List: 20 people granted a pardon or a commutation

[kwame k]

The 19 pardons and one commutation that President George W. Bush granted on Tuesday before leaving the White House to spend the holidays at Camp David.

_William Alvis III of Flushing, Ohio. Possession of an unregistered firearm and cocaine distribution.

_John Allen Aregood of Riviera, Texas. Conspiracy to harbor and transport illegal aliens.

_Eric Charles Blanke of Parker, Colo. Counterfeiting.

_Steve Doyle Cavender of The Villages, Fla. Conspiring to import, possess, distribute and dispense marijuana.

_Marie Elena Eppens of Lynden, Wash. Conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute marijuana.

_Lydia Lee Ferguson of Sun City, Ariz. Aiding and abetting possession of stolen mail.

_Eduviges Duvi Gonzalez-Matsumura of Clovis, Calif. Aiding and abetting embezzlement of bank funds.

_George Clarence Greene Jr. of Gray, Ga. Mail fraud.

_James Won Hee Kang of South Barrington, Ill. Trafficking in counterfeit goods.

_Alan Stephen Maiss of Reno, Nev. Concealing knowledge of a crime.

_Richard Harold Miller of Tallahassee, Fla. Conspiracy to defraud the United States.

_Delano Abraham Nixon of Neosho Rapids, Kan. Forging the endorsement on a U.S. Treasury check.

_John H. Overholt of Black Hawk, S.D. Concealment of information affecting Social Security benefits.

_Charles Winters of Miami. Conspiracy to export, and exportation, of a military aircraft to a foreign country in violation of the Neutrality Act of 1939. (Pardon granted posthumously.)

_Morris Keith Parker of Georgetown, S.C. Concealing knowledge of a crime.

_Robert Truman Reece of Redondo Beach, Calif. Unauthorized absence and missing the movement of a U.S. Navy ship.

_Donald Edward Roessler of Harrison, Ohio. Embezzlement of mail matter.

_Issac Robert Toussie of Brooklyn, N.Y. False statements to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and mail fraud.

_David Lane Woolsey of St. George, Utah. Aiding and abetting violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act.

Bush commuted the prison sentence of Reed Raymond Prior of Des Moines, Iowa.

Prior was convicted of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. He was sentenced in 1996 in the Southern District of Iowa to life in prison with 10 years of supervised release. His prison sentence is now set to expire on Feb. 23, 2009, but the terms of the commutation leave intact and in effect the 10 years of supervised release with all its conditions.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardons_list;_ylt=AsiIodWHUhF9hS.qtBMXa8ayFz4 D

[kwame k]

Looks like a bunch of nice guys............congrats. The one about Charles Winters, ify.

He helped the Israel durning their war, get a couple of B-17's, "Winters, a Protestant from Boston, was convicted in 1949 for violating the Neutrality Act for conspiring to export aircraft to a foreign country. He was fined $5,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Two others, Herman Greenspun and Al Schwimmer, also were convicted of violating the act, but they did not serve time. President Kennedy pardoned Greenspun in 1961. President Clinton pardoned Schwimmer in 2000."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardons;_ylt=Ap_CTBAiQvsTwN.oqbjnTg2yFz4D

[LoungeMachine]

Looks like a bunch of nice President Clinton pardoned Schwimmer in 2000."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardons;_ylt=Ap_CTBAiQvsTwN.oqbjnTg2yFz4D


For being a part of that atrocious FRIENDS series, one would hope....

Can't wait for the BCE pardons to start.......

:gulp:

[FORD]

I would have thought the chick from Lynden would have been busted for sneaking BC Bud across the border or something like that, as Lynden is just south of the border and (unless things have changed recently) the border around there is a road on the Washington side and a road on the BC side with a ditch between them. I think they also busted someone around there that actually had a tunnel going under the border from one farm to another a while back.

But no, this chick was actually busted in Nebraska of all places. Go figure......

[FORD]

Looks like a bunch of nice guys............congrats. The one about Charles Winters, ify.

He helped the Israel durning their war, get a couple of B-17's, "Winters, a Protestant from Boston, was convicted in 1949 for violating the Neutrality Act for conspiring to export aircraft to a foreign country. He was fined $5,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Two others, Herman Greenspun and Al Schwimmer, also were convicted of violating the act, but they did not serve time. President Kennedy pardoned Greenspun in 1961. President Clinton pardoned Schwimmer in 2000."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081223/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardons;_ylt=Ap_CTBAiQvsTwN.oqbjnTg2yFz4D

Doesn't exactly make up for what his Grandpa Prescott did to the Jews, but I'll give Chimp a little credit for this one. (My first thought was that the guy must have been one of Poppy's CIA drug runners) :D

[ODShowtime]

I like this guy's name:

"Delano Abraham Nixon"

[kwame k]

WASHINGTON – The pardons President George W. Bush granted this week couldn't have been better Christmas gifts if Santa himself had delivered them.

But a Brooklyn, N.Y., man, Isaac Robert Toussie, received the legal equivalent of a lump of coal.

Toussie, convicted of making false statements to the Housing and Urban Development Department and of mail fraud, was among 19 people pardoned Tuesday.

But after learning in news reports that Toussie's father had donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Republican Party a few months ago, as well as other information, the White House issued an extraordinary statement Wednesday saying the president was reversing his decision on Toussie's case.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said the decision to revoke the pardon — a step unheard of in recent memory — was "based on information that has subsequently come to light," including the extent and nature of Toussie's prior criminal offenses. She also said 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.

The new information came to the White House's attention from news reports, Perino said.

A story in the New York Daily News said Toussie's father, Robert, donated $28,500 to the national Republican Party in April — just months before Toussie's pardon petition.

The counsel's office generally doesn't include vetting of political contributions in its reviews on such matters, as that would be "highly inappropriate on many levels," she said. The White House decision on Toussie had come without a recommendation from the pardon attorney, Ronald L. Rodgers, as Toussie's request for a pardon came less than five years after completion of his sentence, so that eliminated another step in the review process.

The Daily News story on Wednesday, and others in Newsday and on blogs, shed light on Toussie's record. He pleaded guilty for lying to HUD and mail fraud, admitting that he falsified finances of prospective homebuyers seeking HUD mortgages. He was sentenced to five months in prison and five months' 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.

The Daily News located a lawyer representing hundreds of ex-customers who have sued Toussie in federal court, accusing him of luring poor, minority homebuyers into buying overpriced homes with mortgages that had hidden costs.

The attorney, Peter E. Seidman, said Wednesday that news of the pardon was "gut-wrenching for his clients" and left him "baffled."

"I am glad somebody at the White House woke up," he said in an interview.

Maxine D. Wilson, 42, bought one of Toussie's homes on Long Island in 1996. She later sued Toussie, claiming the house started to fall apart after she moved in in 1997. She said she was shocked when she learned Bush was going to pardon Toussie.

"I was angry at how money, power and influence seemed to trump justice," she said. But on Wednesday, she said she felt "somebody paid attention. Somebody stepped back and made us feel equal."

The Justice Department advises the president on who qualifies for pardons. Only people who have waited five years after their conviction or release from prison can apply for a pardon under the department's guidelines. Criminals are required to begin serving time, or otherwise exhaust any appeals, before they can be considered for sentence commutation.

But the president can forgive people outside that process if he chooses. Under the Constitution, the president's power to issue pardons is absolute and cannot be overruled — meaning he can forgive anyone he wants, at any time.

Perino said she did not know of another instance of a pardon reversal in "recent memory," but that the White House couldn't say for sure it never had happened before.

"The counsel to the president reviewed the application and believed, based on the information known to him at the time, that it was a meritorious application," she said. Bush now believes the case should rest with the pardon attorney.

Bradford Berenson, an associate White House counsel during Bush's first term and Isaac Toussie's lawyer, said in a statement that his client remained confident the pardon attorney would grant his request.

"Isaac Toussie is deeply grateful that both the counsel to the president and the president himself found Mr. Toussie's pardon application to have sufficient merit to be granted," Berenson said. "Mr. Toussie looks forward to the pardon attorney's expeditious review of the application."

Berenson declined to elaborate further on the case and its developments.

Federal Election Commission records show a number of donations to Republicans this year by Robert Toussie and by a Laura Toussie who lists the same address. Between them, they gave $4,600 to Minnesota GOP Sen. Norm Coleman and another $4,600 to Oregon Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, all on Oct. 15. Coleman is locked in a still-undecided race against Democrat Al Franken, and Smith lost in November to Democrat Jeff Merkley.

On Oct. 30, Robert Toussie also gave $2,300 to GOP Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia.

His contribution to the Republican National Committee came as part of a fundraiser in March for GOP presidential candidate John McCain. Out of a total donation of $30,800 by Toussie, $2,300 went to McCain's campaign and $28,500 went to the RNC.

Doug Berman, a law professor at Ohio State University and a close follower of presidential clemency decisions, said the White House decision strikes him as unprecedented, but he said it's not inconceivable that it had happened in the past.

"It's, at best, embarrassing. At worst, it's an extraordinary example of this White House's ability to bollix up one bit of presidential authority that he clearly has," Berman said.

With the Toussie reversal, Bush has granted a total of 189 pardons and nine commutations. That's fewer than half as many as Presidents Bill Clinton or Ronald Reagan issued during their two-term tenures.

___

Associated Press writer Deb Riechmann in Washington and Adam Goldman in New York contributed to this story.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081225/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_pardon_mistake;_ylt=AtTZDsDbYEX140iKjBq8qEuyF z4D

[kwame k]

I thought donating $28,000.00 was the norm to get a pardon.....how could Bush betray this fine upstanding Repuke and his family? For shame Dubya.

[FORD]

If it hadn't been for the whole Bernie Madoff thing, he probably would have let it go through. But a lot of people feeling ripped off right now because of these financial shell games, and with this guy's father obviously buying his pardon, I'm sure Chimp got some serious lectures from Repuke party officials

First words were "haven't you damaged this party enough, dumbass?"

[sadaist]

This entire process of pardoning seems rather lame. The people for the most part have already served their minimal amount of time, and typically long ago. It just clears their record. Other than not having to list it as a prior conviction on a resume, or being able to have back certain rights that "convicted felons" don't have, it seems just a pointless display. Do something big with the power, like pardoning the two US border patrol agents currently serving 10 years in prison for shooting an illegal immigrant in the buttocks as he was smuggling hundreds of pounds of drugs across the border.

The illegal immigrant drug smuggler filed a lawsuit of course, and has since been arrested illegally crossing the border & smuggling drugs again.

[hideyoursheep]

I thought donating $28,000.00 was the norm to get a pardon.....how could Bush betray this fine upstanding Repuke and his family? For shame Dubya.

Christmas came late:

Malkin slams White House for Toussie pardonDavid Edwards
Published: Friday December 26, 2008


Conservative pundit says Bush administration allowed the 'subprime crisis to fester'

Michelle Malkin told Fox hosts that she disagrees with President Bush's decision to pardon Isaac Toussie, a New York real estate developer who was responsible for mortgage fraud. The White House reversed the pardon after online news outlets reported the nature of Toussie's crimes. New York City newspapers also interviewed mostly minority homeowners who said they were victimized by Toussie, and his father's $28,500 donation to the RNC earlier this year had some speculating that this was some sort of "pay to play" scandal.

"What's particularly galling is this man was involved in mortgage crimes and mortgage fraud, which, HELLO! has been the number one story of the year," Malkin said about Bush's year ending "embarrassment."

The conservative pundit wondered why the Bush vetters didn't do a basic Google search beforehand.

"It calls attention to the Bush administration's own role in allowing the subprime crisis to fester," said Malkin. "The fact is under Bush's watch, a lot of this did take place, and the Bush administration's policies themselves, particularly at HUD, the Department of Housing and Urban development, encouraged exactly this kind of behavior."

More on the Toussie pardon can be found at the following links: Bush pardons mortgage fraudster, Bush nixes pardon, NY Times ignores RNC donation until after pardon reversed.
:mad:

[hideyoursheep]

Do something big with the power, like pardoning the two US border patrol agents currently serving 10 years in prison for shooting an illegal immigrant in the buttocks as he was smuggling hundreds of pounds of drugs across the border.

The illegal immigrant drug smuggler filed a lawsuit of course, and has since been arrested illegally crossing the border & smuggling drugs again.

Change is coming!!

Lawmakers from both parties have formally pressed President Bush to commute the sentences of former Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, serving 11 and 12 year sentences for shooting a drug smuggler in the backside as he fled the scene.

'It's frustrating. Scooter Libby was pardoned before he even goes to jail,' said Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, a former judge. 'These two guys are political prisoners.'

Rep. William Delahunt, a Massachusetts liberal, is leading the bipartisan push for clemency with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a California conservative.

If Bush fails to act in the next nine weeks, advocates may have an ace in the hole. President-elect Barack Obama's White House chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., co-sponsored a resolution calling for clemency for the two former agents last December.

T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council – the agents union – called it past time for the president to redress the 'terrible injustice.' 'The effect on morale has already been devastating. You have agents out there wondering what the rules of the game are,' he said.


YES,WE WILL!

[FORD]

The BCE punished the border patrol agents because they interfered with family business.

[hideyoursheep]

..By not donating tens of thousands to the RNC...

[bueno bob]

At the end of it all, does it ever boil down to anything more than cash with these fuck-o's?

Bush and company do nothing unless there's some sort of financial wheeling and dealing behind it. We already know that.