Blagojevich Trial Puts Obama Closer to Senate Seat Deal (overall Obama/corruption connection)

From a public relations standpoint, getting forced out of the Illinois governor's mansion a year and a half ago was a smart career move for Rod Blagojevich. He's been all over the TV since, doing stints on such shows as "Celebrity Apprentice" and "The Late Show with David Letterman." But publicity may not be enough to keep him or several of his former allies out of prison. His long-awaited trial on fraud and conspiracy charges related to his attempt to sell Barack Obama's pending Senate vacancy to the highest bidder began on June 8, the culmination of a five-year Justice Department probe into corruption in Chicago politics. Prosecutors wrapped up their case by the middle of this week. Evidence introduced confirms widespread suspicions that former Gov. Blagojevich and his benefactors were part of a larger Chicago-Obama White House conduit.

From the very start, Blagojevich has proclaimed his innocence. That wasn't enough to save his job. On January 8, 2009, the Illinois House of representatives voted 114-1 to impeach him for misconduct in office. In response, the governor launched a media blitz on top TV talk shows such as "Good Morning America" and "The View," to explain his position. It was a short campaign. On January 29, the Illinois Senate voted 59-0 to remove him from office; in a separate vote, they permanently barred him from holding state office. Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn was sworn in as Illinois's new governor. Last July Blagojevich's former chief of staff, John Harris, pleaded guilty to federal charges, and in return for a reduced sentence, agreed to testify.

Milorad "Rod" Blagojevich, now 53, the son of Serbian immigrants, ironically had been first elected governor of Illinois in 2002 as a reformer, following a three-term stint as a U.S. congressman (5th District). His Republican predecessor, George Ryan, was destined for federal prison, along with dozens of other persons, for participating in a statewide scheme to sell driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Many recipients of those licenses, in fact, had caused accidents, some fatal. On the heels of such a track record, Blagojevich looked pretty good. But he also proved a man of a giant-sized ego, prone to starting or escalating clashes with the Illinois legislature, especially Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.

By the fall of 2008, the governor's political stock was running low. The Chicago Tribune reported that "Blago" had the lowest ratings of any elected politician in nearly three decades of that paper's opinion polls. And a Rasmussen poll revealed that zero percent of Illinois voters rated Gov. Blagojevich as "excellent," whereas four percent, 29 percent and 64 percent gave him respective ratings of "good," "fair" and "poor." It was clear that serious campaign cash would be needed for any re-election bid.

Senator Barack Obama's election as U.S. president in November 2008 appeared to provide one. Under Illinois law, when a Senate seat goes vacant, the governor appoints a person to serve out the remainder of the term. Being a Democrat, Blagojevich logically would be looking for a Democrat to fill Obama's seat. Anticipating no shortage of takers, Blago allegedly told insiders: Whoever wanted that seat should be prepared to contribute serious money to the governor and/or his allied political interests. According to a 76-page FBI affidavit released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, Gov. Blagojevich made statements caught on court-authorized wiretaps and bugs indicating Obama's seat was for sale. The governor allegedly told an adviser on November 5, the day after the elections: "A Senate seat is a fucking valuable thing. You don't just give it away for nothing." After his arrest, his career all but over, Blagojevich in January 2009 settled on former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill out Obama's term.

The larger significance of the trial is the light it sheds on the connected political worlds of Chicago and the Obama administration. One common denominator is Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a Syrian-born Chicago real estate developer/political fixer. Rezko currently is doing time in federal prison on fraud, money laundering and bribery charges; he'd used his considerable influence to squeeze $7 million in kickbacks from a contractor and seven money management firms seeking to do business with the State of Illinois. Rezko long has been close to Blagojevich. An article in the November 2007 issue of Chicago magazine explained: "Rezko became a virtual one-man headhunting firm for staffing the Blagojevich administration, sending along recommended candidates, many of whom ended up getting appointments." In January 2008, Rezko would be arrested at his Mediterranean mansion in suburban Wilmette, Ill. He would be convicted by a jury that June on 16 of 24 counts.

There is an organized labor angle to this. One of the money managers with whom Rezko operated was Stuart Levine, a board member of the Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS). Levine pleaded guilty to federal charges in October 2006 of mail fraud and money-laundering. He allegedly had conspired with Rezko to steer tens of millions of dollars to favored investment firms seeking lucrative contracts with the union-sponsored Illinois TRS and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. Levine would arrange for the firms to pay kickbacks. He proved a key witness in securing Rezko's conviction.

But Rezko was more than a crook: He was Barack Obama's close friend and initial political sponsor. The two went way back. Back in the early Nineties Rezko offered a job to Obama when the future president was graduating from Harvard Law School. Obama took a position elsewhere, but a strong bond developed. The men often discussed politics and double-dated with their wives. They also were partners in a personal real estate deal. In 2005, the Obamas paid $1.65 million for their Hyde Park home near the University of Chicago, a sum $300,000 below the list price, while Rezko's wife paid a $625,000 list price for an adjoining empty lot. This was at a time when Rezko was under investigation.

~~Ping!

Shows ya what a whitewash this whole farce of
a trial is, when the moneyman/patron/bagman for
both Blago and -0 won’t be testifying.

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Most in Media Ignore Blago Characterizing Obama: ‘More Tony’d Up Than I Am’

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From an FBI tape recorded last November and appearing on Fox Chicago News’s Web site, Blagojevich spoke of president-elect Barack Obama:

BLAGOJEVICH I thin-, you know, it’s really, I get that I’m a big boy and I can handle that, but it’s really f***ing galling, this guy is more Tony’d up than I am. And it’s almost like they f***ing conspi-, made a concerted effort and they got the Chicago media to f***ing make me wear Rezko more. To f***ing dilute it from him.

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Feds prepare to rest Blago case without calling Rezko

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Considered a “toxic” witness, Tony Rezko is unlikely to take the stand against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, experts say.

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=393190

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TOXIC TO WHOM ?

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