WASHINGTON — President George W. Bush on Wednesday took the extraordinary step of revoking a pardon he issued 24 hours earlier for a politically connected Brooklyn real estate developer convicted of defrauding hundreds of low-income home buyers after it was revealed that the request did not come through the usual route and that a relative had contributed to the Republican Party.
White House press secretary Dana Perino said she knew of no other time a presidential pardon had been reversed.
On Tuesday, Bush pardoned 19 people, including Isaac Robert Toussie, who had been convicted of mail fraud and of making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Stories in the New York Daily News and Newsday said that Toussie’s father, Robert, had donated $28,500 to the national Republican Party in April. It was his first political donation and came months before Toussie’s pardon petition, which did not go through the usual review process in the Justice Department.
Toussie did not meet Justice Department guidelines for a pardon. The original decision to pardon him had come without a recommendation from the pardon attorney, Ronald Rodgers, and the request for a pardon came fewer than five years after completion of his sentence.
Further, Toussie had taken his case directly to the Oval Office and had hired Bradford Berenson, a former top lawyer in the White House counsel’s office, to handle the case.
In announcing the revocation, Perino said the reversal was “based on information that has subsequently come to light,” including the extent and nature of Toussie’s prior criminal offenses as reported in the New York media. She also said that neither the White House counsel’s office nor the president had been aware of a political contribution by Toussie’s father that “might create an appearance of impropriety.”
“Given that, this was the prudent thing to do,” she said.
Toussie had pleaded guilty to lying to HUD and mail fraud, admitting that he falsified finances of prospective home buyers seeking HUD mortgages. He was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest, a $10,000 fine and no restitution, the Daily News reported.
In another case, Toussie pleaded guilty to having a friend send his local county a letter that falsely inflated property values.
Talk to us
- You can tell us about news and ask us about our journalism by emailing newstips@heraldnet.com or by calling 425-339-3428.
- If you have an opinion you wish to share for publication, send a letter to the editor to letters@heraldnet.com or by regular mail to The Daily Herald, Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.
- More contact information is here.
