Legal News

Rezko Convicted: Obama, GOP Offer Divergent Takes

By Dan Slater

Though news of Hillary Clinton’s imminent departure from the race brightened Senator Obama’s presidential prospects, his past cast a pall over yesterday’s celebration when a federal jury in Chicago found Antoin Rezko, once a top Obama fund-raiser, guilty of wire fraud and money laundering, among other charges. Prosecutors had alleged that Rezko (pictured) had used connections with state politicians and appointees to arrange kickback schemes. Here are reports from the Chicago Trib, the WSJ and the NYT.

According to the reports, within 20 minutes of the conviction, the Republican Party sent out an email to reporters, entitled “Rezko: Obama’s Longtime Friend and Money Man,” documenting Obama’s history with Rezko. “Obama has maintained a friendship with a now convicted felon,” the email said. The Republican Party also released a statement after the verdict that read, in part, “Today’s verdict and Obama’s friendship with Rezko raise serious questions about whether he has the judgment to serve as president.”

In a statement, Obama said that he was “saddened” by the verdict. “This isn’t the Tony Rezko I knew,” he said, adding that the charges against Rezko “once again shine a spotlight on the need for reform.” Obama has repeatedly said he did no favors for Rezko. He was never a focus of Rezko’s trial.

Obama’s association with Rezko dates to 1990, when Rezko offered Obama, then a Harvard law student, a job in his low-income housing-development firm. Obama turned down the job, but Rezko was among his earliest supporters when Obama ran for the Illinois state Senate in 1995.

In 2005, Obama bought his Chicago home on the same day Rezko’s wife purchased an adjacent lot from the same sellers. Obama later bought part of that property. The home-purchase deal came a year before Rezko’s indictment, but after it was known he was facing federal scrutiny. Obama has said the deal was a mistake because it created the appearance of impropriety.

Photo: Associated Press

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on June 05, 2008 (boomark / email).