[STARWISE]

At this writing, U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald had said nothing to implicate Obama or his aides in wrongdoing. Still, with at least 40 references to Obama and his associates in the original 76-page criminal complaint, the scandal has cast a shadowy light on the connections between Blagojevich, Obama, and Emanuel, whose careers often overlapped, and who all drew on the skills of David Axelrod, the architect of Obama’s Senate and presidential campaigns and now a White House senior adviser.

Clockwise, from left: Axelrod, Blagojevich, Burris, Emanuel, Rezko, Obama, Mell, and Jones

*snip*

Around the same time that he was allegedly co-managing the Blagojevich Enterprise, Rezko—who had a fondness for politicians—was also helping to fill the campaign coffers of Barack Obama. One of Obama’s earliest supporters and biggest fundraisers, Rezko raised at least $159,000 for Obama over the years, in some cases collecting from the same donors he was hitting up for Blagojevich.

(Obama later donated to various charities an amount equal to the Rezko-tainted contributions.) In one respect, Rezko was even more valuable to Obama than to Blagojevich, providing crucial financial support when Obama was a political nobody. “When you’re an outsider and you’re trying to build relationships and you’re getting ‘No, no, no, no’ all the time—to have somebody come to you and say, ‘I believe in you, I want to help you, I want to raise money’—that’s irresistible,” says Giangreco.

Besides raising money for Obama’s campaigns, Rezko helped place one of Obama’s closest friends, Eric Whitaker, in the job as the state’s public health director. Then a state senator, Obama recommended Whitaker to Rezko, who had an unofficial role picking people for top state jobs in Blagojevich’s administration. During Rezko’s trial, workers in Blagojevich’s patronage office testified that if Rezko wanted somebody hired, it usually got done—quickly.

Rezko remains the most troubling common tie between the president and the disgraced former governor. Obama has repeatedly insisted that Rezko never sought anything except small favors here or there, such as an internship for the son of a business associate.

Assuming that’s true, why did Rezko act like a crook with Blagojevich and not with Obama? One veteran political operative offered this explanation: “Rezko was, basically, forming political sleeper cells. He didn’t know which ones would be useful. He was right about Barack’s promise, not about his usefulness.”

And was Obama simply naïve about Rezko? “Maybe so,” says John Kupper, who worked on Obama’s U.S. Senate and presidential campaigns. “But the fact is: He never asked Barack for anything in return.”

Blagojevich, however, was infuriated that he—and not Obama—was taking most of the political heat for Rezko. Recalls a fourth former Blagojevich aide: “A lot of Rod’s resentment was—‘How come I wear the jacket for Tony?’”

~ ~ ~ ~

God willing, Blago's got top security, and the trial actually does go forward.

[STARWISE]

~~DING DING!

[yldstrk]

the more you stir it, the more it stinks

[stboz]

Don’t forget Her Heinous.

[Tzimisce]

...what Chicago needs is a Royal Flush...

[Don Corleone]

Whether the ex-governor succeeds in soiling others will be determined in the coming months, as federal prosecutors press their case against him.

As much as possible those "prosecutors will be hand picked by the administration or its friends to see that no questions will be asked that might lead to an unsatisfactory answer. Unsatisfactory to Obama, that is.

[al baby]

This makes watergate look like a picknick

[CaribouCrossing]

I hope and pray that their “house of cards” falls down around them.

[katiekins1]

God willing, Blago’s got top security, and the trial actually does go forward

Body armor as well. Your Article connects the devious dots clearly.
Thank You. Book marking for future reference.

[Calpernia]

bflr

[TigersEye]

btrl

[maggief]

In January, the Sun-Times reported that Emanuel called Wyma in the days after the presidential election with a message for Blagojevich: Obama would not offer anything but “appreciation” in return for the appointment of an Obama favorite to the vacated Senate seat. It is unclear why Emanuel contacted Wyma rather than Blagojevich or the governor’s chief of staff, John Harris. At the time, unbeknownst to Blagojevich, Wyma had turned against him, secretly providing information to federal investigators about the governor’s alleged pay-to-play schemes.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/blagojevich/1393503,CST-NWS-wyma23.article

Emanuel had pal make call to Blago
PROBE | Aide worked with feds, told gov he'd get nothing for Senate: sources

January 23, 2009

EXCERPT

The report, commissioned by Obama after Blagojevich's Dec. 9 arrest, was an account of contacts between Obama’s staff and the governor's office. In response to the message from Wyma, Blagojevich was caught on tape saying: “They're not willing to give me anything except appreciation; [expletive] them.”

In October, Wyma began secretly providing information to the feds about Blagojevich.

In November, Wyma called Blagojevich's staff with the message from Emanuel, sources said. There's no indication that Wyma knew of a probe involving allegations related to the Senate seat. Wyma had provided information to the feds about pay-to-play allegations, according to the criminal complaint.

Wyma’s call on behalf of Emanuel was uncharacteristic, sources said. Before that, it was Emanuel who pushed for a Jarrett appointment.

The revelation that Emanuel allegedly asked an intermediary to contact Blagojevich's camp raises questions about whether Emanuel sought to distance himself from Blagojevich at a time when he has said he was unaware of alleged deal-making by the governor. Wyma’s attorney, Zachary Fardon, would not comment. An Emanuel spokeswoman referred to the Obama report.

[bray]

There is alot more:
http://brayincandy.com/id27.html

Pray for America

[Lurker]

Zum Deutschen Eck, the old German restaurant in Lake View.

I used to eat there whenever I could. They had the best German food around. I miss it.