Monday, November 24, 2008

Bush Frees John Forté

President George Bush has given progressives and his critics a lot to complain about the final days of his presidency. While his last minute laws regarding abortion, drilling in national parks and "clean air," aren't unexpected considering his policial leandings, the president made a move today that few could have anticipated, he commuted the sentence of Fugees affiliate John Forté.

Forté was nabbed at in a Newark airport in 2000, when two women, caught with liquid cocaine, named him as their contact. The producer and rapper has always maintained his innocence and refused to accept a plea deal. Despite help from friends in high places like Carly Simon, he was sentenced under mandatory minimum drug sentence laws to 14 years in federal prison in 2001.

The rapper concedes he made a mistake that day, but he and his legal team argue that his sentence was unjust. George W. Bush appears to have agreed with them. Forté was among 16 people who were pardoned or had their prison sentence commuted. Besides being convicted the Bush's home state of Texas, its unclear why this case caught W's attention. Perhaps he's caught the holiday spirit and this is just the beginning. Remy Ma home for Christmas? We'll have to wait and see.

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