It was a business owned by one of Rezko's partners in that deal, British-based Iraqi billionaire Nadhmi Auchi, that paid Rezko the $3.5 million. Auchi, sometimes described in press reports as a financial associate of Saddam Hussein, was convicted of fraud in a French court in 2003 in an oil company kickback scheme.No word yet from the Obama campaign on this one.
In a tantalizing aside, Rezko prosecutors said he appealed directly to the U.S. State Department for help in November 2005 after Auchi was unable to enter the U.S. -- and also appears to have "asked certain Illinois governmental officials" to intercede on Auchi's behalf. They didn't say who.
The Rezko case revolves around allegations of wrongdoing in Gov. Blagojevich's administration, but it also now looms as a specter over the presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama because of his relationship with Rezko, a key fund-raiser involved in an odd real estate transaction with the senator. There has been no suggestion of wrongdoing by Obama in the government's case, but Monday's added attention was politically unhelpful.
Rezko was arrested early Monday morning in his Wilmette mansion, a far cry from whatever cell he was assigned to spend Monday night -- a long, fitful night -- to think about whether his explanation is going to be good enough.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Did Rezko Ask Obama For Help With Iraqi Billionaire?
The Chicago Sun-Times reports:
