Rezko Controversy: Headache For Obama

National Review Online: The Senator May Have To Denounce The Actions Of Some Of His Allies

(National Review Online)  This column was written by Stephen Spruiell.

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After the Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s now-notorious sermons gained a significant amount of national media attention, Illinois Senator Barack Obama felt compelled to explain his relationship with Wright in a major speech on race relations in America. Now that the governor of Illinois has been implicated in the schemes of Obama’s friend Tony Rezko, it might be time for Obama to explain his relationship with Rezko in a major speech on the endemic political corruption that afflicts his home state of Illinois.

Rezko’s trial has lifted the veil on Illinois’s infernally corrupt political establishment, and a government witness named Stuart Levine has taken the part of a meth-snorting, double-dealing Virgil, guiding the public through it. Levine is a broken man, testifying for the government in order to avoid spending the rest of his life in prison. Over seven days of direct examination, he has described an astonishingly broad network of fraud, extortion, and bribery, culminating in Wednesday’s revelation that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich allegedly knew about at least one such scheme.

Levine used his positions on various state boards to steal as much money as he could from people with business before those boards. One of those people was a Hollywood producer and financier named Tom Rosenberg. Rosenberg was a principal at a firm called Capri Capital. Capri managed over a billion dollars for the Illinois Teachers Retirement System, of which Levine was a trustee.

Through a variety of corrupt means, including allowing TRS executive director Jon Bauman to write his own (glowing) evaluations, Levine wielded a disproportionate amount of influence over TRS investment decisions. Levine used this influence to steer TRS contracts to whomever would pay him and his associates the biggest “finder’s fees.” Levine decided that Rosenberg was getting far too much TRS business and paying far too little in the form of kickbacks to him and his cronies -- an arrangement that Levine saw an opportunity to amend when Capri sought a new contract from TRS in early 2004.

According to his testimony, Levine and an associate named Bill Cellini (both Republicans) conspired with two of Governor Blagojevich’s top fundraisers and advisers -- Tony Rezko and a roofing contractor named Chris Kelly (both Democrats) -- to offer Rosenberg a choice: Either pay a $2 million bribe or raise $1.5 million for Blagojevich’s re-election campaign. Rosenberg was to be made to understand that all of his business with TRS was at stake.

Levine testified that Allison Davis, a lawyer friend of Rosenberg’s, was the go-between. Davis allegedly approached Rezko on behalf of Rosenberg to ask about Capri’s business with TRS, and he told Rezko that Rosenberg would be willing to do some fundraising for Blagojevich if that would speed things along. Rezko told Davis that Rosenberg should “call Stuart Levine.”

When Rosenberg realized he was the target of such a massive shakedown, he was furious. In a recorded phone call between Cellini and Levine that prosecutors played for the jury, Cellini quoted Rosenberg’s reaction: “ ‘If [Tony Rezko and Chris Kelly are] going to do this to me and think they’re going to blackmail me, I’m going to take them down.’ ”

Rosenberg’s threat convinced the alleged conspirators to back off, and -- in the biggest bombshell to emerge during the trial so far -- Levine testified that Rezko told him that Governor Blagojevich had been informed of the situation. Prosecutors also played a recorded conversation between Cellini and Levine that appeared to confirm Levine’s testimony. In it, they discussed how “the big guy” had implied that Rosenberg should not get any further business from the state.

Blagojevich’s office issued a statement last night essentially accusing Levine of “not telling the truth” -- an accusation that is by no means baseless. Levine has major credibility problems. For one thing, he is testifying as part of a plea deal. For another, he testified on Monday that his drug of choice from the late ‘80s until his arrest in 2004 was a cocktail of crystal meth and the animal tranquilizer ketamine, known on the street as “Special K.” But much of his testimony is nonetheless backed up by phone conversations that were recorded without his knowledge, in which he was speaking freely and had little incentive to lie.

If Levine’s testimony regarding Blagojevich is true, then such nakedly corrupt behavior at such a high level is bound to attract greater scrutiny from the national media to the problem of corruption in the state of Illinois. To illustrate the gravity of the issue, three of the last seven governors elected in the state of Illinois have ended up in jail. If Blagojevich is indicted, tried and convicted, that will make four out of seven.

Cook County Commissioner Tony Peraica, a Republican who is running for Cook County state’s attorney, calls an indictment of Governor Blagojevich “inevitable.”

“What we have,” Peraica says, “is a level of corruption that is integrated both vertically and horizontally across all layers of government: city, municipal, county, and state.” To him, the Rezko case illustrates that corruption in Illinois is a bipartisan problem. “We have a corrupt political combine, where the members of the two parties… have come together, not pursuant to a public interest, but to pursue their own financial interests, which they have done with great zeal and ingenuity.”

This corruption, should it become an issue in the campaign, could cause problems for Obama when people start to wonder how he could have made it through “the combine” without getting involved in the overlapping networks of patronage and influence. Peraica, for one, argues that he didn’t.

“Senator Barack Obama is an integral part and a product of this corrupt system,” Peraica says. “Senator Obama has endorsed Todd Stroger for Cook County board president, Mayor [Richard M.] Daley for mayor of Chicago, Dorothy Tillman for re-election as an alderman, and other epitomes of bad government throughout his career in order to promote himself politically, at the expense of, I would argue, principles and morals and good government.”

Obama’s relationship with Allison Davis -- the alleged go-between in Rezko’s scheme to shake down Tom Rosenberg -- could pose another problem for him. Obama worked for Davis at the law firm of Davis Miner Barnhill. Later, when Obama sat on the board of a charity called the Woods Fund, he voted to invest $1 million in a partnership operated by Davis, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Levine’s testimony in the Rezko trial puts Davis in the middle of an attempted quid pro quo, making him yet another associate Obama might be pressured to disown. And the trial could stretch well into May, at which point a Rezko conviction could lead to even more headaches for the candidate. If Rezko is looking at a long prison sentence and decides to start talking, who knows what he might say?

All the more reason that Obama might be tempted to try to address this metastasizing problem with a single bold gesture. Obama made a big speech about race to distract from his ties to one unsavory Chicago character, but distancing himself from an entire network of them might prove to be a tougher task. After all, Obama was able to claim the middle ground in his defense of Wright, denouncing Wright’s most radical views while excusing his run-of-the-mill resentments as being a not-atypical part of the black experience.

But America will have a harder time swallowing excuses for corruption as being a run-of-the-mill aspect of the Illinois political experience -- particularly not from a candidate that has promised a new kind of politics. To succeed, Obama would have to denounce the behavior of some of his closest allies and demonstrate a candor about his own experience in state government that’s been missing from his campaign thus far. In the Rezko trial, Obama might have finally encountered a problem that a speech alone won’t solve.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[upbeatred1]

Barack Obama is doing well because he has alot of wealthy people funneling money to his campaign - people who hate Hillary because she is a ballsy, take-charge woman. There''s alot of sexism in this campaign - more than racism.

Obama is a racist - because his spiritual advisor is a racist (Rev Wright) who spews hateful lies about whites. He is corrupt because he is associated with Rezko. He is filled with half truths - he won''t even correct people when they describe him as black - he''s half white, folks! Do we describe bi-racials Mariah Carey and Derek Jeter as black? No. Obama stays silent when he is mistakenly described - because being described as black works to his advantage. His choice of (my former relative) Darfur-ignoring Susan Rice as advisor - shows bad judgement. Bad choices, bad judgement, bad character - Obama.

His money generating machine reminds me of a certain sitting President who raised incredible volumes of money due to his daddy and his ties to big oil. What did we get? An insulated man with no experience who is ruining this country.

[nuwnb]

Obama may say that his dealing with Rezko was a bone headed mistake. Some may prefer to say that it was just plain "Bad to the Bone"

[nuwnb]

I hope Hillary and her aids are reading excellent CBS articles such as "Rezko Controversy: Headache For Obama" and some of the great artices on Realclearpolitics. They should be asking Obama in pulic about many of the details found in this article. Obama has presented himself as the great moral crusader who will bring about change in US politics. Articles such as this are showing us that he is no better than anyone else in politcs but a lot worse because of the high standards he has imposed on others. At least with Hillary her warts are there for all to see. Unfortunately Obamas are popping up all over the place. John Cain must be rubbing his hands together at the thought of facing off with Obama in November.

[tooloose2]

Before November, Obama is going to unravel like a cheap sweater right before our eyes, the media has given this Flim-Flam man a free ride. It is time CBS, NBC and ABC, got off the Obama train and started taking a real honest indepth look at this man. He is running for the highest office in the land, if he cannot withstand the scrutiny of an honest press, he should get out of the race. If the press had looked at Obama with the same scrutiny they have Hillary Clinton, he would not be in the race today, he would be an also ran......

Obama is not qualified to be president, and we certainly don''t need a pawn of Chicago''s dirty political system occupying the White House. Didn''t the election of George Bush teach us anything, or will we pull the trigger one more time, in this political game of russian roulette.

This man Barak Obama, will not get my vote, he is not ready to be president. Our country needs superior leadership now more than ever, Obama is not that leader.

[xlib]

hi hungry-are you really, really serious about your statement that we wouldn''t even hear about it if it were a Republican????? Come on, you have got to be smoking some funny, funny stuff. This site never ran a diane fienstein war profiteering story when she and her hubby made millions,did we??
Why is this only coming out now?? It''s been brewing for months and the msm has not covered it. Tell me one other story on a Republican that was not run?? Tell me.
Do you really, really think your party is without crooks? If you are you are a sad, sad person.

[charleschap]

%u201CA bone headed mistake...!" As Sen. Obama admitted his long time friendship, support, money backing and the house deal with Mr. Rizko, who is in jail right now, who is a long time backer of Sen. Obama, known to him since 1990. At long last, after a long period foot dragging, hiding and avoiding these issues from Chicago newspapers that investigated such dealing of Sen. Obama, he finally admitted that that he has received from Mr. Rizko at least $250,000.00 smakroos! And the house deal which he got for 1.6 million was less than 300,000 of the going market price. ABC News reported that Mr. Rizko received nearly 100 million dollars worth of housing-property deals from Sen. Obama%u2019s district. And in spite all these dealing with Rizko, Sen. Obama shrugged away with a simple disclaimer of a %u201CBone headed mistake!%u201D It was like %u201CMy dog ate my homework%u2026%u201D Prosecutors claim that Mr. Rezko effectively controlled decisions by the Teachers Retirement System, which manage Illinois teachers'' $30 billion pension fund, and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, which must approve all building permits involving hospitals. Mr. Obama denounces lobbyists and special interests on one hand while keeping his other hand in the cookie jar!

[hungry1968]

mcvet-BUSH isn''''t runnig. And, this is news. Say this was about a Republican, what would you post then? Why don''''t you want to know more about this guy? What are you afraid of? He is as crooked as any other politican and the fact that he is half black somehow excuses him. That''''s dangerous thinking and just plain dumb.

Posted by Xlib at 10:59 AM : Apr 05, 2008




If it was a republican, we wouldn''t even hear about it.

The scandal and corruption of the GOP has become so common place, that they don''t even bother to report it anymore.