It goes a little deeper than working 2 hours on a Brief, doesn't it..........

The allegations against Rezko that involve Obama are contained in one paragraph of a 78-page document filed last month in which prosecutors outline their corruption and fraud case against Rezko, who was also a key money man for Gov. Blagojevich and other politicians.

Rezko is set to go to trial Feb. 25. The revelation that Obama’s name could come up in court is a political headache he doesn’t need as he heads into a round of primaries that are likely to determine his party’s nomination for president.

Obama is not named in the Dec. 21 court document. But a source familiar with the case confirmed that Obama is the unnamed “political candidate” referred to in a section of the document that accuses Rezko of orchestrating a scheme in which a firm hired to handle state teacher pension investments first had to pay $250,000 in “sham” finder’s fees. From that money, $10,000 was donated to Obama’s successful run for the Senate in the name of a Rezko business associate, according to the court filing and the source.

Rezko, who was part of Obama’s senatorial finance committee, also is accused of directing “at least one other individual” to donate money to Obama and then reimbursing that individual — in possible violation of federal election law.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald declined to comment.

Obama — a state senator when he got the contributions in 2004 — has moved to distance himself from Rezko since his longtime friend and supporter was indicted in October 2006. After news reports that Obama had engaged in a real estate transaction with Rezko’s wife at a time Tony Rezko was known to be under investigation, the senator called the episode “boneheaded” and “a mistake.”

‘No way of knowing’
Obama campaign aides said Friday he was unaware Rezko was behind the contributions cited in last month’s court filing or that the document referred to the senator.

“We have no way of knowing he is the politician named here,” spokesman Bill Burton said, “but we returned this money months ago for other reasons.”
Obama donated more than $44,000 in Rezko-linked contributions to charity last year, including the $10,000 donation mentioned in the court filing.

That money was donated to Obama by Joseph Aramanda, a Glenview businessman and Rezko associate who, sources have said, is the “Individual D” prosecutors say received the $250,000 in finder’s fees demanded by Rezko. Individual D did nothing to earn those fees, according to prosecutors.

The $10,000 contribution to Obama was given in Aramanda’s name on March 5, 2004, records show. While Obama’s camp has said the senator did not know Aramanda, Obama’s office hired Aramanda’s son as an intern in 2005, at Rezko’s urging.

Repeated attempts to reach Aramanda, who was involved in pizza franchises Rezko owned, were unsuccessful. He has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

A longstanding relationship
Rezko is one of Obama’s earliest political patrons. Long known as a prolific fund-raiser, the Syrian-born businessman helped raise money for Obama’s political campaigns beginning in 1995, when Obama was running for the Illinois Senate. ( can you hear Republican claims of money being funnellled to terrorists?) 

In 13 years in politics, Obama has gotten at least $168,000 in campaign donations from Rezko, his family and business associates. The Sun-Times reported that figure last June. Obama’s “best estimate” seven months earlier had been that Rezko had raised no more than $60,000 for him.

When Obama ran for the U.S. Senate, Rezko held a June 27, 2003, cocktail party in Rezko’s Wilmette mansion, picking up the tab for the lavish event. Obama’s campaign staff has said it has no records to show who attended that party, or how much it cost.

Obama’s relationship with Rezko dates to 1990, when Obama, then a Harvard law student, interviewed for a job with Rezko’s development company, Rezmar Corp. Obama turned down the job, instead going to work for a small Chicago law firm — Davis Miner Barnhill. That firm did work on more than a dozen low-income housing projects Rezmar rehabbed with government funds.

Eleven Rezmar buildings were in the state Senate district Obama represented between 1996 and 2004. Many of the buildings ended up in foreclosure, with tenants living in squalid conditions, the Sun-Times reported last year. In one instance, Rezko’s company left tenants without heat for five weeks. Obama said he was unaware of problems with the buildings and minimized the legal work he’d done. ( how do you define "slumlord"?) 

Obama’s relationship with Rezko grew closer in June 2005, when Obama and Rezko’s wife bought adjoining real estate parcels from a doctor in the South Side Kenwood neighborhood. Obama paid $1.65 million for the doctor’s mansion, while Rezko’s wife paid $625,000 for the vacant lot next door. Obama’s purchase price was $300,000 below the asking price; Rezko’s wife paid full price.

Six months later, Obama paid Rita Rezko $104,500 for one-sixth of the vacant lot, which he bought to expand his yard. In November 2006, he expressed regret about the transaction.

“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,” Obama said, “to believe that he had done me a favor.”

FYI:

Hillary worked for Walmart when Sam Walton was still alive and prided himself in selling "Made in America" products.  The company was growing in leaps and bounds and was considered the top US company and employed more people than just about any other, including all the businesses that benefitted from selling their products to the chain to be sold into the United States economy. It was many years later that it became the succubus that we know it as today.

So when Mr. Obama claimed that, yes, he knew Tony Rezko because he worked for 2 hours on a brief for a community project he forgot the other 19 years they spent as associates in business.  Rezko is accused of using minority "set asides" by buying political favors and buying fast food locations including many prime spots that had been set aside for African American businesses, women, and Hispanics.

Another partner from the Law firm Mr. Obama worked for left and began working full time for Mr. Rezko as a real estate developer..  Michelle Obama and Mrs. Rezko were friends and went out to lunch together and held dinner parties.

Oh, it was appalling that nobody remembers that Mr. Obama fired the cheap shot into the face of Hillary Clinton and when she came back with the horrible truth about his shady dealings everybody moaned as though it was a cheap shot.  No.  It was a tiny slice of truth.  The Republican Candidates are going to come out with the big guns.  They are also going to scare the voting public by dragging up the fact that Tony Rezko is an Arab American who runs businesses all over the Mid-West and runs Arab based businesses.  While that has absolutely nothing to do with anything I will guarantee that you will see Barack linked to Arabs yet again.  It means nothing but you wait and see what it turns into. There is much to be revealed about Mr. Obama.  Let's not forget what Chicago Politics is known for.  It makes Washington seem like Choir practice. If he can't handle what she said, if the people of America will not research the truth, then don't be surprised when there is another Republican sitting in the White House. The "Elite" are backing Obama because he takes a different stand on Capital Gains taxes than do Hillary Clinton and John Edwards.  They don't want the taxes on their wealth to increase.  We don't look at those things because for many of us it is not an issue. 

So, while he apologizes for his indiscretions, 130 "maybe" votes, 6 "ooops" votes, and everything else we will be learning about as the race heats up he will continue targetting the value of a great woman who has done huge things for all of us including donating her Royalties from her book sales to Children's Hospitals all over the US plus Safe Drinking water programs all over the world. Her husband has raised more money fighting Aids than any other person or organization by providing drugs for people all over Africa, the battle front in the raging war on this public health Pandemic. While they were doing that he was buying land from a dirty rotten scoundrel, accepting money from someone he says he doesn't know, yet employed his son as an intern while a State Senator and, I am sure, the best is yet to come.  He is neither handling it well, nor legitimately defending his actions. Oooops and I'm sorry are going to put another Republican in office.  As I have stated many times, his skeletons are yet to come out and when they do they will not be forgiven.  They will be amplified and distorted by Rovian Republicans and the White House will be lost.

The Beauty Pageant needs to be turned back into a Presidential Election. If you think knowing how to "Play the Game" doesn't matter tell me all about it when President Romney is sworn into office.

I know many Obama supporters will be angry.  You don't know what angry is. Try to inform yourselves with truth. Don't forget that Principles always come before Personalities.