Obama: $7 m on 'Prez,' Clinton: $2 m on 'Can Do'

How in the world are ordinary people supposed to keep track? I feel like I am hearing voices whispering in my ear. Then the media weighs in and I am lost to confusion.....
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/02/26/schizophrenic-politics-a-penrose-triangle/

Will Mark Silva and the Swamp gang ever report on Obama's impending scandal?
Anyway, here is some reporting the Joke-une's Washington Bureau would never do:

A British-Iraqi billionaire lent millions of dollars to Barack Obama's fundraiser just weeks before an imprudent land deal that has returned to haunt the presidential contender, an investigation by The Times discloses.

The money transfer raises the question of whether funds from Nadhmi Auchi, one of Britain’s wealthiest men, helped Mr Obama buy his mock Georgian mansion in Chicago.

A company related to Mr Auchi, who has a conviction for corruption in France, registered the loan to Mr Obama's bagman Antoin "Tony" Rezko on May 23 2005. Mr Auchi says the loan, through the Panamanian company Fintrade Services SA, was for $3.5 million.

Three weeks later, Mr Obama bought a house on the city's South Side while Mr Rezko's wife bought the garden plot next door from the same seller on the same day, June 15.

Mr Obama says he never used Mrs Rezko's still-empty lot, which could only be accessed through his property. But he admits he paid his gardener to mow the lawn.

Mrs Rezko, whose husband was widely known to be under investigation at the time, went on to sell a 10-foot strip of her property to Mr Obama seven months later so he could enjoy a bigger garden.

Mr Obama now admits his involvement in this land deal was a “boneheaded mistake”.

Mrs Rezko’s purchase and sale of the land to Mr Obama raises many unanswered questions.

It is unclear how Mrs Rezko could have afforded the downpayment of $125,000 and a $500,000 mortgage for the original $625,000 purchase of the garden plot at 5050 South Greenwood Ave.

In a sworn statement a year later, Mrs Rezko said she got by on a salary of $37,000 and had $35,000 assets. Mr Rezko told a court he had "no income, negative cash flow, no liquid assets, no unencumbered assets [and] is significantly in arrears on many of his obligations."

Mrs Rezko, whose husband goes on trial on unrelated corruption charges in Chicago on March 3, refused to answer questions about the case when she spoke by telephone to The Times.

Asked if she used money from her husband to buy the land next to Mr Obama's house, she said: "I can't answer these questions, I'm sorry."

Asked how long she and her husband had known Mr Auchi, she replied: "I will not be able to answer this question."

Mr Auchi's lawyer, asked whether the Fintrade Services loan was used to buy the land which became Mr Obama's garden, stated: "No, not as far as my client is aware."

Mr Auchi's links with Mr Rezko are a new political headache for Mr Obama, the charismatic Illinois senator vying to become America’s first African-American president.

Hillary Clinton has sought to make Mr Rezko, who has bankrolled Mr Obama's political career since his first run for the Illinois state senate in the mid-1990s, into an election issue by calling him a "slum landlord" in a televised debate. She has repeatedly suggested that Mr Obama has effectively not been "vetted" by media scrutiny and will not withstand "the Republican attack machine".

Bill Burton, a spokesman for Mr Obama, told The Times: “The bottom line is Obama does not recall ever meeting him [Mr Auchi].”

The house-and-garden deal raised questions about whether Mr Rezko, a property developer and fast-food restauranteur, made it possible for the Obamas to purchase a mansion they could otherwise not afford.

Mrs Rezko paid the asking price for the garden but the Obamas bought the house for $1.65 million, - $300,000 less than the asking price. The sellers deny they offered the Obamas a discount on the house because the garden had fetched full price from Mrs Rezko.

Mr Rezko has since been indicted for allegedly scheming to pressure companies seeking business with the state of Illinois for kickbacks and contributions to the governor Rod Blagojevich's campaign. He goes on trial on March 3.

A prosecution document filed last month alleged that a "political candidate" - identified by the Chicago Sun-Times as Mr Obama - received a $10,000 campaign contribution from what is said to be a $250,000 kickback in the corruption case. That means Mr Obama's name could figure in Mr Rezko's trial, although he is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Mr Obama insists he never used his office to do favours for Mr Rezko but admits that, as an Illinois state senator, he once wrote letters to housing officials urging them to provide money in support of a proposed apartment building for elderly people which Mr Rezko wanted to build.

Mr Obama has publicly sought to atone for his closeness to Mr Rezko, paying $150,000 to charity to distance himself from a man accused of political corruption.

The spotlight fell on Mr Rezko's ties to Mr Auchi last month when the Chicago businessman was thrown in jail for violating his bail terms by failing to declare a different $3.5 million loan from the British billionaire, made in April 2007. Prosecutors feared Mr Rezko, who travels widely in the Middle East, might flee to a country without an extradition treaty such as his birthplace of Syria.

Mr Auchi was convicted of corruption, given a suspended sentence and fined £1.4 million in France in 2003 for his part in the Elf affair, described as the biggest political and corporate scandal in post-war Europe. He, in a statement from his media lawyers, claims he is appealing against the sentence.

Mr Auchi founded his Luxembourg-based General Mediterranean Holding (GMH) in 1979, a year before he left Iraq. He says that he did business with his native country when it was considered a friend of the West but ceased to trade with the late Saddam Hussein's regime once sanctions were imposed after the invasion of Kuwait.

Mr Rezko has told a court that Mr Auchi is a "close friend." Mr Auchi's lawyer told The Times: "It is untrue that my client and Mr Rezko are 'close friends'. Mr Auchi first met Mr Rezko after the 2003 Iraq war and they have a business relationship."

Mr Rezko and Mr Auchi have been partners in a pizzeria business in the Mid-West and a major 62-acre land development in Riverside Park in Chicago.

According to court documents, Mr Rezko's lawyer said his client had "longstanding indebtedness" to Mr Auchi's GMH. By June 2007 he owed it $27.9 million.

Under a Loan Forgiveness Agreement described in court, Mr Auchi lent Mr Rezko $3.5 million in April 2005 and $11 million in September 2005, as well as the $3.5 million transferred in April 2007.

That agreement provided for the outstanding loans to be "forgiven" in return for a stake in the 62-acre Riverside Park development.

A posting last week on a GMH-owned website, middle-east-online.com, portrayed Mr Auchi as a Middle Eastern "Donald Trump" with a global business construction empire.

Mr Auchi visited the United States in 2004. Pictures show him meeting Emil Jones, the president of the Illinois state senate, an ally of Mr Obama, a former state senator.

Both Mr Auchi and Mr Obama say they have no memory of meeting each other. But, according to a source, the two may have had a brief encounter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago where Mr Auchi’s visit was being honoured with a dinner attended by the Governor when Mr Obama, coincidentally in the hotel, dropped in.

An aide to Mr Obama said he did attend an event at the Four Seasons at which Mr Rezko was present but does not remember meeting Mr Auchi. "He shook a lot of hands and met a lot of people," the aide said. "We do not remember individual people."

Prosecutors say that, after Mr Auchi was unable to enter the United States in 2005, Mr Rezko approached the US State Department to get him a visa and apparently asked "certain Illinois government officials to do the same." Mr Obama denies he was approached. Mr Auchi's lawyer has emphasised to The Times that it would be entirely false to imply that money had been lent by GMH to Mr Rezko in return for Mr Rezko seeking to assist Mr Auchi to obtain a visa. The two men's relationship, the lawyer stressed, was a busines s one.

Mr Auchi's lawyer said the purpose of the Fintrade Services loan was to "assist the financial position" of a pizzeria company called AR Pizza, in which GMH held a shareholding. He said the loan had since been repaid in the form of a greater stake in the Chicago 62-acre land project.

AR Pizza has since become a defendant in a civil lawsuit by the Papa John's pizzeria chain, which alleges that it continued to operate a string of former Papa John's franchises under the name "Papa Tony's" without permission.

Mr Auchi's lawyer said: "My client played no part in the management and/or day to day running of AR Pizza, the GMH Group being an entirely passive investor in the company. Further, there was no need as a mimimum return on the investment was guaranteed. As to the court proceedings, my client is not a party to these. He denies any wrongdoing in relation to his involvement in AR Pizza."

Mr Rezko was also a major fundraiser for Governor Blagojevich. The governor's chief fundraiser Christopher Kelly, who also served as his gambling adviser, is fighting tax charges related to betting losses. The Associated Press reported that last month Mr Auchi's conglomerate also gave a loan to Mr Kelly secured on a Nevada land deal which the governor’s bagman was involved in.

"MCCAIN SPEAKS"

HOW CAN I COMPETE! HOW CAN I COMPETE! I said i would, I said I didn't say I would. I said I don't recall, then I said, I do recall saying I will use public financing live on NATIONAL TELEVISION last year when I was broke and needed a loan just to stay in the race!

I SAID I WOULD, BUT I DON'T RECALL SAYING I REALLY WOULD KEEP MY WORD AS THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

I said that to a lobbyist after I got 20,000 and a plane ride of my life! Then I didn't recall saying that I said that I said that I said that I said that OH I JUST DON'T RECALL.

BUT WE CAN COUNT ON THE SUPREME COURT THOUGH AMERICA!

The press and voters need to do more research on Obama’s background and voting record in Illinois, now that he is the front-runner. DIG DEEP, ASK HARD QUESTIONS.

We need someone who can handle the problems facing American families, like house foreclosures, health insurance, college tuition, gas prices, foreign enemies, etc.

Ask the tough questions. Vote with our heads. Voting for president is a serious business and we CAN'T AFFORD TO WASTE 4 YEARS ON someone who is not qualified.

Hillary can’t decide if she’s for change or experience. She can’t decide if she needs to cry or not. She can’t decide whether her 35 years of experience includes the part where her husband signed NAFTA into law or if it was just parts that might get her some votes.

http://infogiant.wordpress.com/2008/02/25/would-the-real-hillary-please-stand-up/

http://infogiant.wordpress.com/2008/02/26/election-prediction-for-texas-updated/

Rezko used straw men to fund Obama's campaigns. Another great Tribune investigation that Silva and James will ignore because it violates the only good stuff about Obama rule.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-obama-rezko_both26feb26,0,5062637.story

Huh, can someone explain this Rezko stuff in layman terms, nice and simple, because as it is ALWAYS written now in the news, it's like, yeah, okay, and so, so what happened, why are there 'unanswered' questions from Obama? He bought a house, and so? What are we supposed to be looking for -- against Obama? Please explain.
But you know what is also ironic? There's obviously 'smoke' surrounding John McCain with a possible affair, his lobbyist connections, his wife Cindy's drug past, and yet I don't see day after day after day anything about these things that has already been hanging around for about 10 years. But yet this same Rezko stuff gets printed day after day after day and still nothing worth reading in terms of trying to sink Obama.

Rezko used straw men to fund Obama's campaigns. Another great Tribune investigation that Silva and James will ignore because it violates the only good stuff about Obama rule.

Posted by: Jeff | February 26, 2008 12:15 PM

Wow, the Wingers are really getting desperate.

Obama has already been cleared of any wrong doing by a REPUBLICAN DoJ and just yeasterday respected former IL Republican Governor Jim Edgar came out and said that Senator Obama has not been involved in any wrong doing and that GOPer's (like you and Johnny D) should just drop it because you're making yourselves look bad.

Believe me Jeffy, I understand why your so desperate to pin something on Senator Obama, you've seen the polls that show crazy old man John McCain/Bush getting his butt kicked by Obama and you've seen the start up of the you-tube ads like this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsMumUEPMCY&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/2/26/0409/34417

But you know what is also ironic? There's obviously 'smoke' surrounding John McCain with a possible affair, his lobbyist connections, his wife Cindy's drug past, and yet I don't see day after day after day anything about these things that has already been hanging around for about 10 years. But yet this same Rezko stuff gets printed day after day after day and still nothing worth reading in terms of trying to sink Obama.

Posted by: RuthieM | February 26, 2008 1:13 PM

Ruthie,

Here's why the Republic Party is so deperate to pin something on Senator Obama:

McCain, Founding Member of the Keating Five
Back in the old days, defendants in famous trials got numbers -- the Chicago Eight, the Gang of Four, the Dave Clark Five, the Daytona 500. McCain was one of the "Keating Five," congressmen investigated on ethics charges for strenuously helping convicted racketeer Charles Keating after he gave them large campaign contributions and vacation trips.
Charles Keating was convicted of racketeering and fraud in both state and federal court after his Lincoln Savings & Loan collapsed, costing the taxpayers $3.4 billion. His convictions were overturned on technicalities; for example, the federal conviction was overturned because jurors had heard about his state conviction, and his state charges because Judge Lance Ito (yes, that judge) screwed up jury instructions. Neither court cleared him, and he faces new trials in both courts.)

Though he was not convicted of anything, McCain intervened on behalf of Charles Keating after Keating gave McCain at least $112,00 in contributions. In the mid-1980s, McCain made at least 9 trips on Keating's airplanes, and 3 of those were to Keating's luxurious retreat in the Bahamas. McCain's wife and father-in-law also were the largest investors (at $350,000) in a Keating shopping center; the Phoenix New Times called it a "sweetheart deal."

Mafia ties:
In 1995, McCain sent birthday regards, and regrets for not attending, to Joseph "Joe Bananas" Bonano, the head of the New York Bonano crime family, who had retired to Arizona. Another politician to send regrets was Governor Fife Symington, who has since been kicked out of office and convicted of 7 felonies relating to fraud and extortion.

McCain fun facts:
http://www.realchange.org/mccain.htm

Ruthie, here's another reason that McCainiac's like Jeffy are so desperate to smear Senator Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEROVh8zK4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gEROVh8zK4

Little Johnny D,
You wasted our time with that article. There's no new information, no crimes have been alleged to be committed by Obama. Now let's look at AZ Senator John McCain, you don't suppose he had more than a casual relationship with the indicted AZ Congressman Rick Renzi? Now there's a story the Tribune should follow.

Geographically Ignorant Dumb Dumb Little Johnnie Dyslin, "the Joseph Stalin of Streamwood", do you have a source for this fantasy story of yours? Or will you punt, like you did in "backing up" your claim that John Edwards spends just as much on his suits as Bush did - by pointing to a magazine article that only said that Edwards buys "expensive suits"?

A source of facts you will never be.

Hey, how's that "Jewel of the Gulf of Mexico" coming? You remember, that other little fantasy that you tried to create about Havana, "The Jewel of The CARIBBEAN", a few months ago?

Rezko used straw men...

Posted by: Jeff | February 26, 2008 12:15 PM

Look everyone! Jeff learned a new word today. Looks like he was up bright and early to get the daily talking points the McCain campaign e-mailed to supporters.

what a non-issue.