W A S H I N G T O N, Feb. 16, 2001 -- Congress is putting another of former President Clinton's pardons under the microscope. This time it's the eleventh-hour clemency grant for ex-CIA Director John Deutch.

Deutch had been under investigation for mishandling classified government files, but Clinton freed him from prosecution on Jan. 20, his final day in office. The Senate Select Intelligence Committee has opened an investigation into Clinton's decision, ABCNEWS has confirmed.

Eleventh-Hour Surprise

Clinton's grant of clemency apparently came as a surprise to the Department of Justice. Although it is customary for presidential pardon applications to be submitted to the department, sources tell ABCNEWS the federal prosecutors who built the case against Deutch were stunned when they learned of the pardon through press reports.

The pardon was apparently so surprising that even Deutch's own lawyers had not expected it the night before it was granted. In an agreement signed by Deutch and his attorneys on Jan. 19, the former CIA chief was set to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified government information. Then Attorney General Janet Reno approved the deal and the official paperwork, a charging document called an "information."

It was set to be filed in court the following Monday, Jan. 22. But the pardon made the agreement a nullity.

Neither Reno nor Deutch's lawyers would have likely agreed to a plea bargain if they had believed a presidential pardon was forthcoming.

Of the 141 people pardoned by Clinton on Jan. 20, 140 were listed on a "master warrant" submitted by the White House to the Justice Department's pardon office. Deutch, however, was named on a separate warrant — a possible indication of the last-minute nature of the decision.

It is not known whether Deutch's legal team formally applied for the reprieve with the White House counsel's office.

Source: Tenet Denies Knowledge

It was revealed in 1999 that Deutch mishandled classified materials while at the CIA by placing them on an unsecured computer.

A staff-level inquiry was launched Thursday, sources close to the chairman of the intelligence committee, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., told ABCNEWS. The existence of the probe was first reported by The Washington Post.

"Sen. Shelby believes this is one of the most egregious cases of mishandling classified information," one source told ABCNEWS. "[He] believes that the pardon was inappropriate, particularly since it came in the eleventh-hour when [Deutch] was on the verge of pleading guilty."

In response to a letter sent Thursday afternoon by Shelby and the 16-member panel's Democratic vice chairman, Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, current CIA Director George Tenet told the committee he and the agency had no prior knowledge of the pardon, according to the source.

A committee official said staff members were in the process of contacting members of the intelligence community to see if they had any prior knowledge of the pardon and are attempting to set up a meeting with Deutch's lawyer.

The preliminary probe could be the precursor to public hearings on the pardon.

"It depends if they hit pay dirt or they figure out that there's nothing there," said one source.

Beverley Lumpkin and Eric Wagner contributed to this report.