A top Department of Homeland Security official improperly used his influence to help Tony Rodham – Hillary Clinton's youngest brother – with visas for his company's foreign investors, according to a new inspector general report. Investigators said Alejandro Mayorkas helped efforts to secure the visas in ways that created the appearance of favoritism and special access. He also helped Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe's green-car venture in 'unprecedented' fashion, according to the inspector general, and a casino company whose success was a pet project of then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Mayorkas was at the time in charge of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Mrs. Clinton's latest 'brother eruption' could complicate her quest for the White House. Hillary Clinton's brother, Tony Rodham (left) benefited from the improper influence of a top Homeland Security official who intervened to help his clients get special visas for their overseas investors, according to a new inspector general report . Alejandro Mayorkas, now the no. 2 official at Homeland Security, headed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services when Rodham approached him for 'unprecedented' help . 'Brother eruption': Hillary's older brother Hugh (right) made unwelcome news at the end of President Bill Clinton's tenure by successfully lobbying him to commute the federal drug-dealing prison sentence of a Democratic Party donor's son. TROUBLE: Hillary Rodham Clinton is poised for a presidential run and her brothers' histories could come back to haunt her . When she was first lady, a series of embarrassing episodes including both Tony and Hugh Rodham led White House staffers to refer to them with an eye-roll as 'the brothers Rodham.' Hillary's older brother Hugh made unwelcome news at the end of President Bill Clinton's tenure by successfully lobbying him to commute the federal drug-dealing prison sentence of a Democratic Party donor's son. Hugh had been paid $400,000 by the donor to lobby for that outcome. He later returned the money as a scandal grew. At the time, Mayorkas – already a Rodham friend – intervened and spoke to the White House about the request, something he conceded during his 2009 Senate confirmation hearing was a mistake. Hillary, then a freshman U.S. senator from New York, distanced herself from her brother in a press conference. 'I did not know my brother was involved in any way in any of this,' she said at the time. 'I did not have any involvement in the pardons that were granted or not granted, and I'm just very disappointed about my brother's involvement.' Separately, Tony Rodham had his own brush with presidential pardon embarrassment, successfully pressing President Clinton to pardon a Tennessee couple convicted of bank fraud. Clinton overruled objections from the Justice Department in granting that request. Tony Rodham claimed he received no money in exchange for his access to the Oval Office, but the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee later found that he was paid as a consultant. More recently, a book due out in May describes a scheme involving an alleged sweetheart deal Tony Rodham benefited from in Haiti. He was a board member of a North Carolina mining company that enjoyed prime access to Haitian gold deposits in the wake of post-earthquake relief work organized in part by Bill Clinton. That work was conducted through the Clinton Foundation, a philanthropy that now bears Hillary's name. Virginia's Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe (right), shown with  Prince Charles and Carol Cadou, Senior Vice President for Historic Preservation at Mount Vernon, got special favors for his green-technology firm . The latest Rodham embarrassment, revealed Tuesday, involves influential Democrats who sought help from Tony with securing visas as part of a complicated foreign investor program. The U.S. government's investor-visa program, known as EB-5, allows foreigners to obtain visas to live permanently in the U.S. with their spouses and children if they invest $500,000 to $1 million in projects or businesses that create jobs for American citizens. Jeh Johnson, U.S. secretary of Homeland Security, said Mayorkas is 'exceptionally conscientious, honest and patriotic' – despite his link to the latest scandal . Approved investors can become legal permanent residents after two years and later can become U.S. citizens. Tony Rodham ran Gulf Coast Funds Management, a firm that specialized in recruiting foreign investors and securing their EB-5 visas. GreenTech Automotive, run by now-Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe – who was Bill Clinton's top fundraiser in the 1990s – contracted with Gulf Coast. Homeland Security Inspector General John Roth wrote that he didn't know why Mayorkas intervened in the cases, and didn't accuse him of violating any laws. But he criticized the long-time Democratic legal eagle for using his influence improperly. Roth also praised as 'courageous' the agency employees who confidentially had complained about Mayorkas' actions and promised they would be protected as whistleblowers. Mayorkas said in a statement that he disagreed with Roth's findings but added that 'I will certainly learn from it and from this process.' He added: 'There was erroneous decision-making and insufficient security vetting of cases. I could not and did not turn my back on my responsibility to address those grave problems. I made improving the program a priority and I did so in a hands-on manner.' The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Texas Republican Rep. Michael McCaul, said the findings were 'extremely concerning' and that he will conduct a congressional hearing about them Thursday. Roth was expected to testify. Hillary Clinton's brothers Hugh Rodham (left) and Tony Rodham (right) have been intermittent sources of embarrassment since her days ad first lady during the 1990s . SLS Las Vegas, a casino that opened late last year, benefited from undue influence in securing foreign investors with the promise of visas that could lead to US citizenship . The White House praised Mayorkas on Wednesday when asked about the brewing scandal, saying he still works at DHS 'because he is a decorated public servant and an effective leader of that organization.' Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the president and his advisers 'certainly value the kind of contribution that he has made to the effective management of that department, and he has played an important role in implementing needed reforms in that department.' In fact, Earnest told Fox News' Ed Henry, Mayorkas is 'leading the effort' to implement reforms in the department in question and 'strengthen' the EB-5 program. After Henry expressed shock at White House's full-throated support in the Homeland Security official who 'basically gave special visas and access to politically-connected Democrats,' Earnest said, 'To be clear, Ed, the Inspector General, who, as you point out, did take a close and independent look at this, did not suggest that these individuals weren’t deserving of a visa.' 'What he suggested is merely that the process didn’t work very well,' Obama's spokesman said. 'These are exactly the problems that Deputy Secretary Mayorkas was trying to address, and there are additional reforms that are needed, and there will be additional reforms that are implemented.' Refusing to let Earnest off the hook, Henry asked if Mayorkas was trying to make reforms when he let Hillary Clinton's brother 'jump to the front of the line.' 'That's not the accusation, Ed,' the White House spokesman fired back. 'Go back to the inspector general report - that is not what it said,' a visibly agitated Earnest told him. The inspector general's new conclusions also cast doubt on whether the Homeland Security Department withheld embarrassing internal files the AP had sought under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act as part of its own investigation nearly two years ago – and instead released records that indicated no wrongdoing. The AP in July 2013 requested all emails to or from Mayorkas over the preceding seven months that contained specific words or names, including Rodham. The government eventually sent AP more than 200 pages, mostly censored, including emails in which Mayorkas told investors and agency staff that he would not become involved in internal deliberations. 'I cannot weigh in,' Mayorkas wrote to Assistant Secretary Douglas Smith on Feb. 1, 2013, in a message turned over to the AP and cited in the new inspector general's report. 'The (investor's) attorney sent an email to me and I responded that I could not weigh in.' But the inspector general's report also cited other messages from Mayorkas that were never turned over to the Associated Press. In one case, Mayorkas forwarded a January 2013 email from Rodham about delays with a high importance designation. The email would have been covered under AP's information request since Mayorkas sent it during the relevant time period and contained Rodham's name. 'Staff understood these applications were getting high-level attention,' the inspector general's report said. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, another Democrat, was also connected to the investor proposal but later divested. His spokesman, Brian Coy, said the report demonstrated that McAuliffe asked the government to decide on the investment proposal in a timely fashion. The other two cases involved a Hollywood investment program and an investment effort in Nevada that had ties to former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, respectively. The Reid-related project was SLS, a casino project that he didn't invest in but advocated strongly for as Nevada's senior senator. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said there were lessons to be learned in the inspector general's investigation but described Mayorkas in a statement as 'exceptionally conscientious, honest and patriotic.' 'He is often impatient with our sluggish government bureaucracy, can at times be very hands-on in resolving issues and problems that are brought to his personal attention, and is always mindful that we are public servants,' Johnson said. 'Ali works hard to do the right thing, and never acts, in my observation, for reasons of personal advancement or aggrandizement.'
Tony Rodham used influence from Alejandro Mayorkas, then the head of US Citizenship and Immigration Services . Mayorkas intervened in visa applications filed by investors in companies run by Rodham's clients, Homeland Security investigators found . Latest 'brother eruption' could complicate Hillary Clinton's presidential ambitions . Tony and Hugh Rodham were involved in scandals involving criminal pardons that they lobbied for – on behalf of their clients – during Bill Clinton's presidency . The White House gave a full-throated defense of Mayorkas on Wednesday, describing him as a 'decorated public servant' out to make needed reforms .