Just before Thanksgiving 2008, President Bush pardoned 14 and commuted the sentence of another two. This brought his pardon total to 171 and commutations total to eight.
In one of the most high profile cases of his Administration, that of Scooter Libby, President Bush did not grant a pardon. He did, however, commute Libby's sentence.
Another high-profile commuted sentences was that of hip-hop musician John Forte, who was convicted in 2001 on drug smuggling charges. In Texas.
Just before Christmas, Bush pardoned Isaac Toussie who "pleaded guilty in 2001 to using false documents to have mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and in 2002 to mail fraud, admitting that he had persuaded officials in Suffolk County to overpay for land."
Bush rescinded the pardon the next day after press reports revealed that his father, Robert Toussie, "recently donated $30,800 to Republicans."
Bush let stand a pardon issued for Alan Maiss, who had contributed $1,500 to the president's 2004 re-election campaign; he served one year of probation. In 1995, Maiss failed "to report a fellow gaming executive's alleged ties to organized crime."
Bush had pardoned 19 and provided clemency for one.
See a list of pardons and commutations granted by President George W. Bush.
Learn More About Presidential Pardons:
- Pardons, An Overview
- Details on the six Iran/Contra pardons
- NEXT: President Clinton's Pardons
- President George W. Bush's Pardons