OBAMA MEETS WITH TONY'D UP SENATE CANDIDATE

The decision by Barack Obama to actually fly to Chicago and stump for Alexi Giannoulias while the jurors in the Rod Blagojevich trial deliberate the former Illinois Governor's fate is curious indeed. Obama does so at precisely the time that the Democrat candidate for the seat he once held, is tied to Tony Rezko. Both testimony and evidence in the trial forced Giannoulias to change his stories, making him look more than a little sleazy.

Another theme that developed during the presentation of the prosecution's case was Blagojevich's belief that Obama wanted to be as far away from Chicago politics as possible and that the reason he wouldn't bring Blago to Washington, D.C. was because of Rezko. During one conversation with his Chief of Staff, John Harris, Blagojevich stated that it was "galling" of Obama to push Rezko off on him (Blago) when Obama was "more Tony'd up," according to Blagojevich.

Obama's behavior seems to be flying in the face of that assertion on the part of Blagojevich.

Via Bloomberg:

President Barack Obama, who left Chicago promising hope and change, appears in his adopted hometown today to raise money for a U.S. Senate candidate amid reminders of the difficulty of getting away from the tarnish of a place renowned for its political corruption.

Obama’s speech at a downtown hotel for Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat seeking the seat he once held, will be two blocks from the federal courthouse where jurors are weighing the fate of Rod Blagojevich. The former Illinois governor stands accused of trying to sell the Senate post to the highest bidder.

On its face, Obama's willingness to stump for Giannoulias almost seems, in part, to be an attempt to completely discredit Blago's claims that Obama wants nothing to do with Chicago politics. Blagojevich is absolutely aware that Obama is two blocks away. He's also aware that Giannoulias has been exposed as having been "Tony'd up". If Obama is more "Tony'd up" than Blagojevich - the reason given to Harris by Blagojevich for why Obama wouldn't deal - why is Obama campaigning in Chicago during Blago's trial, for another "Tony'd up" politician?

Obama’s fifth trip to Chicago since his inauguration in January 2009 comes as Broadway Bank, the now-defunct institution Giannoulias’s family operated, was in the headlines again this week because of a newly reported 2006 loan to convicted Illinois influence peddler Antoin “Tony” Rezko.

Republicans, along with spotlighting the bank issue, have tried to tie Obama and Giannoulias to Blagojevich, who became the state’s most recent mascot for political corruption.

On a side note, reports are that there was vehement disagreement between Blagojevich's defense attorneys (Sam Adam and his son) about whether he should testify. The senior Adam won the argument not to pursue that course. The White House received an extremely fortuitous bounce as a consequence of that. If Blago is convicted, there will be a lot of second-guessing with Obama and his staff benefitting greatly.

Read it all.

VIDEO: AD ACCUSES GIANNOULIAS OF BEING TONY'D UP

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has released an ad that hones in on the Democratic candidate for Obama's former Senate seat, Alexi Giannoulias's ties to Tony Rezko and Chicago Way politics. Giannoulias's bank got shut down by the Feds and extended a big loan to Tony Rezko after the convicted slum lord fell behind on another one. That's not stopping Obama from appearing in Chicago to help fundraise for Giannoulias as the jurors in the Blagojevich trial are in the process of deciding on a verdict.

Interestingly, Giannoulias's name came up quite a bit during the prosecution's case in the Blago trial and none of it was good. It revealed lies, inconsistencies, and a staunch dislike for Alexi on the part of Blagojevich. More on that HERE and HERE. Now, because practically every Democrat running for office this November is telling Obama to stay away, Giannoulias is apparently taking advantage of the opportunity and Obama is obliging.

Via Bloomberg:

President Barack Obama, who left Chicago promising hope and change, appears in his adopted hometown today to raise money for a U.S. Senate candidate amid reminders of the difficulty of getting away from the tarnish of a place renowned for its political corruption.

Obama’s speech at a downtown hotel for Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat seeking the seat he once held, will be two blocks from the federal courthouse where jurors are weighing the fate of Rod Blagojevich. The former Illinois governor stands accused of trying to sell the Senate post to the highest bidder.

As for the ad, it starts right off the bat with another lie from Obama - "Bankers don't need another vote in the United States Senate." I guess it might be splitting hairs to say Giannoulias is a banker. As mentioned previously, the Feds shut his bank down.

via HapBlog

ANOTHER CHICAGO DEMOCRAT TONY'D UP?

We have yet another in a long line of people it would have been more than just a little interesting to see testify in the Rod Blagojevich trial. His name is Alexi Giannoulias and he is the Democrat candidate for Senate this year. Instead, the Blagojevich defense team didn't call any witnesses, including Giannoulias, who was caught in several conflicting statements and claims courtesy of audio recordings presented by the prosecution and witness testimony.

Another interesting aspect to the trial came courtesy of a recording that was played of a conversation between Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris on November 12th, 2008. Also known as Session 545, you can HEAR Blago tell Harris that "This guy (Obama) is more Tony'd up than I am." The former Illinois governor was referring to his belief that the reason Obama wasn't willing to make a deal with Blago for his Senate seat replacement was because of Blago's ties to Rezko.

Now we have Alexi Giannoulias, who appears to be a little "Tony'd up" himself according to the Chicago Sun-Times:

By February 2006, businessman and political fixer Tony Rezko was already politically radioactive, caught up in a federal investigation that would see him criminally charged by the end of that year.

News reports had linked Rezko, a key adviser and campaign fund-raiser for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, to shady deals involving state pension funds -- among the crimes that ultimately would send him to prison.

This was the Tony Rezko who, looking for millions of dollars for a massive South Loop development, turned to Broadway Bank, owned by the family of Alexi Giannoulias. Giannoulias, the Democrat now running for U.S. Senate, had left his post as a senior loan officer at the Chicago bank in late 2005 to mount a successful campaign for Illinois state treasurer, though he still held an ownership stake in the bank.

Rezko's company asked. And Broadway Bank came through.

On Feb. 14, 2006, newly obtained records show, the bank made a $22.75 million loan to a company called Riverside District Development LLC, whose owners, it turns out, included Rezko.

The outcome of the corruption trial of Blagojevich was almost inexplicably fortuitous for the Obama administration, which was at great risk of political catastrophe averted when the defense failed to call even one witness, Giannoulias among those subpoenaed.

However, there were very important things revealed in the trial. Notably, in private conversations, it became apparent that Obama didn't want Blagojevich joining them in Washington, D.C. That also very likely included not wanting him to appoint himself to Obama's old Senate seat. Now that Giannoulias appears to be at least as "Tony'd up" as Blagojevich was - perhaps more - the White House has got to be looking at these findings with a bit of anxiety.

Read it all.

h/t to Hot Air

HUH? TONY REZKO MAY NOT TESTIFY?

This Blagojevich trial is really starting to give off some serious Chicago political stink. In the latest example, the one man that ties both Barack Obama and Blagojevich together - Tony Rezko - may end up not testifying. Presiding judge James Zagel is stating that he doesn't think Rezko would be a good witness for either side. Obama emissary and SEIU emissary to Blagojevich, Tom Balanoff's testimony is expected to have some influence on whether Rezko ends up becoming a witness. I find it rather peculiar though, that a judge would strongly recommend that an individual so involved with the details of a corruption trial not be called as a witness.

Rezko was convicted on 16 of 24 felony charges involving fraud and kickback schemes.

Said Zagel via the Tribune:

It’s still not certain whether Rezko will testify, but at a hearing before testimony resumed today, U.S. District Judge James Zagel strongly suggested that Rezko would make a lousy government witness.

Zagel said there was a word to describe witnesses like Rezko who damage whatever side calls them to testify. That, said Zagel, “generally explains why they’re not called.” Zagel refrained from actually saying what the word was, leaving the suggestion it was less than polite.

At issue is a letter written to Blagojevich by Rezko while the latter was in jail. The letter allegedly states federal officials were pressuring Rezko to make up stories against Blagojevich.

It is at minimum very curious that Zagel would recommend that prosecutors not call Rezko in light of one of the phone conversations between Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris earlier in the trial. In that recording, Blagojevich said the following - found on page 17 of 49 on lines 32-34:

32 ...compared to
33 even Obama, you know, I believe I'm more
34 pristine on Rezko than him.

Listen to the actual recording HERE.

It strikes me that if the prosecution were not concerned about protecting Obama but in convicting Blagojevich, they would want Rezko's testimony based on those statements. When Blago said he's more "pristine on Rezko", it inherently meant that he was at least somewhat dirty when it came to Rezko. Is the prosecution contemplating avoiding Rezko not because he couldn't help them get a conviction of Blago but because he could expose Obama's level of involvement.

Read it all.

WHERE, OH WHERE IS TONY REZKO?

The fact that convicted felon and longtime Barack Obama friend Tony Rezko has yet to be sentenced after two years is curious enough. Adding to that mystery - it's a mystery because apparently no one can answer it - is that no one knows where Rezko is. According to an article in the Washington Examiner, he's not even listed in the Bureau of Prisons' inmate locator.

Via Barbara Hollingsworth at the Examiner:

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.

Adding to the intrigue surrounding all of these head-scratching realities about Rezko is what was revealed about him this past week in Rod Blagojevich's motion for the subpoena of Barack Obama. The document, highly redacted, has been de-coded thanks to a software glitch and a significant portion of what was redacted included some potentially very strong claims about Rezko that could implicate team Obama. Here are the relevant excerpts from Blago's motion (formerly redacted portions in bold):

21. Tony Rezko is one of the government’s main witnesses.8 Mr. Rezko’s credibility is extremely relevant in this trial. In many instances, Mr. Rezko is the government’s crucial witness to prove up their allegations.9 Mr. Rezko wrote a letter to a federal judge stating “the prosecutors have been overzealous in pursuing a crime that never happened. They are pressuring me to tell them the “wrong” things that I supposedly know about Governor Blagojevich and Senator Obama. I have never been a party to any wrongdoing that involved the Governor or the Senator. I will never fabricate lies about anyone else for selfish purposes.” (Exhibit A)

22. However, the defense has a good faith belief that Mr. Rezko, President Obama’s former friend, fund-raiser, and neighbor told the FBI and the United States Attorneys a different story about President Obama. In a recent in camera proceeding, the government tendered a three paragraph letter indicating that Rezko “has stated in interviews with the government that he engaged in election law violations by personally contributing a large sum of cash to the campaign of a public official who is not Rod Blagojevich. … Further, the public official denies being aware of cash contributions to his campaign by Rezko or others and denies having conversations with Rezko related to cash contributions. … Rezko has also stated in interviews with the government that he believed he transmitted a quid pro quo offer from a lobbyist to the public official, whereby the lobbyist would hold a fundraiser for the official in exchange for favorable official action, but that the public official rejected the offer. The public official denies any such conversation. In addition, Rezko has stated to the government that he and the public official had certain conversations about gaming legislation and administration, which the public official denies having had.”10

23. President Obama is the only one who can testify as to the veracity of Mr. Rezko’s allegations above.

10 The defense has a good faith belief that this public official is Barack Obama.

The implication is clear. Rezko's claims - according to Blago's motion - are that he illegally gave cash to Obama, in some cases as a quid pro quo and that the two had multiple conversations about such transactions. Obama's land deal with Rezko would seem to bolster that claim. Obama is apparently on record as saying no such conversations with Rezko have taken place.

So why is Rezko's location such a secret and why hasn't he been sentenced?

Previous posts about the redacted motion for subpoena here and here.

Is Obama Intentionally Destroying Economy?

Frank Fleming over at Pajamas Media has an interesting column about Obama and the American economy. Here is perhaps the most accurate statement from the piece:

At this point, even the most ardent Obama supporter has to admit he’s actively trying to destroy the American economy.

Fleming derides anyone who thinks Obama has nefarious intentions by saying such accusations simply result in him being painted as some kind of cartoonish villain without enumerating reasons for his wanting to be destructive. The conclusion Fleming draws is that Obama has misplaced hatred because capitalism is based on merit for work performed and Obama doesn't have all that many accomplishments so he resents capitalism.

There is probably some truth to that but there are still more layers to the onion.

Think Frank Marshall Davis, William Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, Tony Rezko, et. al. These are the people who influenced Obama and they resent America not out of any misplaced hatred but because they hate. Period. And they resent capitalism because they were / are marxists, socialists, anarchists, and racists.

Frank Marshall Davis entered Obama's life when Obama was nine years old and was a significant influence until the latter went to college. Davis was a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and hated capitalism. He loved Soviet Russia and no doubt pumped the young future president with messages of hate for capitalism. See for yourself.

Then there's Bill Ayers. Contrary to what the Obamautomatons want you to believe, Ayers and Obama were closer than anyone wants to admit. Strong evidence exists that they shared a business address for three years in the 90's with a Chinese Maoist named Mike Klonsky. Ayers is an avowed marxist and anarchist.

Fleming hits some key points but falls short when he says people aren't digging deep enough for answers as to why Obama appears to be destroying the economy. It's not about misplaced hatred. It's about associating with people who have PURE hatred for everything American.

Relationships DO indeed matter.