Maybe it's the sheer joy of celebrating recovery summer along with The Anointed One and Plugs Biden. Perhaps they're just Blagoed out. Whatever the reason, most of the mainstream media failed to report something intriguing said by the usually most quotable former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
By John Ryskamp
This guy is more Tony'd up than I am
Maybe it's the sheer joy of celebrating recovery summer along with The Anointed One and Plugs Biden. Perhaps they're just Blagoed out. Whatever the reason, most of the mainstream media failed to report something intriguing said by the usually most quotable former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Secret tape recordings released in connection with the trial of Blagojevich, have revealed this statement by him:
BLAGOJEVICH: “I thin-, you know, it's really, I get that I'm a big boy and I can handle that, but it's really f***ing galling, this guy is more Tony'd up than I am. And it's almost like they f***ing conspi-, made a concerted effort and they got the Chicago media to f***ing make me wear Rezko more. To f***ing dilute it from him.”
What is he talking about? Is there crime Obama has committed for which he might be indicted? Here is one specific instance of Obama taking kickbacks in return for services, from Evelyn Pringle’s landmark “Curtain Time for Barack Obama” online articles:
Obama was chairman of the Senate Health & Human Services Committee in January 2003. A few articles in the media have mentioned that Obama sat on a committee that reviewed matters related to the Planning Board in conjunction with the Governor's staff but none have discussed his integral part in getting the bill passed
A review of senate records from January 2003 to August 2003, shows Obama played a major role as chairman of that committee, in pushing through Senate Bill 1332, that led to the "Illinois Health Facilities Planning Act," which reduced the number of members on the Board from 15 to 9, making the votes much easier to rig.
Democratic Senator Susan Garrett sponsored the bill in the senate, and the chief co-sponsor was Republican Senator Dale Righter. These two senators were also on the Human Services Committee with Obama.
The bill was filed with the senate secretary on February 20, 2003, and assigned to Human Services Committee for review on February 27. Less than a month later, as chairman, Obama sent word that the bill should be passed on March 13, 2003.
On May 31, 2003, the House and Senate passed the bill and the only senator listed in the "yes" votes mentioned in the Board Games indictments is Obama.
Blagojevich made the effective date June 27, 2003, and the co-schemers already had the people lined up to stack the Board and rig the votes with full approval from Obama.
As discussed fully in Curtain Time for Obama Part I , the Republicans and Democrats worked together in setting up the Planning Board scheme because the Combine as a whole would profit.
During the trial, Stuart Levine testified that when he sought reappointment to the Planning Board, he told Republican co-schemer, Bill Cellini, to tell the Blagojevich administration he would vote however they wanted when approving projects.
He told the jury he had the same understanding with the two prior Republican governors, Jim Edgar, and George Ryan, who is now sitting in prison due to Fitzgerald’s successful prosecution of a corruption case against him.
A June 2003 email exchange produced in the trial shows Obama was one of eight officials who received the names of the nominees for the new Board ahead of time, from the office of David Wilhelm, who headed Blagojevich's 2002 campaign for governor.
Tony Rezko's name does not appear in the email. In fact, his attorney made the point to the jury that the exchange was from Blagojevich's general counsel, Susan Lichtenstein, and Wilhelm's office, and indicated the appointees were recommended by Wilhelm and supported by those who received the memo.
The memo said, “we worked closely over the past six months” with eight officials including three state senators.
Jennifer Thomas, a former aide in Blagojevich's patronage office, testified that she attended regular weekly meetings at Rezko’s office between the spring of 2003 and November 2004, and Rezko floated names and specifically said Levine should be reappointed to the new Board.
The Senate bill said, the “Board shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate." But the Senate Confirmation Hearings were a joke. For instance, the Feds recorded Levine talking to co-schemer, Jon Bauman, the day Levine learned he was approved by the Senate from the executive secretary of the Board.
Levine told Bauman he ran into Jeffrey Marks, who said "congratulations on your appointment," and Levine asked for what. Marks said, "well the Senate Confirmation Hearings on Health Facility Plan Board members."
He told Levine Senate President, Emil Jones, only allowed 2 members to be approved and "that was you and the other person he just put in."
"Isn't that hysterical 'cause you know they had this big battle going on," Levine told Bauman.
Laughing away, Levine said, "don't you just love it."
"I'm one of those independents and not part of the block."
"Well, good, you know it's good to be just a true independent civil servant," Bauman said laughing along with Levine.
"Is, is that a good thing," Levine replied, "I've never been that."
Corrupt appointees fund Obama and Blagojevich campaigns
The corrupt new appointees were all contributors to the presidential hopeful, Blagojevich, and the US senate hopeful Obama.
The previous Act allowed the Board itself to select a "Chairman and other officers as deemed necessary." But the new law stated: "The Governor shall designate one of the members to serve as Chairman and shall name as full-time Executive Secretary."
The Board’s then sitting-chairman, Thomas Beck, who was originally appointed by a Republican governor, testified under a grant of immunity that he brought a $1,000 check to Rezko on July 15, 2003, to make sure Blagojevich reappointed him.
A few weeks later, Beck said, Rezko called to say he would be reappointed along with a Republican holdover Levine. Beck also testified that Rezko told him Blagojevich was set to appoint Rezko’s three doctor friends to complete the rigged voting bloc. He said he met the doctors in August 2003, at the first meeting of the new Board.
Dr Michel Malek gave Obama $10,000 a little over a month before the first meeting on June 30, 2003. He also donated $25,000 to Blagojevich three weeks later on July 25, 2003, and gave Obama another $500 in September 2003. Malek was an investor in Riverside Park.
Dr Fortunee Massuda donated $25,000 to Blagojevich on July 25, 2003, and gave a total of $2,000 to Obama on different dates. Massuda's husband, Charles Hannon, is a co-schemer in the pension fund case and testified against Rezko in the trial.
Dr Imad Almanaseer contributed a total of $3,000 to Obama after he landed the appointment. On March 13, 2008, Almanaseer testified against Rezko and told the jury he was an investor in Rezko's fast-food businesses.
This doctor's son, Ahmed Almanaseer, was given a trade office intern position with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Ahmed is president of HireIraqis.com a bilingual human resources "site aimed at linking Iraqi job seekers with the companies engaged in the reconstruction [in Iraq] efforts," according to Rezko Watch.
Obama is on the Levine tapes, we know that from Rezko’s trial, in which reference to this was abruptly pulled by the U.S. Attorney.
We also know that Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney, is keeping the Planning Board charges in reserve. They formed an important part of the initial Blagojevich December 2008, complaint, which is online at the website of the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. There, we read the following:
As described more fully in the following paragraphs, Mercy Hospital, which sought permission from the Planning Board to build a hospital in Illinois, received that permission through Rezko’s exercise of his influence at the Planning Board after Rezko was promised that Mercy Hospital would make a substantial campaign contribution to ROD BLAGOJEVICH. Rezko later told a member of the Planning Board that Mercy Hospital received the permit because ROD BLAGOJEVICH wanted the organization to receive the permit. Levine’s criminal activities included his abuse of his position on the Planning Board to enrich both himself and Friends of Blagojevich.
The Planning Board was a commission of the State of Illinois, established by statute, whose members were appointed by the Governor of the State of Illinois. At the relevant time period, the Planning Board consisted of nine individuals. State law required an entity seeking to build a hospital, medical office building, or other medical facility in Illinois to obtain a permit, known as a “Certificate of Need” (“CON”), from the Planning Board prior to beginning construction.
Levine, as well as Planning Board members Thomas Beck and Imad Almanaseer, testified under oath at the Rezko Trial. Beck testified that he asked Rezko to reappoint him to the Planning Board and that Beck thereafter followed Rezko’s directions regarding which CON applications Rezko wanted approved. Beck testified that it was his job to communicate Rezko’s interest in particular CONs to other members of the Planning Board, including Almanaseer, who were loyal to Rezko. Beck testified that he understood that Rezko spoke for the Blagojevich administration when Rezko spoke to Beck about particular CONs. Almanaseer testified that Beck instructed him that Rezko wanted Almanaseer to vote a particular way and that Almanaseer should follow Levine’s lead in voting on CONs. Almanaseer testified that before certain Planning Board meetings, he received notecards from Beck indicating how to vote on certain CON applications. Beck testified he provided these notecards to Almanaseer and certain other members of the Planning Board to communicate Rezko’s directions about certain CON applications.
It is very clear that Fitzgerald knows perfectly well the illegal operations involving the Planning Board, as well as everyone involved in them; all the players involved in payoffs for the legislation, go on to play roles in attempts to gain illegal contracts through kickbacks. It all hangs together, and shows Obama to be an important player in a criminal kickback conspiracy.
And yet in the Superseding Indictment, issued in April 2009 (and available online), these facts are entirely missing.
There are two theories: one is that Fitzgerald is either himself corrupt or too frightened to go after Obama; the other is that he is simply planning to use the Planning Board kickbacks as the centerpiece of his complaint against Obama.
In any event, and as is shown above, if anyone knows that Obama has committed crimes, it is Blagojevich. It is entirely possible that Blagojevich—half-mad, as is Rezko—will proceed with his trial to a certain conviction. But if he does, he will follow in Rezko’s footsteps after conviction by offering to cooperate. The reason? You can find it in repeated references to crimes committed by his wife, Patti, made by the U.S. Attorney. And yet she has not been indicted. Evidently, he is preparing to offer not to prosecute Patti in exchange for Blagojevich’s cooperation.
Obviously, the case must be airtight if you are going to presume to indict a President—look how long it took to get Nixon. But the guilt is pretty clearly there.
