WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush revoked a pardon Wednesday after media reports linked it to a political contribution, a reversal the White House calls unprecedented.
Bush pardoned 19 people Tuesday, including Isaac Robert Toussie, a politically connected Brooklyn real estate developer. The Los Angeles Times cited stories in the New York Daily News and Newsday that said Toussie's father donated $28,500 to the Republican Party, his first contribution ever, only months before his son's pardon petition.
Moreover, the pardon petition was not routed through the Justice Department does not meet the department's guidelines, the newspaper said. Toussie took his pardon request directly to the Oval Office, the Times said.
Toussie had been convicted of mail fraud and making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was sentenced to five months in prison and five months of house arrest and a $10,000 fine.
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said the revocation came after "information that has subsequently come to light" about the nature of Toussie's prior criminal offenses, and said neither the White House counsel's office nor Bush had been aware of the contribution.
The Times report did not say which officials handled the pardon.
