January 29, 2008, - 12:51 pm
This is the Kind of Thing You’ll See a Lot of in an Obama White House
By Debbie Schlussel
I don’t like Hillary Rodham Cankles Clinton much. But I recognize that Barack Obama ain’t no saint, either.
Sadly, many conservatives do not. In their zeal to “defeat the Clintons,” you can almost hear them experiencing orgasms in their gushing over the very radical and extremely sleazy Barack Hussein Obama. It’s nauseating.
Among those is well-known plagiarist, intellectual phony, and pseudo-conservative “Dr.” Monica Crowley (she has a Ph.D. and insists on being called “Dr.” but her Ph.D. thesis is now thought to be plagiarized and fabricated). Her gushing on a PBS political show about what “a class act” Obama is, reminded me of the female reporters who openly talked about how they wished they could perform a “Lewinsky” on Bill Clinton. Then, there was Bill Kristol. On FOX News Sunday, he was effusively praising and defending Obama against the comments of Juan Williams (who is Black) that Obama, too, is playing the race card (which he, indeed, is).
Well, I’ve tried to tell you about the real Barack Hussein Obama and his sleazy backer, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, a Syrian-born Arab with many “interesting” Middle East connections. Obama claims he’s now cut ties with the federal indictee, Rezko, but even so, here’s the kind of thing you’ll see more of in an Obama White House:
Antoin Rezko, a Chicago developer and a longtime contributor of Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, was jailed yesterday in Chicago after a judge decided he posed a flight risk and revoked his $2 million bond.
At a hearing in federal court, prosecutors said Mr. Rezko, who is under indictment for extortion, had received almost $3.5 million in secret payments from an Iraqi-born British billionaire.
Mr. Obama is facing mounting questions about having received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Mr. Rezko even as he gains momentum from a fresh primary win and a string of high-profile endorsements.
Mr. Rezko, a key figure in the Illinois political establishment, faces a two-month trial beginning Feb. 25 that is expected to plumb his dealings with various state politicians as the final Democratic primary contests play out.
The case took a twist yesterday with allegations by prosecutors that the Syrian-born Mr. Rezko might be preparing to flee and had received $3.5 million from a Lebanese bank account held by General Mediterranean Holding SA, a Luxembourg-registered vehicle for billionaire London investor Nadhmi Auchi.
Mr. Auchi was convicted in France of fraud in 2003. Efforts to reach Mr. Auchi for comment were unsuccessful.
Prosecutors also alleged Mr. Rezko in 2005 asked unnamed Illinois politicians to lobby the State Department to grant a visa to Mr. Auchi. [DS: Don’t fool yourself into thinking he didn’t ask Obama, and that Obama didn’t try to help. It’s fair to say, he was probably involved.]
Bill Burton, spokesman for the Obama presidential campaign, said the senator didn’t ask the State Department to provide Mr. Auchi with a visa. [DS: Uh-huh. Riiiight.]
Mr. Obama received more than $150,000 in contributions donated or raised by Mr. Rezko during his political career. The senator also purchased property from the developer’s wife. While federal prosecutors in Chicago are mainly focused on Mr. Rezko’s ties to the governor of Illinois, they claim in court papers that Mr. Rezko illegally reimbursed another donor for a $10,000 contribution to Mr. Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign. Mr. Rezko has denied any wrongdoing.
The Obama campaign had no comment yesterday on the latest developments in the Rezko investigation. The senator has denied any impropriety in his dealings with the developer. The Obama campaign has said it would return any contributions raised by Mr. Rezko because they might be deemed inappropriate. . . .
Mr. Obama has returned more than $85,000 in contributions associated with Mr. Rezko, including $40,000 earlier this month. [DS: Did Obama return his Chicago house, too? NOPE.]
State and federal campaign records indicate Mr. Rezko may have helped raise an additional $80,000 or more. Among the contributions Mr. Obama hasn’t returned, for example, is $4,500 from Mr. Rezko’s real-estate attorney, Michael Sreenan. Mr. Sreenan didn’t return calls yesterday.
The Obama campaign says it is still trying to determine which contributions came from Mr. Rezko. “We are constantly reviewing our donations and we are sure we will have an even more full review done by the end of the month,” Mr. Burton said. [DS: BS . . . Barbra Streisand.]
In U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois yesterday, prosecutors said Mr. Rezko had claimed “he had no access to significant sums of money,” a Justice Department brief states.
In April 2007, the Federal Bureau of Investigation now says, a firm controlled by Mr. Rezko received the $3.5 million from General Mediterranean, an investor in one of the developer’s Chicago real-estate projects. The funds were allegedly used by Mr. Rezko to pay his lawyers and for various debts.
Mr. Rezko is under indictment for fraud, extortion and money laundering related to an alleged scheme to pressure businesses for payments in exchange for contracts managing funds from the state Teachers’ Retirement System and Health Facilities Planning Board. He has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors also alleged that Mr. Rezko has provided more than $500,000 to federal fugitive Alber Najjar, who is believed to be hiding in Lebanon since his 2004 indictment in Chicago on gambling charges.
Clearly, Barack Obama was very comfortable in doing business with a man who brings Middle Eastern values to the Middle West and not in a good way. Believe me, there isn’t just one Tony Rezko in the Obama stable. There are many. . . many who will have influence on him in an Obama White House.
I have a blockbuster piece coming out, which briefly discusses more of the Obama-Rezko sleaze. But for now, this should suffice. Stay tuned.
Tags: Alber Najjar, Antoin Rezko, bank account, Barack Hussein Obama, Barack Obama, Barbra Streisand, Bill Burton, Bill Kristol, Chicago, Debbie Schlussel, Democratic presidential candidate, Department of Justice, Department of State, Federal Bureau of Investigation, France, General Mediterranean Holding SA, Governor, Hillary Rodham Cankles Clinton, Illinois, Juan Williams, judge, Lebanon, London, Michael Sreenan, Middle East, Monica Crowley, Mr. Rezko's real-estate attorney, Nadhmi Auchi, Obama stable, real-estate attorney, Senate, Senator, spokesman, Teachers' Retirement System and Health Facilities Planning Board, Tony Rezko, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, USD, White House
Rezko’s back in court this morning after a night in jail. Still waiting to hear the outcome regarding he being a flight risk in light of $3 million wire transfer to him from Middle East while he was crying “poor” to the court. Defense adressing judge St Eve this morning. Good judge – well versed in Islamo funding schemes.
[DM: BUT ISN’T JUDGE ST. EVE THE ONE WHO GAVE WEAK SENTENCES TO THE HAMAS MUSLIMS SHE RECENTLY SENTENCED IN THE MOHAMMED SALEH TERRORIST FINANCING CASE? ISN’T SHE THE ONE WHO LET ONE OF THEM TRAVEL TO DISNEY WORLD? DS]
dm60462 on January 29, 2008 at 2:05 pm