Dan Eggen in Christmas Day’s WaPo:
President Bush took the remarkable step yesterday of reversing a pardon that he granted the day before to a Brooklyn, N.Y., real estate developer, whose relatives contributed more than $40,000 to Republicans before his clemency petition was filed with the The White House.
Reversing a pardon? We’ve been told by Villagers lately that the President’s power to pardon is absolute and irrevocable, as they prep us for the odious malefaction of pardons-yet-to-come. How exactly does he get a do-over on this? I mean, I understand the why — like everything else the man touches, the pardon was a complete and total fuckup from start to finish, by all accounts.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said neither Bush nor counsel Fred Fielding was aware of the GOP contributions from the father of Isaac Robert Toussie, who had been convicted of mail fraud and of making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Perino said Bush had also been unaware of other aspects of the Toussie case that were revealed in news reports yesterday.
"Looking at the totality of the case, more could have been described to the president," Perino said. "The political contributions certainly were not known. It raises the appearance of impropriety, so the president prudently decided not to go through with the pardon."
Perino said Toussie’s clemency request was submitted to the Justice Department’s pardon attorney, Ronald L. Rodgers. But Perino said Rodgers decided he could not consider the petition because it was filed less than five years after Toussie completed his sentence. Toussie then filed his petition with Fielding’s office earlier this month.
Oh, right — here’s the absolute and can be given for any reason at all language, along with the Village-obligatory Marc Rich/Bill Clinton reference:
The power to grant pardons, which are absolute and can be given for no reason at all, has proven politically problematic for many presidents. Bill Clinton was sharply criticized for issuing dozens of pardons in his final days that included fugitive financier Marc Rich, while Bush’s father came under fire for forgiving Caspar Weinberger and others involved in the Iran-contra affair.
Sure, right, got it.
But takebacks? Unprecedented. If this President is gonna do "backsies," what’s on your list?
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This is more than embarrassing for Bush. Bush learned about the donations from the news.
Not through the normal fact finding done to determine if a person is worthy of an appeal the Dept of Justice did not Vet this guy.
This guy got a pardon the Marc Rich way Karl Rove or his replacement/puppet OKed this and bypassed Dept of Justice.
Also it suggests that Erick Holder and the Mark Rich Pardon are going to get both barrels and Bush wanted to be clean on the issue.
I wonder who else got pardons that will embarrass the President.
And I have question for You, Marcy, LHP If Bush is worried about giving this guy a pardon just how can he justify giving Scooter a pardon?
Also how can Bush risk not giving him a pardon?
Is Bush saving all his cred on Pardons for Scooter? Is Scooter that Key? If So Bush will fight Congress then on this one pardon.
I expect the Supremes are already mobilized to weigh in and stop Congress if need be.
Expect this meme the Everyone does it defense to get a LOT of media play. Do not expect the President can’t pardon people who might be involved in crimes the President has committed or was aware of and didn’t stop to get ANY MEDIA PLAY!
I would un-pencil-in all those massive tax breaks.
Quick, get to it W, before your term’s up.
Oh, and FISA, “extraordinary rendition,” Valerie Plame’s CIA status –rats, I guess that last one’s a little hard to undo.
How about reading that damn August 6 PDR and doing something, instead of just telling the author “okay, you’ve covered your ass.”
He who (among a great many other things) hated Bush with a fury most of us can merely dream about has died
Hi Mr Teddy!!!!!!!
Oh. I’ll miss him. The BASTARD!
I can’t imagine the retraction will go through. The depardonee will take it to the courts, which will sustain the original mistake. It’s sort of like undoing the death penalty, and we know the Supremes never do that.
How do people keep track of when new threads start or which blog they’re in?
I think what surprises me most is the fact they admitted mistake and reversed it.
Well, if you’re on a thread at the Mothership, just watch for the link that shows at the top and bottom if a new thread is up (when you refresh the page).
If you’re at one of the partner sites, you just have to check back to FDL front page periodically or hope that someone is kind enough to announce a new thread is up.
It requires a little effort but is generally worthwhile.
I thought of it as Fred Fielding’s audition to be the new AG since the original pardon request came through him according to the NY Times articles.
I have to say as clumsy as this was, some credit should probably go to shrub on his one. Toussie is evil rethug pond scum through and through – a man who bilked thousands of elderly and poor out of home and livelihood, without the slightest hint of remorse or shame. The shrubbies are idiots for giving him a pardon in the first place and even stupider for finding out about their mistake in NY Newsday, but at least they’re making an effort to stop it. This may be the one quasi-decent thing shrub has done all year…
hiya SnarK !
This is pretty interesting. Can Clusterfuck claim that his pardon wasn’t “final” yet for some technical reason? I would suppose so, or else it’s a done deal.
Some have written that the actual pardon itself wasn’t issued and signed, just a list promulgated beforehand, as if someone knew something was awry and wanted to give the Chimpenfuerer a chance to undo it.
Sometimes a kindly mod will motion to us to step lively, with a link. Otherwise we muck about wondering what’s happened….
How do you like all the fanciness implemented in your absence? Quite the multi-venue plex, ain’t it?
I think Bush is trying to “prove” he doesn’t do anything for money. He may be “wrong” but he is principled. That’s the new meme isn’t it? He made mistakes (perhaps) but his intentions were pure?
He hopes that will keep him out of all the lawsuits I expect to get underway against Halliburton, KBR, and other no-bid, lotsa money, no-action contracts.
AND what about his own “trust fund?” We keep hearing about how Cheney’s portfolio has risen 400% — what about Bush’s investments? His brother was on the board of Citibank until August of last year (six months total)? He didn’t learn a thing about the state of play, it didn’t affect his portfolio or the “family’s?”
Ho Ho Ho!
That’s certainly a first for W!
Do you think they’ve told him yet?
Why do I think that his wealthy father will challenge the President’s right to make a retraction of the pardon?
Well Robert I. Toussie went all the way to the Supreme Court to fight his failure to register for the draft in 1959. He evaded registration for five years and then argued that the Statute of limitations had passed. In 1969 the case went before the Supremes.
Toussie won.
Simple. Like torture, if The President authorizes it, then its legal. Bush gets to unpardon because he is the bestest most powerful redecider and presidentin’ is hard work also too. And Ronald Reagan also.
There is more important work to be done. Like enabling more land grabs and pollution. Like disbursing the second $350 billion to Bush buddies.
It is only logical that the smartest and most eloquent president ever (next to Reagan) gets to do whatever he wants. /s
GHW Bush and pork rind munching was a ruse.
Note also that Toussie’s lawyer is the former deputy WH Counsel, Brad Berenson, who often appears on cable gabfests to spout untruths about the WH email system, Scooter Libby, and war crimes. I think this is an example of the “connected pardon” where the pardonee’s attorney walks it through a process unrelated to the pardon attorney or the DoJ; just talks to his friends in the White House and gets the pardon on the President’s desk without the usual checks and balanaces.
As Kirk Murphy said in an email last night — “Thank goodness that’s never happened before!” *g*
Dubya does everything in pencil, just in case. The man has absolutely no principles except, “Where’s mine?”
There is so much of interest in all of this…
There’s the fact that Toussie’s father was a draft-dodger during the Vietnam War. That he’s a wealthy Republican contributor. That somehow this pardon was pushed by someone outside the normal process of the Justice Department’s pardon attorney, who denied it on the grounds that it didn’t yet meet the qualifying time limitations.
So someone must have bumped it upstairs to the President. Just who would have the pull to over-ride the DOJ process?
Funny that neither Bush nor Fielding have stated WHO brought this case to his attention?
Oh, and besides the financial contributions to the RNC and Norm Coleman, either Toussie or his father were partnered up in some of Jack Abramoff’s gambling ventures.
Of course not, Dick Cheney never let him have anything but crayons.
New Christy up at the Mothership
Although announced I do not know if the pardon was actually delivered. It also was not prospective or affected a current court process or sentence so its being rescinded although unusual had no immediate effects. But I agree that the pardon process wasn’t followed and the result was a prize screw up. Boy, am I surprised.
For those interested in what Isaac R. Toussie did to get convicted here is a very good summary.
Toussie’s Housing Scam
In essence he recruited low income victims and offered them over-appraised, low quality housing promising them deceptive mortgages and loans. Most of the victims didn’t qualify for the mortgages, but the infalted housing prices lured the banks to make the loans based on the equity. So he ripped off the lenders and the buyers and kept the mark-up.
Wondering how long it took Dana to master the passive voice..
Elsewhere it was pointed out that the information about Toussie’s father and the political donations was findable on the web with about five minutes work. Sounds like there are a lot of people in this maladmininistration who have yet to master the fine art of Googling.
Link please how does anyone get $400 % in this market the DOJ should investigate. I suspect insider trading.
I understand the why — like everything else the man touches, the pardon was a complete and total fuckup from start to finish, by all accounts.
According to the Harper’s Index, Bush has spent fully 33% of his time going to or actually on vacation. If he had put in a little more time on the job, actually taken the job seriously, he might have been able to protect the American people from all enemies, as he pledged twice under oath to do.
Fred Fielding is the legal genius who’s outfoxed Capitol Hill denizens seeking Rove, Miers, and Bolten’s testimony, of course. Duh.
No one asked me, but since I like dodging snowballs, I’ll respond.
Actually I don’t like some things. The top “toolbar” is entirely too crowded for my taste. Have clicked on Laura Flanders 5 or 6 times and didn’t like a one. La Figa – meh.
I really prefer the simpler, starker “oldies.” Use a post with links to the newer add-ons.
Just my 2 cents.
Cheney’s Halliburton stock options were under water (worthless) in Jan 2000. The war in Iraq, not compete contracts for Halliburton, and the general run up in the stock market after 2001 made the gain.
It was reported a couple of years ago that his portfolio was moved overseas before the big decline in the US.
Cheney’s portfolio is supposed to be in a “blind trust” and one could trust Cheney’s integrity and not influence the DoD to give Halliburton no-bid contracts to support the Iraq war.
I look at it another way.
When Bush found out how little this thug had contributed he was outraged that he got so much for so little money. I mean, no contribution to the Shrub Libary, no new Weber grill for thenew digs that Bush is borrowing from a friend of his, nothing but a measly $40,000.
Screw him. Bush pardons come with a price: Either commit treason and destroy the fabric of our society or fork over some REAL money.