Bush previously indicated he would follow DOJ guidelines when issuing pardons.
Bush previously indicated he would follow DOJ guidelines when issuing pardons.
Yesterday President Bush abruptly revoked a pardon he gave New York real estate developer Isaac Toussie after reports disclosed that Toussie’s immediate family contributed nearly $40,000 to Republicans. The White House said the Justice Department did not review Toussi’s clemency application because it “was filed less than five years after Toussie completed his sentence,” thus making him ineligible for a pardon according to the department’s guidelines. Instead, the White House counsel’s office considered Toussie’s application as a special case. But not only has press secretary Dana Perino repeatedly stated that the White House would follow DoJ’s pardon guidelines, but so has President Bush himself, in a Jan. 2007 interview:
BUSH: [T]here is a process in any case for a president to make a pardon decision. In other words, there is a series of steps that are followed, so that the pardon process is, you know, a rational process. [...] [T]here is a series of steps that are analyzed in order for the Justice Department to make a recommendation as to whether or not a president grants a pardon.
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No matter how many times you wind him up and turn him loose, nothing of consequence will ever emanate from this fool’s pie hole.
December 25th, 2008 at 5:35 pmFirst, huh? A consequence of being snowed in, I guess.
Happy holidays to all.
December 25th, 2008 at 5:38 pmIt’s entirely possible that Bush’s retraction of the pardon is illegal. The constitution does not provide for a president (or anybody else) to revoke a pardon once it’s signed. (There’s some debate from the 19th century that it must be delivered, but others suggest that’s not the case.) This could get interesting. And may bring more light to Bush and the pardon process, possibly making it a bit more difficult for him to get away with easily pardoning Libby, Cheney, Gonzales, himself, or other criminals in his administration…
December 25th, 2008 at 5:44 pmHis recent rescinding of the pardon shows that politics always wins with this joke of a president.
December 25th, 2008 at 6:00 pm“Bush previously indicated he would follow DOJ guidelines when issuing pardons”
I’ll believe that when mice bark. Bush following the law? Now, that is the joke the day. He has a long list of crimes that he has broken the law longer than a roll of toilet paper. That’s like Bush saying that he quit booze and blow altogether.
December 25th, 2008 at 6:08 pmWait a minute folks. Did anyone else notice that the convict has ALREADY COMPLETED HIS SENTENCE? This looks like an easy way to make Bush look like a responsible president. This contrasts sharply with the endless media hype about Clinton pardon of Marc Rich, and I think intentionally so.
December 25th, 2008 at 6:11 pmAm I missing something here?
This is normal and has taken place for 8 years. Now Magic Bullet Senator Specter is all over Eric Holder’s confirmation as he has problems with President Clinton gave Marc Rich a pardon. Well I hope someone speaks up and says Bush is the first President that gave a pardon to a criminal who paid 40,000 dollars for it. This is old school politics and Bush isn’t the person making the decisions. Now Clinton is lawyers but Bush is an idiot who Father brought his College Degree for him. The joke on the American people is we allowed a true idiot, drunk, drugie to be President twice. Bush better give himself a pardon first.
December 25th, 2008 at 6:19 pmUm… I have repeatedly said mean things about Vice President Cheney, but never given a dime to the Republican National Committee.
Am I still eligible for a pardon?
December 25th, 2008 at 6:29 pmSo? He claimed to be a Christian and a “compassionate conservative” as well. Chimpy is fundamentally incapable of telling the truth.
December 25th, 2008 at 6:44 pmSince when were we expecting little king pissypants to ever tell the truth?
December 25th, 2008 at 6:47 pmThis is all an innocent misunderstanding. Just a typo. Bush thought Toussie contributed $400K to the RNC, not just a measly $40K. Everybody knows pardons are worth way more than $40K. At least us Illinoisans do.
December 25th, 2008 at 7:45 pmSomething just dawned on me as I watched this video from Fixed News. Who will Fixed be able to interview after January 20? Who will they have to report on after January 20? Their heroes will all be out of office and hopefully preparing for jail. There will no longer be a need for Fixed News after January 20. Well, I can dream can’t I?
December 25th, 2008 at 8:13 pmWow. Bush said he’d do one thing, and then did another.
Color me surprised.
December 25th, 2008 at 8:38 pm**eyes rolling**
When President Bush issued holiday pardons for 19 miscreants past and present on Tuesday, former Cheney chief-of-staff Scooter Libby wasn’t among them. But with the two year campaign by right-wing pundits, GOP politicos and even Republican White House hopefuls now reaching a crescendo, Libby may yet get his slate wiped clean by the outgoing President.
For the details, see:
December 25th, 2008 at 8:54 pm“Begging Libby’s Pardon.”
This is how I choose to remember Xmas. I doubt we will ever again see a truce like the ones in 1914-5.
Hope you all had a safe and happy holidays.
December 25th, 2008 at 9:03 pmToo bad he wasn’t conserned about perceptions of impropriety when he ordered the invasion of Iraq based on lies, or appointed Brownie to head FEMA, or when he and Cheney let big oil develop our energy policy, or when he gave no bid contracts to Haliburton who was still paying Cheney, or when he let the Osama Bin Laden’s family fly home after 9/11, or when he deregulated banking, or when he purged the Justice department of anyone but Republicans, or when he and Cheney outed undercover FBI agent Valarie Plame, or when ………….
December 25th, 2008 at 9:13 pmBush is a classic example of how crooked and corrupt a politician can get without being confronted. He’s getting away with it and there’s no sign indicating that he’ll be held accountable for his crimes.
With the turn of the century greed has taken over America and there’s no signs of a turnaround in the near future.
December 25th, 2008 at 10:12 pm“Bush previously indicated he would follow DOJ guidelines when issuing pardons.”
Bush previously took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. That doesn’t seem to have meaned anything to him, either.
December 25th, 2008 at 10:40 pmFirst of all, there is no Department of Justice anymore. It is so overrun with inept and corrupt and politicized people that they should all be fired ASAP when someone else takes over.
And since many of them are graduates of Liberty law school, one rated at the very bottom of law schools. It is a law school belonging to one of the evangelists. I can’t remember which evangelist. They are all alike. And the lawyers they should all be fired. Remember Monica Goodling? She is the one that did such a poor job. And spent her time hiring only those who were Republican and politically correct. She is one that went before the Congress for a hearing. And she said,” I pledged my loyalty to President Bush.” She was surprised to know that her loyalty was supposed to be to the Constitution and not Bush. Someone had to point it out to her.
A misnomer. There is no DOJ. Not anymore.
December 25th, 2008 at 11:21 pmBush pardoned Toussie because his father paid him to. The only reason why he rescinded it is because the press actually did their job for a change, and reported it.
If the MSM had been good little boys and girls and done what the RNC told them to do, Toussie’s pardon would still be in place.
December 26th, 2008 at 12:53 amI love the poetic justice–that the most corrupt President ever could go to jail for issuing illegal pardons. Ho ho ho!
Note on The Current Problem:
December 26th, 2008 at 6:30 amhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i_vquVDPgU
Let’s not forget who was Marc Rich’s attorney when Pres. Clinton pardoned him! Scooter Libby!
December 26th, 2008 at 7:43 am“Presidential Pardons” are the stupidest thing, by far, this country engages in. Who needs laws, law enforcement, or even the courts when the “King” is allowed to anoint anyone in his “flock”?
Wanna commit a crime? Like to donate to the power elite? Are you a “playa”?
Well then, come on in! You’re more than welcome in the Corrupt States of America – CSA
December 26th, 2008 at 10:31 amDo the White House ever tells us the Truth?????
December 26th, 2008 at 11:28 amSorry my english… Does WH ever tell us the Truth?
December 26th, 2008 at 11:30 amGuidelines? Is that anything like rules?
December 26th, 2008 at 1:11 pmBecause if so, then we have our answer -
Bush don’t need no stinkin’ guidelines.
27 days….
December 26th, 2008 at 8:38 pmand 20 years to turn around all the neo-con crap….
What about the rest of that garbage he pardoned?
December 27th, 2008 at 8:05 amBush is a complete f-cking waste of flesh and we should begin to treat him as such.
Can we just ignore him so long as he doesn’t start another war within the next three weeks?
December 28th, 2008 at 2:59 pm