Oh yeah… she went there

January 22nd, 2008 at 10:38am Andrea Zimmermann

Last night I watched CNN’s Democratic presidential debate with a group of fellow political enthusiasts, and about halfway through the debate, my friend’s small dorm room exploded with surprise.

Why, you might ask?

Because she went there.

Sen. Hillary Clinton brought up the name of indicted businessman and fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko during the most heated exchanges of Monday night’s debate with Sen. Barack Obama.

For a few years now, Rezko has been a familiar name inside Illinois political circles for his connections to Gov. Rod Blagojevich as a political adviser and fundraiser. The federal indictment alleges Rezko was at the center of money laundering, fraud, attempted extortion and aiding bribery.

On Sunday, a media report said the federal indictment also linked Obama to Rezko.

For the first time, Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama has surfaced in the federal corrupton case against his longtime campaign fund-raiser, Tony Rezko, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.

The Illinois senator isn’t accused of any wrongdoing. And there’s no evidence Obama knew contributions to his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign came from schemes Rezko is accused of orchestrating.

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.

Clinton’s name drop may have gone unrecognized by many of Monday night’s debate watchers, but even some of the astute audience members picked up on the reference.

The Rezko case is a deep and tangled web that is unlikely to go away anytime soon. Here is a list of links to help people catch up on some very important reading.

• An Obama Patron and Friend Until an Indictment
• Rezko tale reads like mystery novel
• Obama surfaces in Rekzo’s federal corruption case
• Rezko indictment: The ABCs
• It’s ‘pay-to-play … on steroids’
• Governor: If he did it, ‘I feel betrayed’
• Obama to return Rezko-linked donations

Happy reading!

Entry Filed under: Antoin "Tony" Rezko, national politics, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama