Pardon Them

This unpardoning story is not only bizarre in its own right, with its own set of legal questions, such as "when does a pardon become official?" But it shows a true flaw in Bush-era hubris, their failure to apply any of the mistakes of the past to themselves.

The reason for the unpardoning, I take it, is that the father of Isaac Toussie, the unpardoned, made a large political donation to the national Republican Party recently, and the subsequent pardon, done in haste and without going through proper channels, smacked of a corrupt bargain between elites. In other words, the change of heart was entirely for reasons of perception, not the fact that Toussie was a predatory lender who preyed on minority homebuyers.

Right now the right is gearing up to fight the nomination of Eric Holder for Attorney General, and his role in the Marc Rich pardon, which had similar allegations of corruption and political payback, is going to be prominent. So the Administration didn't want to gum up that looming fight with their own Rich-like pardon. Again, this has nothing to do with the competence of Holder, who even the prosecutor in the Rich case and former top Bush Justice Department official James Comey thinks is eminently qualified, but everything to do with perception.

But do the Bushies REALLY think that reversing themselves on ONE pardon will save them from any perception of cronyism? I mean, just today it was revealed that a different man pardoned the other day by the President, at the same time as Toussie, gave contributions directly to the President in 2004.

USA Today reports that Alan Maisse, a former gambling executive who was pardoned this week by President Bush, had made two contributions to Bush’s re-election campaign in 2003 and 2004 totaling $1,500. White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto declined to comment on the case but said “[w]e do not look into political contributions” in reviewing pardon requests. “We think it would be inappropriate to do that. They should have no influence over our decision-making,” Fratto added.

I mean, this is how the pardon power is used in contemporary America. There are always dispensations made for friends and friends of friends. I don't think anyone is blind to this. It is supremely arrogant on the part of the Bush White House to think that they could clean up their conduct by revoking one pardon. Furthermore, it's politically stupid, because it will just invite investigations into the background, and donations, of all the others pardoned during his tenure. I expect the Pro Publica report on contributions by pardoned criminals any day now.

The remedy for this is strict limits on pardon power. As for now, the right's Holder strategy is permanently disabled.