Bush Revokes Land Fraudster's 1-Day-Old Pardon
Well, this is odd: Today George Bush revoked a Presidential pardon he'd granted yesterday.
Brooklyn developer Isaac R. Toussie had been convicted in 2001 of defrauding the Department of Housing and Urban Development by submitting false estimates of his clients' finances in order to obtain HUD-backed mortgages, and in 2002 of defrauding Suffolk County by overstating the worth of some property he'd sold them. He has paid fines and served prison time for his crimes.
Several clients who had bought crappy houses from Toussie have complained about the pardon, and it was noticed that Toussie's father had contributed $28,500 to the Republican National Committee.
Almost immediately Bush ordered the Toussie pardon re-examined, and today announced it revoked. So far no one has been able to name another case in which a President has revoked a pardon, nor a reason more convincing than public outrage for Bush doing so.
Update: Now they're saying it's because Bush didn't know that Toussie's father -- who was his business partner, and whose name is Robert Toussie -- made the RNC contribution, a claim best taken with the childlike faith appropriate to this magical season.
Update 2: Commenter Ronito6 makes a good point: "Can Obama revoke Bush pardons? Should 'Scooter' Libby be nervous?" It's a brand new day in Washington!
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