Bush giveth, and Bush taketh away. In an unprecedented move the president yanked his pardon of Isaac Toussie, a Brooklyn real estate developer who ran a scam that cost the government $6 million in defaulted loans. Perhaps more damning, reports the NY Post, was the fact that his father, Robert Toussie, had given the legal maximum of $28,500 to the Republican National Committee this year. White House press secretary Dana Perino said that the discovery of new information about the extent of Toussie's crimes and the appearance of impropriety created by his father's donations led the administration to believe rescinding the pardon was "the prudent thing to do". Normally pardons only apply to people who have waited five years since their conviction or release. But Toussie's pardon was fast-tracked past the Justice Department straight to the White House. The case has now been returned to Ronald Rogers, the Justice Department's official pardon attorney.
Read it at New York Post
