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In the run-up to the 2012 election, a story surfaced about an Iraqi billionaire who managed to buy access to Washington policy makers while funding a Chicago Pay-to-Play scheme that helped produce a Governor, a U.S. Senator, and, ultimately, a President of the United States. The story was eight years in the making, yet despite the extent of his political influence, this Iraqi’s name remains widely unknown. He wants it that way. In fact, he has spent millions of dollars to hinder the reporting of his activities by the news media. The lack of attention paid to him, however, is...

It's business as usual in Chicago. After protecting President Barack Obama from criminal liability for his corrupt relationship with convicted political fixer Tony Rezko, former Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has been rewarded with a partnership in the Chicago office of New York-based law firm giant Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The firm counts among its partners, Greg Craig, Obama's first White House Counsel, who had to help navigate Obama through Fitzgerald's investigation of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attempt to sell Obama's Senate seat, from which he resigned shortly after being elected President but before he was sworn...

How do you say "corruption" in Arabic? A college pal of Tony Rezko who was accused of embezzlement, jailed in Iraq's Green Zone, and then escaped from prison and fled to Jordan is now running for a seat in Iraq's parliament, reports USA Today. Aiham Alsammarae, a dual U.S.-Iraqi citizen who attended the Illinois Institute of Technology with Rezko -- and who helped raise part of Rezko's $8.5 million bail -- was appointed to run the electricity ministry in 2003 after Saddam Hussein's ouster. During his tenure, a Rezko-owned company won a $50 million contract from Alsammarae's ministry. The deal...

How 'bout a little refresher re. Obama political Godfather  and actual (16-count!) convicted felon Tony Rezko...? The Syrian-born Rezko is an infamous Chicago slumlord, fast-food restauranteur, and sleazy political operator who played a key role in the Blagojevich case- as well as the unlikley ascension to power of Barrack Hussein Obama.Obama's longtime ally, friend, and top fundraiser was found guilty of 16/24 counts of felony influence peddling back in June 2008. Of course the story was mostly buried/detached from his bud Barry in the run-up to that year's most unfortunate (for us) presidential election whilst the jury convicted Rezko of wire...

Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod and his hatchet people are still yammering about GOP presidential rival Mitt Romney's overseas investments. It's time for the Romney campaign to educate voters about all the shady financial institutions embraced by Democrats right here on American soil. The fat-cat narrative attacks on Republicans won't go away by making nice with the White House -- or by relying on Beltway journalists to drop their double standards and vet the president's own bad bank entanglements. Indeed, The New York Times admitted this week that their staff and other political journalists from every major media outlet submit...

We have often heard Valerie Jarrett is the de-facto President. That might not be far from the truth. Our team has been exhaustively researching this woman,...again. We went back over notes, articles and saved links, as well digging deeper into new documents that we've gotten a hold of. Valerie Jarret is very powerful. I am hoping to keep our article brief, but there is an awful lot to share. As you may know, Valerie Jarrett is Obama,'s closest cabinet member. That is no coincidence. She is one who helped get him where he is. Sure, he knew all the street...

Documents obtained by The Daily Caller show that President Barack Obama’s close friend Eric Whitaker, who runs the University of Chicago Medical Center’s Urban Health Initiative, spoke at Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s Chicago-area church in 2006. Whitaker was a speaker at Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ during a Sept. 17, 2006 “Health Care Justice Forum,” according to a church bulletin TheDC obtained. The bulletin is no longer on the church’s website. Whitaker made headline news Monday when New York Times bestselling author Edward Klein alleged during a radio interview with Sean Hannity that Whitaker offered Wright $150,000 to stay silent...

A federal judge sentenced Tony Rezko to 10 1/2 years in prison Tuesday, describing his actions under Rod Blagojevich’s tenure as “selfish and corrupt.” Rezko has already served about 44 months. His daughter burst into tears at hearing the sentence. U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she found it offensive that Rezko put at risk the Teachers’ Retirement System by scheming for kickbacks with a board member in 2004. “You put their retirements at risk for your own greed and your own thirst for power,” St. Eve said. A pale, thin Rezko gave a brief statement before he learned...

Long known as the “political fixer,” who was friends with a politically young Barack Obama, Tony Rezko once grabbed headlines in a presidential campaign. At the same time in Illinois, Rezko’s name was synonymous with a federal investigation into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But since Rezko volunteered to go jail after his 2008 conviction, he’s settled in as not much more than a footnote in both politics and corruption. That’s partly because the investigation into Blagojevich exploded after Rezko’s trial, taking a new turn involving the sale of President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat — conduct that happened when Rezko was...

This, the first of a series of articles on the Obama home at 5046 S. Greenwood, establishes that three individuals other than Obama are listed in public records as owners and taxpayers on the property. Barack Obama is not among at least three people listed as current owners and taxpayers of the mansion his family calls home in Chicago's upscale Kenwood neighborhood, according to public records. WND reported in December 2008 that William Miceli, the attorney for convicted political operative Tony Rezko and a fundraiser for Obama, owns the Obama home at 5046 S. Greenwood.

Obama's Chilling Crew   By Andrew WaldenFrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, April 28, 2009 Why is there so little media investigation of the financing behind Barack Obama’s early political sponsor—and now convicted felon—Tony Rezko?      The dual US-Syrian citizen Rezko--who assisted Obama in the purchase of his Chicago mansion--was heavily funded by loans from Iraqi-British ex-Baathist billionaire Nadhmi Auchi.  According to testimony at Rezko’s trial, Obama met Auchi at an April 3, 2004 event at Rezko’s home during Obama’s 2004 US Senate campaign.  The Times of London reports discovering, “state documents in Illinois recording that Fintrade Services, a Panamanian company, lent...

A onetime Tony Rezko business partner, who once was a Chicago cop and chief executive of a company that won a $50 million security contract in Iraq, has pleaded guilty to federal charges in Chicago after he cooperated with authorities. Daniel T. Frawley pleaded guilty on Feb. 14 to bank fraud and structuring transactions — a plea that came about two weeks after his charges were made public.

May 29, 2008 By Andrew Walden (Hawai'i Free Press) Nadhmi Auchi, seen here with the Governor of Illinois, Rob Blagojevich (middle) at a 2004 Chicago dinner in Auchi's honor arranged by Antonin Rezko (potentially, right)[1]. All three men have been convicted of corruption related charges (Auchi 2003, Rezko 2008, Blagojevich 2009).[2] “A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser (dual US-Syrian citizen Tony Rezko) just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses. The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi,...

Congressman told FBI he asked for -- and got -- free home upgrades ### Convicted political fixer Tony Rezko gave U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez free upgrades on a riverfront town house after the congressman asked for them, Gutierrez told the FBI, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. Gutierrez's comments to federal agents in a previously undisclosed 2008 interview contradict what the congressman told the Sun-Times in 2006 about the purchase. "I walked in with my wife -- as any other consumer could have -- and purchased the unit at the listed price, with no considerations," the Northwest Side congressman said then,...

Letter addressed to convicted influence peddler has president's name on envelope President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Chicago Way Dear President Obama: Get the Chicago Tribune delivered to your home for only $1 a week >> It's been such a long time since we talked, and I know you're extremely busy taking command at work, but I hope this letter finds you well. Chicago hasn't changed much. More Americans are shot in Chicago than in Iraq. The politicians keep getting rich. And you know about Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial. What's up with that subpoena thing anyway? What was Rod...

The name of President Obama came into play this afternoon at the political corruption trial of former governor Rod Blagojevich as an associate of political fund-raiser Tony Rezko testified that Rezko asked him to write a $10,000 check to Friends of Obama. The Chicago Sun-Times reported in January 2008 that Glenview businessman Joseph Aramanda, who is testifying today, made the donation as part of a scheme orchestrated by Rezko. Aramanda gave $10,000 in campaign cash to Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign on March 5, 2004, according to records. The money came from part of a finder’s fee Aramanda received, but did...

Ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich saw his one-time best friend take the stand and air details of how they and others schemed to use the governor's political heft as a cash cow. Blagojevich, 53, is on trial facing 24 charges of corruption, racketeering, bribery and fraud stemming from his efforts in the fall of 2008 to trade President Barack Obama's vacant US Senate seat for campaign cash or a new job. On the second day of the trial, jurors heard from Lon Monk, one of Blagojevich's closest friends and a former law school associate. Monk testified that four people in...

While President Obama assures Americans that his White House is the “people’s house,” he covertly gives political advisors taxpayer-funded personal drivers traditionally reserved for cabinet members and national security officials. Obama and Jarrett, who was his “Olympic Czar,” are so tight that he refers to her as a “sibling.” Before joining the administration Jarrett was involved in a series of real estate scandals, including several housing projects operated by convicted felon and Obama fundraiser/friend Antoin "Tony" Rezko. Besides getting a personal military driver to chauffer her around town and to and from work, Jarrett also gets Secret Service protection, which...

E-mails and other records of Dr. Eric Whitaker -- one of President Obama's best friends -- have been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury... The investigation involves "faith-based initiatives" and health-awareness campaigns funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health when Whitaker ran the agency for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich... Obama has said he recommended Whitaker for that job, which Whitaker landed in April 2003. The president's friend resigned in October 2007 to join Obama's wife, Michelle, as an executive at the University of Chicago Medical Center. On Friday, Whitaker defended his work as the state's former top health official,...

Today in United States v. Rod Blagojevich: following up on his 2008 claims that then-Senator Barack Obama was one of a few people who could testify to his innocence, his defense team issued a motion today to subpoena the President to testify in court. Most of the juiciest bits involving Obama’s role in choosing a new Senator are blacked out, or so we thought. It turns a lucky PDF glitch gave us VIP access. Who wouldn’t want to see the blacked out part? Let’s investigate! Most of the non-blacked out portions of the motion are predictably tame general knowledge: the...

Why is Antoin “Tony” Rezko under lock and key at an undisclosed location, like some sort of CIA-renditioned al Qaeda operative? And why hasn’t he been sentenced yet? As the June 3 corruption trial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich for allegedly trying to sell Obama’s former Illinois Senate seat approaches, the whereabouts of the former Blago and Obama fundraiser is literally a state secret. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Rezko was moved from Chicago’s downtown Metropolitan Correctional Center on December 16th, even though it’s right across the street from the federal courthouse where Blago will be tried. Rezko’s not...

Federal prosecutors have filed a key document laying out their corruption case against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich out of the public eye — at least for now. Such a filing is typically made part of the public record in the weeks before the start of a trial. Jury selection is set to begin June 3 for Blagojevich and his brother, Robert. But in a brief public filing to explain their actions, prosecutors said they have filed the new document under seal so U.S. District Judge James Zagel and the defense can first decide if any portions should stay under wraps....

Rashad Hussein, White House official and President Obama’s newly appointed Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference, has a history of participation in events connected with the U.S. Muslim Brotherhood as well as support for Brotherhood causes, once having called prosecution of the U.S. leader of a Palestinian terrorist organization one of many “politically motivated persecutions.” Mr. Hussain’s official biography states: Rashad Hussain is presently Deputy Associate Counsel to President Obama. His work at the White House focuses on national security, new media, and science and technology issues. Mr. Hussain has also worked with the National Security Staff in...

It has been more than four years since Jacob Kiferbaum pleaded guilty in a kickback scheme involving a hospital that needed state approval for a construction project, one of the earliest corruption scandals under former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Kiferbaum, though, has yet to spend a day in prison. The north suburban construction magnate is one of 12 men convicted in Illinois political corruption cases who still await sentencing months -- in some cases, years -- after their convictions. The lone exception among them: Tony Rezko, who was a major campaign fund-raiser for Blagojevich, among other politicians. Like the others, Rezko...

"Hear our cry, Obama." "Deliver us, Obama." Video at link.

Michelle Obama: It's a 'sacrifice' to travel to Europe to pitch for the Olympics. For Oprah and the president, too. But we're doing it for the kids. By: Byron York Chief Political Correspondent09/30/09 5:12 PM EDT In her speech in Copenhagen today, First Lady Michelle Obama said her trip to Denmark, along with the travel of her "dear friend" and "chit-chat buddy" Oprah Winfrey, as well as tomorrow's visit by President Obama, is a "sacrifice" on behalf of the children of Chicago and the United States. "As much of a sacrifice as people say this is for me or...

Two sources with knowledge of the situation told the Tribune today they have been notified that Christopher Kelly, a key figure into the federal corruption probe into former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, is dead.

The arrest of Governor Rod Blagojevich in December cast a shadowy light on the relationships among four leading players in the Illinois Democratic Party—Blagojevich, Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, and David Axelrod. The new president and his two aides would like to minimize their dealings with the disgraced ex-governor. But the record tells a more complex story By David Bernstein (page 1 of 4) In the days following his arrest on corruption charges last December 9th, Governor Rod Blagojevich did his best to appear busy. He visited his 16th-floor suite at the Thompson Center, once even showing up in a jogging...

A bank that received $1.6 billion in bailout money just spent a fortune last week in L.A. hosting a series of lavish parties and concerts with famous singers ... Check out this post: Barack Obama got cheap loan to buy Chicago mansion http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040237/posts

Relativity by E. M. Escher While researching an article about Obama's Chicago home-- about the circumstances surrounding who is the "owner", I happened across a bit of information: Obama's home has a Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac mortgage to the tune of $1,320,000. (Page 5 of Cook County Property Assessment Record) The information comes from the Cook County Clerk's office where the "owner" of the Obama home is listed as William Miceli, a former supervisor of Obama's when he worked at the David Law Firm. What's unusual about the Obama mortgage is that the upper limits of a Fannie Mae loan...

[In 2004 and 2005,] Sources said Thomas also logged frequent visits to Rezko from Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Blagojevich and Obama were among the many politicians for whom Rezko raised campaign cash…. Sources said the government had him wear a hidden wire to record conversations with a Chicago alderman–but that he did not record Blagojevich or Obama.” RezkoTrialWatch: FBI mole "logged frequent visits to Rezko" by Obama (renamed) February 10, 2008 In an exclusive interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, FBI “mole” John Thomas, “who’s expected to be a key prosecution witness against indicted developer and political...

President-elect Barack Obama's decision to keep a distance from his state's governor, who was arrested on corruption charges on Tuesday, should enable him to escape becoming tainted by the scandal, analysts said. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich stands accused of trying to sell the president-elect's vacant U.S. Senate seat for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife, among other charges. "Obama is not related to the corruption pattern in Chicago," said political scientist Dick Simpson of the University of Illinois in Chicago. "He has not been pressing for any person to replace him in his Senate seat." U.S....

The sentencing of former Democratic National Committee fund-raiser Joseph Cari Jr. has been delayed at the request of prosecutors. It's a sign the feds want to use Cari as a witness -- again. Cari, who has admitted guilt in a corruption case, is a former campaign fund-raiser for Vice President-elect Joe Biden, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Gov. Blagojevich. He was supposed to be sentenced months ago, after he testified against Tony Rezko, the former fund-raiser for Blagojevich and President-elect Barack Obama. But that was put off, and no new date has been set. At Rezko's trial, Cari testified that...

NBC-5 here in Chicago just reported live on air that convicted felon (and Obama’s personal friend) Tony Rezko will be sentenced on January 6th. And they made a point to note that’s just two weeks before Obama’s inauguration. Rezko had been cooperating with special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, giving him information on other political figures in Illinois, but appears to have clammed up after Obama won the national election. We’re sure that’s just a coincidence, and that Rezko just has a really bad case of laryngitis. According to NBC-5, Rezko pushed for a solid sentencing date because he’s tired of being...

Breaking: Obama Advisor Jarrett Tied to Real Estate in Scandal BREAKING: Barack Obama named his longtime friend and supporter Valerie Jarrett as his senior advisor today.FOX News reported: President-elect Barack Obama is naming his longtime friend and supporter Valerie Jarrett to be his White House senior adviser. Jarrett, who hired Michelle Obama for a job in the Chicago mayor's office years ago, is one of the president-elect's closest friends and advisers. Her name has been floated for several top administration jobs. But Obama settled on the senior adviser role, said a person close to the president-elect and willing to speak...

Feel the change! Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents linking Valerie Jarrett, an advisor to Barack Obama and the co-chairman of the President-Elect’s transition team, to a series of real estate scandals, including several housing projects operated by convicted felon and Obama fundraiser/friend Antoin “Tony” Rezko. According to the documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Illinois Secretary of State, Valerie Jarrett served as a board member for several organizations that provided funding and support for Chicago housing projects operated by real estate developers and Obama financial...

Jarrett Managed Housing Project Deemed "Uninhabitable" Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has obtained documents linking Valerie Jarrett, an advisor to Barack Obama and the co-chairman of the President-Elect's transition team, to a series of real estate scandals, including several housing projects operated by convicted felon and Obama fundraiser/friend Antoin "Tony" Rezko. According to the documents obtained by Judicial Watch from the Illinois Secretary of State, Valerie Jarrett served as a board member for several organizations that provided funding and support for Chicago housing projects operated by real estate developers...

Boiling down a complex blog entry by P.U.M.A. pundit, Tony Rezko used Alexi Giannoulias bank to float $450,000 in bad checks, while campaigning for Alexi’s brother Demetris to be placed on the Illinois Finance Authority Board. Demetris Giannoulias was on the Board at the Crossroads Fund, a Chicago Based left wing organization supported by Bill Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn and Barack Obama, which made grants to such stellar organizations as ACORN and other affordable housing swindlers. In 2002, Rezko borrowed $10.5 Million from Broadway Bank, the Giannoulias family bank, the same bank where Barack Obama kept his Senate campaign funds. In...

The Chicago Sun-Times and HillBuzz both had news columns about a week ago that said that it appears that Rezko may be about to roll on Obama. I have heard some spin that the feds & Patrick Fitzgerald are only after Blagojevich and possibly the state treasurer, but this seems doubtful. If Rezko has info that Obama acted illegally, wouldn't he would give this up for something in return? I seriously doubt that Rezko would think that Obama would pardon him. What can be said about Chicago machine politicians? Most likely even Rezko realizes that one bird in the hand...

The Democratic nominee's new sitcom.

Federal prosecutors on Monday sent the strongest hint yet that convicted influence peddler Antoin "Tony" Rezko is ready to spill his political secrets,... {snip} Speculation has simmered for weeks that the 53-year-old key fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Sen. Barack Obama was whispering what he knows about corruption in Illinois government to federal prosecutors in hopes of getting a lighter sentence. {snip}

The Obama campaign has come out saying that Barack Obama was unaware of former Weather Underground member William Ayer's past when the two met more than a decade ago (when Obama kicked off his Illinois political carrer in Ayer's living room). When Rev. Wright went on a tirade before the National Press Club, Barack Obama came out and said "This is not the man I knew." When Tony Rezko was being exposed as a crook, Barack Obama came out and said "This is not the Tony Rezko I knew." Is America dumb enough to believe that Barack Obama was clueless...

Branding his opponent as “erratic in a crisis,” Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is preempting plans by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) to portray him as having sinister connections to controversial Chicagoans. Obama officials call it political jujitsu – turning the attacks back on the attacker. McCain officials had said early in the weekend that they plan to begin advertising after Tuesday’s debate that will tie Obama to convicted money launderer Tony Rezko and former Weathermen radical William Ayers. But Obama isn’t waiting to respond. His campaign is going up Monday on national cable stations with a scathing ad saying: “Three quarters...

WASHINGTON - Sen. John McCain and his Republican allies are readying a newly aggressive assault on Sen. Barack Obama's character, believing that to win in November they must shift the conversation back to questions about the Democrat's judgment, honesty and personal associations. With just a month to go until Election Day, McCain's team has decided that its emphasis on the senator's biography as a war hero, experienced lawmaker and straight-talking maverick is insufficient to close a growing gap with Obama.

Remember Antoin "Tony" Rezko? I'm sure Governor Rod Blagojevich recalls who he is. Maybe even Barack Obama. Well, unless you live in Chicago, or keep an eye on the Chi-town Tribune, you probably have not heard in the national Main Stream Media that Rezko is singing his big head off to the Feds. YEP! According to the Trib, Rezko, who is scheduled for his sentencing appearance on October 28th, is quite the chatty-catty now. The IceMan who said nadda-word for these many months is makin' like a canary. Why? Well, the courts keep turning down his appeals for mistrials and...

Subversives for Obama Friday, 26th September 2008 There are two American election campaigns currently running. The first, in the mainstream media, accepts Barack Obama at face value, no questions asked, while it viciously turns over Sarah Palin and her family whom it subjects to lies, smears and character assassination. The second, being conducted in the blogosphere and (with one or two notable exceptions such as the Wall Street Journal) not alluded to at all by the mainstream media, is the site of verbal warfare between Camp Obama and bloggers who are practising journalism as it used to be practised –...

From FReeper OPS4 A nasty October surprise for Barry? Maybe he can get a bracelet with Tony Rezko's name on it (surely he'll remember that name) and pray to Karl Marx or whatever god he worships that TR keeps his mouth shut. Tipsville: Sneed hears rumbles that convicted influence peddler Tony Rezko, whose dealings have been linked to Barack Obama and Gov. Blagojevich, is singing to the feds. To wit: "I'm told by a close friend of Rezko that he's cooperating with the feds," said a Sneed source. "I don't know whether he's talking about Gov. Blagojevich or Barack Obama...

Barack Obama received a sweetheart land deal from his one time major fundraiser and now convicted Tony Rezko, that is old news. But what is new news is the fact that Joe Biden has ties into this whole money laundering scheme. Joe Biden has been a friend of Joseph Cari, who just pleaded guilty to extortion, for thirty years. Biden has described himself as a 30-year friend of a key figure in the Rezko trial who’s pleaded guilty to a federal extortion charge in Chicago and is awaiting sentencing. So what was Cari’s crime? In 2005, Cari admitted to taking...

For those of you who still cling to the fantasy that Barack Obama is "about change," you should note how he, or his minions, want nothing to do with reforming politics in Illinois, perhaps the most corrupt state in the Union. "Throughout his political career, Barack Obama has fought for open and honest government," proclaims his campaign Web site. Apparently, no longer. When the Democratic presidential candidate—now his party's industrial-strength voice for our deliverance from political corruption everywhere—was asked by a reformer if he would help get his political mentor back home to get off the dime and move the...

It looks like convicted Chicago power merchant Tony Rezko could have two friends in the White House come Jan uary - if the Democratic ticket is elected, that is. Barack Obama's ties to the prolific fund-raiser and developer - who faces up to 20 years behind bars following his June conviction for wire fraud, mail fraud, money-laundering and soliciting bribes - are relatively well-known. Over the years, Rezko raised some $250,000 for Obama's campaigns. And, in 2005, he helped Barack and Michelle Obama by buying a lot they couldn't afford right next to the home they'd just purchased - then...