Mr Barak in yet another telephone conversation.
"That's the dilemma I'm working through."
Reuters report from New York:
When the Daily News asked readers to come up with a title for Mr Clinton's memoirs, the ideas ranged from the sexy "Crouching Intern, Hidden Cigar" to the serious, "My Journey to the Presidency."
The newspaper published readers' picks for Mr Clinton's book, announced on August 6th by publisher Alfred A. Knopf in a deal expected to be worth at least $12 million, making it the largest in book publishing history.
"Surviving Through Grace" and just plain "Bill" were some of the more earnest suggestions.
Others were humorous or referred to his affair with the former White House intern, Ms Monica Lewinsky during his second term, such as "Affairs of State."
Another suggestion was "42 - My Life Between the Bushes."