An interesting blast from the past...
Follow the Money: Obama “dropped in” to do Rezko favors
Posted on March 13, 2008.
Follow the Money: Obama "dropped in" to do Rezko favors: “James Bone and Dominic Kennedy of the Times Online (UK) wrote February 27, 2008, that when Iraqi-British billionaire businessman Nadhmi Auchi visited the United States in 2004, ‘Pictures show him meeting Obama ally Emil Jones, president of the Illinois state senate.’ And, although now, Auchi and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) ’say they have no memory of meeting,’ Bone and Kennedy wrote that ‘a source says the two may have had a brief encounter at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago’ where Auchis ‘visit was being honoured with a dinner there’ which was attended by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’—and Sen. Obama ‘dropped in.’
Such an innocent phrase ‘dropped in’. It’s so coincidental, accidental almost. However, it appears that at least one other published account shows that Obama has perhaps made a habit of dropping in at opportune times for his political patron, indicted political fixer Antoin ‘Tony’ Rezko.
For example, Christopher Drew and Mike McIntire reported the following account in the June 14, 2007, New York Times:
While it is not clear what Mr. Rezko got from the relationship, he liked to display his alliances with politicians, including Mr. Obama.
In one instance, when he was running for the Senate, Mr. Obama stopped by to shake hands while Mr. Rezko, an immigrant from Syria, was entertaining Middle Eastern bankers considering an investment in one of his projects.’
In the same article, Drew and McIntire wrote:
While Mr. Obama was running for the Senate, Mr. Rezko was also raising money for a huge development in the South Loop of Chicago, often playing host to dinners in a private room at the Four Seasons Hotel here.
Former Rezko associates said that Governor Blagojevich attended one of the dinners, and that at Mr. Rezko’s request, Mr. Obama dropped in at one for Middle Eastern bankers in early 2004, just as he was starting to pull ahead in the Senate primary. The visits, Mr. Rezko’s partners said, helped impress foreign guests.
This ‘dropping in’ appears to be very much a part of a tit-for-tat, the exchanging of political favors between Rezko and Obama—Rezko raised funds and contributed to the political ascendance of Obama. In exchange, Obama obligingly ‘dropped in’ while Rezko just happened to be entertaining Middle Eastern bankers whom he wanted to impress with his connections and that hed like to have as investors in his real estate developments in Chicago.
Not so easy to explain, however, are the ‘dropping in’ observations made by FBI ‘mole’ John Thomas. On February 12, 2008, RezkoWatch reported that it was revealed on February 10, 2008, that for a period of two years—during 2004 and 2005—Thomas, a key prosecution witness against Rezko, ‘logged frequent visits to Rezko from Gov. Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).’
Sources said Thomas helped investigators build a record of repeat visits to the old offices of Rezko and former business partner Daniel Mahru’s Rezmar Corp., at 853 N. Elston, by Blagojevich and Obama during 2004 and 2005. …
Both politicians relied on Rezko for fund-raising connections. Obama was in the thick of his successful run for the U.S. Senate in 2004. Now in the glare of a presidential campaign, Obama has donated to charity $157,835 from contributions to his Senate campaign that he has linked to Rezko.
So, there you have it, more instances of Sen. Obamas ‘dropping in’. How many times? Well, at this point only Thomas, the FBI, and Patrick Fitzgerald, who is prosecuting Rezkos case in Chicago, may know for sure. We will have to rely on their documentation since Sen. Obamas accounts of his relationship with Rezko continue to unroll (and unravel). Its unlikely that Rezko is going to have much to say on when Obama just ‘dropped in’—for now, that is. Besides, why would the FBI conduct surveillance if it didnt plan to use it as evidence?”
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