[Rhodes22-list] Politics: Here We Go Again...again!

[Bill Effros]

Brad,

I think the tipping point was the Blagojevich arrest.

I suspect that gave Fitz the excuse to put Obama on notice, before Obama 
becomes President, about indicting sitting Presidents.

Fitz just follows the facts and indicts what he is sure he can convict.

There are so many facts on the table, and there will be more with the 
whole country watching. It was possible to "not know" about the Rezko 
trial.  It won't be possible to not know about the Blagojevich 
trial...with Rezko testifying along with all the others.

Then it will be Blago's turn to deal.

The house deal went nothing like what has been reported.  It was sold as 
a single property into an Illinois Land Trust.  It couldn't be 2 
properties without the existence of a fence which wasn't there when the 
doctors sold it to the trust.  Also, Rita Rezko couldn't have obtained a 
mortgage for the raw land if Obama was was simultaneously claiming 
ownership of the house and land through the Land Trust.

The Illinois Prosecutor's Office surely has all this information.  They 
just have to decide how to proceed.  You will remember that "Watergate" 
was only a small part of the Nixon impeachment proceedings, but it was 
the part that allowed Jaworski to start subpoenaing everything else 
until finally Nixon had no alternative to resignation.  The Supreme 
Court ruled that Jaworski had the right to sue Nixon for release of 
materials needed for the case.

Bill Effros



 



Brad Haslett wrote:
> Bill,
>
> So where do you think the tipping point will be?  Will it be O's
> favors while on the Health Board or the land deal?  What did Rezko
> want/get for the Obama house purchase?  The appraiser on that deal has
> his own lawsuit pending -
>
> http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/18/whistleblower-hits-obama-friends-appraisal/
>
> The strip of land sold to the Obama's was a requirement to meet
> minimum square footage requirements because parking is not allowed on
> the street (Michelle knew that, she sat on the district board).  After
> the sale, the Rezko property was unbuildable, reducing it's value
> substantially but providing a wonderful yard for the O children to
> play in.  Does anyone still really believe this wasn't some kind of
> quid pro quo deal?
>
> Silly question, forget I asked that one.  Pass the Kool-Aide please!
>
> Brad
>
> On Sun, Dec 28, 2008 at 9:51 AM, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>   
>> Brad,
>>
>> There's much more to it than that.
>>
>> Fitz doesn't prosecute under conspiracy laws because they are too hard
>> to prove.  Instead, he calls defendants "co-schemers" and prosecutes
>> them for specific crimes--however, under "co-schemer" law, anyone aware
>> of the scheme is as guilty of the crime as those convicted, in the eyes
>> of the law.  They can testify against each other, and they can't adjust
>> their stories to match. If they deny being part of the scheme out of
>> court, and subsequently are convicted of being any part of it, Fitz will
>> charge them with aiding the scheme by denying being part of it.  Fitz
>> did this to Blagojevich earlier this year.  I can't find a single
>> instance of Obama denying being part of the scheme. He did say Fitz
>> hadn't asked to speak to him before Fitz asked to speak to him.  Then he
>> got quiet on the issue.  Very quiet.
>>
>> Are you familiar with the Hurtgen indictment?
>>
>> http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2005/pr0509_01.pdf
>>
>> It's a relatively short one, and it lets you know where we're headed.
>> The indictment was reinstated in 2007.
>>
>> This New York Times lead explains it:
>>
>> "In Developer's Trial, E-Mail Note Cites an Obama Role
>>
>> March 11, 2008
>>
>> By CATRIN EINHORN
>>
>> CHICAGO --- An e-mail message made public on Monday in the fraud trial
>> of Antoin Rezko, a businessman and political contributor, brought
>> attention to Senator Barack Obama's role in discussions involving a
>> state health planning board that Mr. Rezko is accused of improperly
>> influencing.
>>
>> The message indicated that Mr. Obama, now a Democratic presidential
>> candidate, and other top Illinois
>> (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/national/usstatesterritoriesandpossessions/illinois/index.html?inline=nyt-geo)
>> politicians consulted in 2003 on legislation to keep the board, which
>> approved the construction of health facilities, from expiring under
>> sunset provisions in state law.
>>
>> The vaguely worded message also seemed to raise the possibility that Mr.
>> Obama, who at the time was chairman of the Illinois Senate's health
>> committee, had been involved in recommending candidates for the board.
>>
>> Mr. Rezko is accused of using his influence in state government to stack
>> the board with associates, including some who made political
>> contributions to Mr. Obama and other top Illinois politicians, and of
>> seeking a bribe on a hospital project.
>>
>> But David Wilhelm, a former campaign adviser to Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich
>> (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/rod_r_blagojevich/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
>> of Illinois who asked that the e-mail message be written, said in an
>> interview that he had never talked about the appointment process to Mr.
>> Obama. Mr. Obama has said he had nothing to do with Mr. Rezko's
>> activities with the board.
>>
>> Mr. Obama has not been accused of any wrongdoing, and his name is
>> expected to come up only tangentially during the trial."
>>
>> Obama wrote the legislation that saved the board and reduced its
>> membership to 9 from 16. (You only must bribe 5 on a 9 person board, but
>> you need 9 on a 16 person board--really--that was why they wanted to
>> reduce the membership) Blagojevich appointed all 9, some were holdovers,
>> but the 3 new ones were connected to Rezko, and immediately made
>> campaign contributions to Obama.  The University of Chicago Hospital
>> hired Obama's wife.  Obama's house was owned by University of Chicago
>> Doctors.  The University of Chicago gave Obama a teaching job.  The
>> University of Chicago appeared before the Board requesting a CON -- and
>> they got it!
>>
>> Now read the Hurtgen indictment.
>>
>> IMHO that's where this thing is headed.
>>
>> Bill Effros
>>
>> Bonus reading for extra points:  According to this blurb from the
>> University of Chicago Medical Center, Michelle Obama conceptualized and
>> implemented her job for more than $100,000 a year just after Barack
>> first won a (part time) seat in the Illinois Senate at a yearly salary
>> of $56,000.
>>
>> Now read the Hurtgen indictment again, in the part where they say you
>> can't do business of any sort with anyone who has any kind of dealing
>> with the Health Facilities Board.
>>
>>
>>
>> Brad Haslett wrote:
>>     
>>> Bill,
>>>
>>> Ya gotta wonder if that $3K a day mansion in Hawaii helps jog The
>>> One's memory about what he said to the Fitzgerald underlings.  That's
>>> what got Scooter Libby in trouble.  They ask a few questions that they
>>> already know the answers to (only they know what's on the tapes), then
>>> call you back for a few more, then a few more, and again for a few
>>> more.  You can't tell the truth because that would be an admission of
>>> guilt.  Eventually, your "I don't remember" and "I can't recall"
>>> answers don't work because they play a snippet of a tape, reveal a
>>> small bit of testimony from one of the other players, and soon enough
>>> you're in Libby perjury land.
>>>
>>> In other news, Kennedy thinks, you know, she would, you know, make a
>>> good, you know, Senator.
>>>
>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W85XJADEHxU&eurl=http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded
>>>
>>> Brad
>>>
>>> On Sat, Dec 27, 2008 at 3:39 PM, Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>       
>>>> Brad,
>>>>
>>>> "Now that Barack Obama will be moving to the White House, his seat in
>>>> the U.S. Senate representing Illinois will have to be filled. That's one
>>>> of Obama's first priorities today. He's meeting with Governor Rod
>>>> Blagojevich this afternoon in Chicago to discuss it."
>>>>
>>>> Carol Sowers
>>>> KHQA (Channel 7)
>>>> Quincy, Illinois
>>>> November 5, 2008
>>>>
>>>> "I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not - I
>>>> was not aware of what was happening."
>>>> BHO
>>>> December 9, 2008
>>>>
>>>> This just in:
>>>>
>>>> December 27, 2008
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  US Atty Asks Panel Not to Subpoena Obama Aides
>>>>
>>>> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
>>>>
>>>> *Filed at 3:23 p.m. ET*
>>>>
>>>> CHICAGO (AP) -- The Illinois House committee investigating a possible
>>>> impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich
>>>> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/rod_r_blagojevich/index.html?inline=nyt-per>
>>>> won't subpoena two incoming White House advisers, the committee
>>>> chairwoman said Saturday, shutting down a request from the governor's
>>>> attorney.
>>>>
>>>> In a letter received by the committee Friday, U.S. Attorney Patrick
>>>> Fitzgerald
>>>> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/f/patrick_j_fitzgerald/index.html?inline=nyt-per>
>>>> asked the special investigative committee specifically to not subpoena
>>>> President-elect Barack Obama
>>>> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per>
>>>> adviser Valerie Jarrett
>>>> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/valerie_jarrett/index.html?inline=nyt-per>,
>>>> incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel
>>>> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/e/rahm_emanuel/index.html?inline=nyt-per>,
>>>> U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson
>>>> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/j/jesse_l_jackson/index.html?inline=nyt-per>
>>>> Jr. and Nils Larsen, a Tribune Co.
>>>> <http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/tribune_company/index.html?inline=nyt-org>
>>>> executive vice president.
>>>>
>>>> Fitzgerald said any such subpoenas ''would interfere with the ongoing
>>>> criminal investigation into the activities of Governor Rod Blagojevich
>>>> and others.''
>>>>
>>>> Blagojevich's attorney Ed Genson had asked the committee earlier in the
>>>> week to issue the subpoenas.
>>>>
>>>> ''The ball is in Mr. Genson's court,'' committee chairwoman state Rep.
>>>> Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat, told The Associated Press on
>>>> Saturday. ''We're not interested in undercutting the U.S. Attorney's
>>>> criminal investigation.''
>>>>
>>>> Genson did not immediately respond to a call requesting comment Saturday
>>>> on the committee's decision.
>>>>
>>>> Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on charges accusing him of scheming to
>>>> swap Obama's vacant Senate seat for profit, shaking down a hospital
>>>> executive for campaign donations and other wrongdoing.
>>>>
>>>> Genson has said testimony from Emanuel, Jarrett and Jackson would help
>>>> prove the governor's claim that he didn't do anything wrong in his
>>>> handling of Obama's Senate seat.
>>>>
>>>> Fitzgerald, however, said any testimony by Jarrett, Emanuel, Jackson or
>>>> Larsen ''would overlap with the subject matter of the pending criminal
>>>> investigation.''
>>>>
>>>> Larsen has been reported to be the Tribune financial adviser to whom
>>>> Blagojevich instructed aides to talk about firing editorial writers in
>>>> exchange for a grant to help sell Wrigley Field, home of the
>>>> Tribune-owned Chicago Cubs.
>>>>
>>>> State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, the House committee's head, said
>>>> Thursday that the panel received a letter from Genson asking members to
>>>> subpoena Emanuel, Jarrett and more than a dozen others.
>>>>
>>>> On Dec. 22, Fitzgerald had sent the committee a letter asking members
>>>> not to delve into the criminal charges against Blagojevich, saying
>>>> interviewing current or former members of Blagojevich's staff might
>>>> jeopardize his criminal investigation.
>>>>
>>>>
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