Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (file photo)

U.S. media reports say former President Bill Clinton will submit to an extensive ethics review if his wife, Senator Hillary Clinton, is nominated to be secretary of state in the Obama administration.

The reports first published Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal newspaper cite Democratic Party officials familiar with President-elect Barack Obama's vetting process who say Mr. Clinton has agreed to submit future charitable and business activities to rigorous ethics reviews.

The reports say the former president has also offered to release the names of several major donors to his charitable foundation.  They say Mr. Clinton would also seek clearance from the Obama administration before agreeing to any paid speeches.

Mr. Obama is reportedly considering Senator Clinton among others for the top U.S. diplomatic post.  Officials say Mr. Obama's transition team wants to ensure that Mr. Clinton's activities do not pose a conflict of interest with the new administration.

Senator Clinton lost to Mr. Obama in the long and often bitter race earlier this year for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

Mr. Obama is also reportedly considering New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, another rival for the party nomination, for secretary of state.

Eric Holder, 09 Jun 2008

In other Cabinet posts, party officials say Mr. Obama is considering private practice attorney Eric Holder to be attorney general.  Holder served as deputy attorney general under former President Clinton, and would be the first African-American to head the Justice Department if he does become attorney general.

Officials say Mr. Obama's aides have been talking with senators to determine if they would support the selection.  At issue is Holder's involvement in the controversial 2001 pardon of a fugitive financier, Marc Rich, by President Clinton.  At the time, Holder said he was neutral and leaning toward favoring the pardon.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.