Posted on 04/11/2011 10:38:53 PM PDT by My Favorite Headache
The RNC released this web video titled “Lapse in Judgement” back in 2008.
http://youtu.be/Aj4_rtyfFu8
The ad revealed Barack Obama’s dealings with convicted felon and close friend Tony Rezko.
This great ad described Obama’s relationship with the Chicago crook. Unfortunately, the left-wing media didn’t do its job and protected Obama from any honest attacks during the 2008 campaign.
Today Donald Trump went after Obama’s close ties to convicted criminal Tony Rezko. IB Times reported:
President Obama “never did a deal in his life except with Tony Rezko,” said Donald Trump on Fox News.
“People should look into that one,” he added.
Trump once again went on the offensive against Obama. His previous point of attack was doubts over Obama’s birthplace. Now, it’s the latter’s long history with Tony Rezko, who Hillary Clinton in 2008 called a “slum landlord.”
Rezko is am Illinoisan political fundraiser who was convicted for fraud and bribery in 2008. He was accused of using his political position to extort money from businesses seeking contracts from the Illinois Teachers System Board and the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.
Back in the 1990s (before Rezko’s offenses took place), two companies owned by Rezko gave the first ever contributions to Obama’s Illinois Senate campaign. In the 2000s, he served on Obama’s U.S. Senate campaign finance committee.
In 2005, Rezko’s wife bought a lot adjacent to a house Obama purchased for $625,000 and subsequently sold a part of it to Obama. The deal generated much controversy back in Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.
Reverend Jeremiah G-D America Wright… You’re on standby.
...”I nominate Trump for the 2011 Pulitzer for Investigative Journalism. Liking the Donald more & more”...
I join you!
If trump keeps the heat on, I’m betting zero cracks from the pressure and either resigns or announces that he’s not running for a second term due to health reasons.
GOP is praising Obama. Trump is going after him.
I’m still not sure The Donald is serious about being President... but I am getting pretty convinced that he’s dead serious about tearing Obama down.
Frankly, I think he’s only made one mistake in his approach — he shouldn’t be talking about running for President as a Republican, but rather to challenge Obama in the Democrat primary.
I think anyone who is a good judge of character could see through him. Others don’t want to see past the stupid grin and positive sound bytes and photo ops the MSM feeds them on the evening news.
The difference is having someone like Trump blasting it out there and getting past the media filters. The Donald does it by being too irresistibly over-the-top to ignore. A large number of people won't take him seriously, but he may be able plant enough doubt in the minds of the mushy middle to make an impact.
I wonder what set Mr Trump off?
What put him over the edge? Does he lurk here or something? Has he been hanging out w/Rush?
Something tilted the scales for him...I just wonder what it was. Very curious...
Good article, thanks.
“Welcome to the party, pal”.
“Tony met Barack Obama in 1990 in a curious way. Obama says Tony’s business partner David Brint was so impressed with his appointment as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review that “he contacted me and asked me if I was interested in being a developer.
Ultimately, after discussions, I met Tony Rezko.” For some like myself it’s a stretch to believe that a pair of Chicago arm twisters were so enamored that they just had to come east to meet him.
Both Barack and Rezko had early ties to wealthy Arabs and it’s more likely that mutual acquaintances with similar interests arranged introductions.
After graduating Harvard Obama took a job with the law firm of Davis, Milner, Barnhill & Galland, the same firm that happened to help Tony Rezko’s company, Rezmar, obtain $43 million in government funding.
Shortly thereafter Obama added “community organizer” to his resume, a job essentially to register democratic voters under the auspice of community involvement. By coincidence that served Rezko’s interests.
Here are a few other “coincidences” between Obama and Rezko:
1) Tony was the first political donor to Obama’s State Senator campaign in 1995.
2) Tony and “friends” raised close to $250,000 for various Obama campaigns.
3) Starting in 2003 Tony, sat as one of 14 people on Obama’s State finance committee, raising more than $14 million for his U.S. Senate race.
4) Rezko arranged an internship in Senator Obama’s office for a business associate’s son. The associate, Joseph Armando, had contributed $11,500 to Obama campaigns.
5) State Senator Obama wrote letters in 1997 to city and state officials in support of a low income project called Cottage View Terrace Apartments, to be headed up by Tony Rezko.
The project received $14 million in taxpayer funds, and $885,000 in development fees for Rezko and law partner Davis. (Later, during the Obama Presidency campaign, Bill Burton addressed the letters: “This wasn’t done as a favor for anyone, it was done in the interests of the people in the community who have benefited from the project.” Burton kept a straight face.)
Of course the final coincidence is Rezko and Obama buying adjoining properties from the same owner in 2006. After mega millions of insider government contract deals Tony finally got caught with too many fingers in too many pots.
In 2006 Rezko was indicted and found guilty for twelve counts of fraud, and two counts of corrupt solicitation. That’s when Barack Obama became more a “casual” acquaintance rather than a deeply involved associate.
*snip*
Pretending otherwise, even with the assistance of adoring journalists, doesn’t change truth when it’s this clear.
Tony was in the political influence peddling business up to his elbows and some of that peddling, at least 14 million of it, has Obama’s fingerprints on it.”
http://www.stumpreport.com/398891-meet-tony-rezko
//
http://therealbarackobama.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/the-dan-mahru-reader-connecting-some-dots/
The Dan Mahru Reader — Connecting Some Dots
February 16, 2009 by Brenda J. Elliott
//
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2536179/posts
Rezko asked for $10,000 check to Obama campaign: witness
Sun Times ^ | 6-16-10 | Natasha Korecki, Sarah Ostman
//
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2151323/posts?page=1
CHICAGO: CRIME KIND OF TOWN
various | various | various
//
(NO LINKS)
Gov fund-raiser linked to man in indictment
Chicago Sun-Times (IL) - Sunday, August 7, 2005
Author: Dave McKinney, Chris Fusco and Steve Warmbir, The Chicago Sun-Times
SPRINGFIELD — A Glenview businessman who federal investigators believe received a $250,000 kickback in a state teacher pension scheme has had past business dealings with gubernatorial fund-raiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko , the Chicago Sun-Times has found.
Records in three Wisconsin cities show that companies linked to Rezko turned over ownership of at least six Papa John’s pizza restaurants in 2001 to a company owned by Joseph Aramanda , who surfaced in last week’s federal indictment alleging corruption at the Teachers’ Retirement System of Illinois.
Neither Aramanda nor Rezko , a close associate of Gov. Blagojevich who has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the governor, have been accused of criminal wrongdoing by federal investigators.
Aramanda , however, received $250,000 of a $375,000 finder’s fee that prosecutors say was illegally arranged by indicted former TRS board member Stuart Levine, who was reappointed to that board by Blagojevich months before his July 2004 resignation.
Levine, according to a 14-count indictment released Wednesday, arranged for Aramanda to get the money from a financial consultant who had been representing a company that secured a $50 million investment from TRS.
Levine and two Chicago lawyers were charged Wednesday with allegedly shaking down investment companies seeking TRS business for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.
Aramanda , who did not return a message left at his Neenah, Wis., corporate office and could not be reached at his Glenview phone number, was named as “Individual C” in the indictment. The Sun-Times confirmed his identity through multiple sources.
Several telephone messages left at Rezko ‘s main office were not returned.
Aramanda owned 22 Papa John’s pizza restaurants in Wisconsin, according to a 2001 business filing with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.
At least six of those restaurants, located in Madison, Eau Claire and La Crosse, were owned by Rezko ‘s companies up until 2001, when Aramanda ‘s firm — JAA Enterprises — took over ownership, according to restaurant licensing documents maintained by health departments in each of those cities.
Details about the ownership shift, including how much JAA paid for the restaurants, were not available. A spokeswoman at Papa John’s Louisville, Ky., headquarters declined to comment on the matter, citing privacy concerns.
Whether Aramanda ‘s tie to Rezko extends beyond this particular transaction is not completely clear, but Aramanda has a link to the governor, having given Blagojevich’s campaign fund $10,000 in 2002, state election records show.
Aramanda also has been a donor to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who received $11,500 from him between 2000 and 2004, according to federal election records.
One of the Obama contributions hints at another possible business tie between Rezko and Aramanda . A $1,000 donation from Aramanda to the fund Obama set up for an ill-fated 2000 congressional bid identifies Aramanda ‘s employer as “P.J. Chicago.” The initials “C.O.O.” appear next to the entry, federal election records show, suggesting Aramanda was the chief operating officer of P.J. Chicago.
P.J. Chicago was managed by Rezko Enterprises, according to Illinois Secretary of State records. P.J. Chicago is listed on the sixth floor at 409 W. Huron St. in Chicago, home to several of Rezko ‘s businesses, according to regulatory filings with the Wisconsin and Delaware secretary of state offices.
(snip)
//
Internship also links Obama, Rezko : Fund-raiser asked senator to hire contributor’s son
Chicago Sun-Times (IL) - Sunday, December 24, 2006
Author: Frank Main, The Chicago Sun-Times
In addition to a land deal, Sen. Barack Obama’s ties to indicted dealmaker Antoin “Tony” Rezko include an internship the senator provided the son of a contributor at the request of Rezko , an Obama spokesman confirmed Saturday.
John Aramanda served as an intern for Obama for about a month in 2005, said Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs. His father is Joseph Aramanda , a Rezko business associate who was named as an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal corruption case against Rezko . Aramanda has contributed $11,500 to Obama since 2000, Gibbs said.
“Mr. Rezko did provide a recommendation for John Aramanda ,” Gibbs said. “I think that it’s fairly obvious that a few-week internship is not anything of benefit to Mr. Rezko or any of his businesses.”
The internship revelation comes after Obama acknowledged he erred in buying property from Rezko in January. The transaction took place when it was widely known Rezko was under investigation by the U.S. attorney’s office.
“It was a mistake to have been engaged with him at all in this or any other personal business dealing that would allow him, or anyone else, to believe that he had done me a favor,” Obama — a likely presidential candidate — told the Chicago Sun-Times in November.
(snip)
Obama and Rezko have been friends since 1990, and the Wilmette businessman has raised as much as $60,000 in campaign contributions for him.
After Rezko ‘s indictment, Obama donated $11,500 to charity — the amount Rezko contributed to the senator’s federal campaign fund.
Gibbs said no decision has been made on whether Obama will return any contributions from Aramanda , given his alleged role in the federal corruption cases against Rezko and former Teachers Retirement System board member Stuart Levine.
(snip)
Aramanda was identified by the Sun-Times as “Individual D,” who allegedly received a $250,000 kickback tied to a scheme to steer lucrative state pension deals to firms and consultants that donated to Blagojevich. Aramanda is not specifically named or charged with criminal wrongdoing in the court papers. He did not return a call seeking comment Saturday.
Gibbs said John Aramanda served in Obama’s Capitol Hill office from July 20 to Aug. 26, 2005.
//
Rezko pals in state posts - Records reveal vast influence with governor
Chicago Tribune (IL) - Thursday, June 15, 2006
Author: David Jackson and John Chase, Tribune staff reporters.
EXCERPT
Blagojevich pal’s reach into state government
Newly obtained public records show deep ties between state government and several financial backers of businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko , confidante and political fundraiser for Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
NAME
Imad Almanaseer
TIE TO REZKO
Member of LARC Realty, a Rezko business
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Health Facilities Planning Board member; son Ahmed worked for Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
NAME
Abdelhamid Chaib
TIE TO REZKO
Chief operating officer of Rezko Enterprises
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Wife Lori on Board of Review for Department of Employment Security
NAME
John “Jack” Lavin
TIE TO REZKO
Former chief financial officer of Rezko Enterprises
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Director of DCEO
NAME
Alber Najjar
TIE TO REZKO
Investor in Rezko Enterprises, LARC Realty member
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Daughter Claudine works for DCEO
NAME
Michel Malek
TIE TO REZKO
Investor in Rezko Enterprises, Roosevelt/Clark development
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Health Facilities Planning Board member
NAME
Fortunee Massuda
TIE TO REZKO
Investor in Rezko Enterprises
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Health Facilities Planning Board member
NAME
Ali Ata
TIE TO REZKO
Investor in Roosevelt/Clark
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Former executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority
NAME
Joseph Aramanda
TIE TO REZKO
Co-owned Papa John’s pizza franchises with Rezko
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Got loan from state tollway contractor
NAME
Velma Butler
TIE TO REZKO
Investor in Roosevelt/Clark
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Illinois Housing Authority member
NAME
Muhamad Dabbouseh
TIE TO REZKO
LARC Realty officer
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Daughter Amy works for the DCEO and daughter Huda for the DES
NAME
Kelly King Dibble
TIE TO REZKO
Former vice president for business development of a Rezko real estate company
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Executive director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority
NAME
David Gustman
TIE TO REZKO
Attorney for Rezko and companies
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Unpaid chairman of Illinois Finance Authority
NAME
Anthony Licata
TIE TO REZKO
Rezko attorney
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Chairman of the Capital Development Board
NAME
Michael Rumman
TIE TO REZKO
CEO of Heritage Development Partners, and investor in Roosevelt/Clark
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Former director of Central Management Services
NAME
Ed Wynn
TIE TO REZKO
Heritage lawyer
STATE GOVERNMENT TIE
Former general counsel of CMS
Sources: State records, court filings, corporate reports
to amplify your points, he is untouchable politically. He can not be unelected. He is a TV producer’s dream. He is a viewer magnet.
I concluded weeks ago he is a stalking horse who is essentially out of work. There are no real estate deals to be done and banks are not lending. With other peoples money tap shut, he is out of work. He went to China and got his butt handed to him by real traders and is now antiChina.
So, he took the Republican Designated hitter position can thrash around like a loose cannon. He has it in for Obama and can do maximum damage others can’t or dare not do.
We need new refineries in the U.S. for all that U.S. oil. What we have now is just NUTZ!
The other candidates or presumed candidates should be screaming, “Hey Trump! Leave some for me!” (i.e. Dem. blood)
But, naw, they want to do it the typically lame nicey-nice GOP way . The “high road.” The ‘rats will pull out all the stoppers and club the soft little pubbies into submission like baby seals.
At least one self-styled Republican isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade.
The budget fight is the smallest problem of the GOP - it´s not surprising that they can´t push anything substantial through when the Democrats hold both the senate and the presidency. That can be corrected in 2012. The budget is a secondary issue in any case - that can easily be deduced from the fact that even the liberal institutions treat it as a somewhat legitimate topic of debate.
Rather, the real problem is that the United States is now subsumed in a thick goo of Liberalism. Liberalism is now the state quasi-religion of all western countries, complete with heresy trials against those that break its taboos: Geert Wilders and many others. The US is far from exempt: Terry Jones will surely be in front of a judge if Graham and his ilk get their way.
That many in the GOP behave as Liberals is not because they are collaborating with Liberalism - it is rather because they are liberals. Liberalism is now a requirement for admittance into polite society. Hence, the Republicans are dominated by Liberals, who might have some quibble with a particular aspect of Liberalism, but who will in the end go with the program when push comes to shove.
Since they are not capable or willing of opposing Liberalism in a principled fashion, of attacking the lies at its core, they are doomed to being steadily pushed leftwards.
Trump is only picking away at peripheral issues - the personal doings and connections of Obama. But in doing so, he is showing how a principled stand against Liberalism must be conducted: Calmly, in a reasoned fashion, and without fear or regret.
The public at large never knew about these allegations. Recall that we had a candidate who refused to say anything negative about obama. The stooge we ran put Rezko, Wright, Farrakan. Ayers and the Birth Certificate question ALL off limits. People figured, hell, if McCain won't even discuss this stuff it must all be BS.
We also had a super abundance of stupid, guilt ridden white morons who couldn't wait to vote for a black guy just so they could tell everyone they voted for a black guy. Thank goodness that has largely worn off by now!
I wrote in big blue crayola crayon across the form, “WHERE'S THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE?” and seny in back in their postage paid envelop.
I am SICK SICK SICK of spineless RINOs with gonads the size of a dust mite.
They don’t call it the “Dumb Party” for nothing.
TRUMP IS RELENTLESS!
Rev Wright can`t be to far behind
Thanks Trump for playing the decoy, much appreciated, but regardless what you do or say, it`s still PALIN OR BUST!!!!
Antoin “Tony” Rezko is from a Syrian Christian family. In Chicago, however, he gravitated to Farrakhan and the NOI because of the group’s anti-Israeli rhetoric.
I can find no evidence that “Antoin” ever converted to Islam. He just found people like Farrakhan and Obama convenient marks for his schemes.
SARAH PALIN or bust!!!
I appreciate Donald bringing this stuff up,hopefully Rev Wright is next! However I wonder what Trump will do and say after he loses the nomination????
I can see him possibly even trashing the same people he is now courting.
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