Photo surfaces of President Bush with father of housing scammer Isaac Toussie

A stunning photo of President Bush shaking hands with the father of pardoned - then unpardoned - housing scammer Isaac Toussie emerged Friday as the White House reeled from the embarrassing scandal.

The full-color picture - obtained exclusively by the Daily News - was taken early this year.

It shows a smiling Robert Toussie clasping the President's hand as they stand in front of an American flag.

It was not immediately clear if the picture was snapped before or after Robert Toussie's $28,500 donation to the Republican National Committee in April.

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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/12/27/2008-12-27_photo_surfaces_of_president_bush_with_fa.html

Well, well, well...

How entertaining, despite the wh claiming otherwise.

...suppose he was just having a senior moment?

:eyes:

Abramoff? Those pics showed up later after the furor died down.

...out to screw America and Americans...

Presidents have allowed themselves to be photographed with people willing to cough up a lot of money, and it's gone on for a long time. If Bush did more than simply have his pic taken with the dad of a scammer, then maybe we'll have something. However, it seems unlikely that Bush needed the help of a small-time crook.

Bush spokesman Tony Fratto declined to discuss the Maiss case, saying the White House ordinarily does not comment on individual pardon decisions.

"We do not look into political contributions" in reviewing pardon requests, he said Thursday. "We think it would be inappropriate to do that. They should have no influence over our decision-making."

In a rare move, Bush on Wednesday reversed his decision to pardon Brooklyn developer Isaac Toussie after the New York Daily News reported Toussie's father had given $28,500 to the Republican Party in April. Toussie and Maiss were among 19 people pardoned by Bush on Tuesday.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Wednesday that the unprecedented reversal was "based on information that has subsequently come to light." Toussie pleaded guilty in 2003 of making false statements to the Housing and Urban Development Department and of mail fraud. The Daily News reported Wednesday morning that Toussie was accused in a civil suit "of scamming hundreds of poor, minority homebuyers."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-12-25-pardon_N.htm

A former gambling executive pardoned this week by President Bush contributed $1,500 to the president's 2004 re-election campaign, according to campaign-finance records.
Alan Maiss, former president of Bally Gaming, made two contributions totaling $1,500 to Bush's campaign in 2003 and 2004, a USA TODAY review of federal election records shows. Maiss mostly donated to Democrats and gave only to one other Republican besides Bush: then-Nevada senator Paul Laxalt in 1979, the records show.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-12-25-pardon_N.htm

LOL...:evilgrin:

And if a guy can afford to donate that much money to a political party, can't he also afford a decent rug?

Dec. 25 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush withdrew a pardon yesterday for a New York real-estate developer after it became known that the developer’s father made the maximum $28,500 donation to the Republican National Committee months earlier.

Isaac Robert Toussie of Brooklyn, one of 19 people pardoned by Bush on Dec. 23, pleaded guilty in 2001 to using false documents to get federally insured mortgages and in 2002 to mail fraud for selling land to Suffolk County at twice the appraised value.

Toussie was sentenced in September 2003 to five months in jail, five months of home detention and a $10,000 fine.

“There were some details that weren’t presented to the president when he considered the pardon,” spokesman Tony Fratto said yesterday in an interview. He explained that the administration didn’t become aware of the political contributions until reporters broached the topic.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOYiaqzSrHos&refer=home

Hmmmmmm....guess less than $30K did not do the trick!

...if the media barely cover it and they pay no political price?