Obama donations may surface in Rezko's trial

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

There’s a strong chance the name of presidential contender Barack Obama will surface at indicted political fund-raiser Tony Rezko’s trial, which begins next week.

In a nine-page ruling this afternoon, U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said she would allow federal prosecutors to present evidence about a portion of a $375,000 finder’s fee that a Rezko associate, Joseph Aramanda, obtained through an alleged kickback scheme orchestrated by Rezko.


She also ruled that prosecutors can ask questions about how money from that fee allegedly was used “to make a political contribution” in Aramanda’s name “because Rezko had already donated the maximum amount by law and he could not make the contribution himself.”

The ruling does not identify Obama as the recipient of that contribution. But sources have identified Obama as the “political candidate” who prosecutors say received a $10,000 contribution from Aramanda — at Rezko’s direction — during his 2004 run for U.S. Senate. Obama has donated that contribution to charity.

In addition, Rezko allegedly directed another associate, Elie Maloof, “to donate for the same reason,” St. Eve wrote, “and allegedly previously directed Aramanda and Maloof to make other poltiical contributions.

“For the same reasons, the evidence is admissible,” she ruled.

As with the Aramanda contribution, Obama has donated a $10,000 contribution from Maloof to charity. The two contributions are among a total of $157,835 in Rezko-linked donations that Obama has given away.

Rezko was once part of Obama’s senatorial finance committee.

Informed of the judge’s ruling, Obama presidential campaign spokesman Bill Burton said, “We had no knowledge of any straw donations and have returned any of the donations about which we have any reasonable question.

“By now it is well established that Sen. Obama is not involved in the matters at issue in the [Rezko] trial.”

Rezko is accused of orchestrating a scheme in which a firm hired to handle state teacher pension investments first had to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in finder’s fees to Rezko and others.

Separately, St. Eve said she would also allow evidence about an alleged transaction where Rezko promised a businessman an appointment to a state post in exchange for a $50,000 donation to Gov. Blagojevich.

Jury selection in Rezko’s trial is scheduled to start Monday. Rezko is accused of scheming with Stuart Levine to shake down firms seeking to do business with the state.

No word yet from Obama campaign on this one.