Man in the Middle

Is there an Obama connection to Rezko's trial? Federal prosecutors have accused Rezko and an associate (who turned state's evidence) of operating a "pay to play" scheme: investment firms allegedly had to pay kickbacks or make political contributions to get money from the Illinois teachers' pension fund. In a court filing, prosecutors described how $10,000 of alleged finder's fee money was subsequently contributed to the campaign of an unnamed "political candidate" for whom Rezko was a fund-raiser. Chicago media have reported that the money went to Obama's 2004 Senate campaign. A source close to the investigation, who asked for anonymity when discussing nonpublic information, confirmed to NEWSWEEK that Obama is the unnamed political candidate. (Obama's campaign said it has not been informed that he is the unnamed politician.) There is no allegation that Obama knew the money was tainted. The senator's campaign says he has since donated to charity $160,000 worth of contributions he had collected over the years from Rezko and his associates.

How troublesome is Rezko for Obama's campaign? The candidate's supporters say that nobody has demonstrated anything illegal about his dealings with Rezko. No one has shown that Obama did favors for Rezko in exchange for contributions. Obama has acknowledged that, as an Illinois state senator, he once wrote a letter to a state agency urging financial support for a senior-citizens project in which Rezko was an investor. But Obama says he wrote the letter based on the project's merits. Even so, by Obama's own account his real-estate entanglement with Rezko was a "boneheaded" mistake. It's a chapter that the candidate, who is running on the strength of his good "judgment," would just as soon put behind him. And one that his opponents are all too happy to keep squarely out front.

With Karen Springen

© 2008