Hillary Clinton's Dirty Tricks
Hillary Clinton and Tony Rezko - Part 1


Hillary, Tony Rezko & Bill in a photo that cost Rezko
a $1,000 "campaign contribution"

Hillary Clinton lost little time in smearing Barack Obama with Chicago mobster Tony Rezko ... and the press, cowering in Hillary's angry intimidation over "jumping in the tank" for Obama, has become a part of her sinister conspiracy to steal the 2008 elections.

Did Hillary bother to tell us how her own national co-chairman, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, has received campaign conteributions from that very same Tony Rezko - even though Obama did not? No?

Well, surely she told you that George W. Bush got some $3.5 million from Rezko's fund-raising machine. No?

Did the media tell you how Rezko was supporting Obama's opponents, both Democrat and Republican?

Well, surely they told you that Hillary did NOT win Texas, but actually lost by what appears to be two delegates!

No? Are you sure? Why am I not surprised?

One of the classic dirty tricks - and one that is damned near impossible to defeat - is when one candidate waits until the last hours or minutes before a vote, and then throws out some shocking slime that the opponent has no time to respond to before the vote.

According to the Chicago Tribune/AP, Feb. 1, 2008:

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a national co-chairman of Hillary Clinton's campaign, banked at least $1,500 in political donations from indicted Chicago businessman Antoin "Tony" Rezko, whose past connections to Barack Obama have been used by Clinton to criticize her rival's ethics.

City records show that Rezko, chairman of Rezmar Corp., contributed $1,000 to Villaraigosa's campaign in May 2001. Those records show Rezko also donated $500 to another Villaraigosa political committee in March 2003. Villaraigosa spokesman Sean Clegg said "the contributions are currently under review."

The donations could prove embarrassing for Clinton, who has criticized Obama's connection to Rezko and "his slum landlord business."

And then there is this story in The London Telegraph Feb. 28, 2008:

Rezko affair rattles skeletons in Clintons' closet

"Just three days after Hillary Clinton taunted Barack Obama with taking money from Tony Rezko, the indicted businessman, a photograph of him standing between the former First Lady and her husband Bill appeared on the Drudge Report website.

"Mrs Clinton insisted she had no memory of the encounter, which may have occurred when Mr Rezko attended a Democratic fund-raiser. But at a time when Mrs Clinton was trying to score points, it was a reminder that she and her husband have been dogged by financial questions for decades.

"During the current campaign, Mrs Clinton has returned $850,000 (£429,000) in contributions linked to a convicted fraudster, Norman Hsu. Controversies during her husband's presidency included giving stays in the White House's "Lincoln bedroom" to donors, and a pardon for Marc Rich, a financier who fled abroad from fraud charges. His wife was a supporter.

"The Clintons were hounded for years by a criminal investigation into their Whitewater land investment in Arkansas, although they were never charged. And the day after Mrs. Clinton attacked Mr Obama's legal work on Rezko-related business, Mr Clinton was said to be preparing to sever ties with the investment firm of his friend Ron Burkle."

With the timing, perhaps we should be looking a little deeper into Friend of Bill Ron Burkle.

Tony Rezko himself, it seems (from a search of campaign contributions on www.opensecrets.org) personally made a $12,958 contribution to Obama, but did funnel money through 40 of his subordinates and others, including his wife, Rita ($2,500) and through Aboud Rezko, one of the 100+ Syrian relatives he brought into the U.S. ($1,000).

This PDF document lists known contributions to Obama that are linked to Rezko.

Obama has returned an estimated $180,000 in contributions that his campaign believes may be "suspect." This includes "pro-rated" amounts from many fundraisers and organizations/contributors with peripheral links to Rezko.

"Today" show host Matt Lauer asked Hillary about the growingly-infamous photo of her and Bill with Rezko sandwiched in, as reported by even pro-Hillary Chicago Sun-Times Jan. 25, 2008:

"Today" show host Matt Lauer asked presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton on Friday if she has a connection to indicted developer Tony Rezko after flashing an undated photo of the two posing with President Bill Clinton.

"You were attacking Senator Obama, in particular, his work connected to what was a so-called a slumlord in Chicago, a guy  named Tony Rezko," Lauer said. "You can't see what I'm going put up on the screen ... but it is a picture of you and your husband Bill Clinton posing with that same man."

Lauer said he they were unable to verify when the photo was taken, but it most likely happened during Bill Clinton's presidency.

Clinton said she did not remember taking the picture and said she doesn't even remember meeting Rezko.

"I've probably taken hundreds of thousands of pictures," Clinton said. "I don't know the man, I wouldn't know him if he walked in the door, I don't have a 17-year-relationship with him."

Earlier this week, Clinton questioned Obama's relationship with Rezko, who is facing a Feb. 25 federal criminal trial in Chicago on public corruption and fraud charges involving state of Illinois teacher pension funds.

''I try not to attack first, but I have to defend myself -- I do have to counterpunch,'' Clinton said.

''I took a lot of incoming fire for many, many months and I was happy to absorb it because obviously, you know, I felt that was part of my responsibility. But toward the end of a campaign you have to set the record straight,'' the New York senator said.

'I have tried to make it clear that this election has to be about the future,'' Clinton said. ''It is perfectly legitimate to draw comparisons and contrasts.' ...

Clinton was asked about the backlash against Bill Clinton, who has repeatedly criticized Obama's campaign.

''There's been a lot that's been said on both sides and some of it has been kind of generated and certainly stoked. That all needs to just calm down and everybody needs to take a deep breath,'' Sen. Clinton told CBS' ''Early Show.''

The documented record of the Clinton presidency is that, if you wanted to have your picture taken with the First Couple, it was a minimum $1,000 "contribution." Hillary says, "I've probably taken hundreds of thousands of pictures." Let's see - $1,000 x "hundreds of thousands" equals .... well, an awful lot of money the Clintons personally pocketed using the taxpayer's White House.

I am puzzled as to why Hillary seems to think you shouldn't "set the record straight" early in the campaign - instead of "toward the end." No, not really. That's how dirty tricks work.

As for her statement that "It is perfectly legitimate to draw comparisons and contrasts," this seems to be little more than double-speak for "it is perfectly legitimate to slander your opponent." After all, it all depends on "what the meaning of the word 'is' is." That's also how dirty tricks work.

In closing, Hillary seems to confirm that "a lot" of the viciousness "has been kind of generated and certainly stoked." Most of the "generation" and "stoking" of slanderous, untrue accusations seem to have come from Hillary's campaign, not that of her opponents, as the record clearly shows.

Then there are the other men indicted along with Rezko. What about their contributions?

"Three of the co-defendants at Rezko trial contributed to Clintons and campaign supporters," claims blogger Gary Cohen - March 6, 2008 in TalkingPointsMemo.com. He does falsely claim that Rezko never made any contributions to Obama - when he did. "Obama didn't receive any donations from Rezko."

The most extensive details come from Margie Burns at http://www.margieburns.com/blog/_archives/2008/2/2/3501879.html.

"Of the other five defendants, three have donated to the Clintons or to Clinton supporters, three have donated mostly to Republicans, and at least two have donated to Obama’s political opponents. None have donated to Obama.

"Rezko’s trial is scheduled to begin March 3. The legal cases comprise several indictments of Chicago political and business figures on multiple counts of fraud, extortion and kickbacks. Rezko’s co-defendants include Chicago businessman Stuart Levine; construction executive and Chicago Medical School trustee Jacob Kiferbaum, who is cooperating with the investigation, and Bear Stearns executive P. Nicholas Hurtgen; and attorneys Joseph Cari and Steven Loren, doing business for the Teachers’ Retirement System. Mr. Loren has not been a significant donor.

"All the major donors were obviously cruising for receptive politicians, whom they found. Setting aside any presumption of guilt, there was clearly more than enough money as well as blame to go around. Neither party has a monopoly on the big donations in Chicago in spite of its dominant Democratic machine. A quick search on Mitt Romney, for example, in Illinois turns up a result list that cuts off at 1000 donors—and that’s IF you limit the search to individual contributions over $2300.

"That Rezko donated over the years like a political junkie, and may have been one, has already been written about by Buzzflash. Rezko himself gave mostly to Dems, with the largest amts going to central committees, other donations to national figures incl GWBush ($4000), and frequent contributions over the years to IL politicians incl Rod Blagojevich, Luis Gutierrez, and former senators Carol Moseley-Braun and Peter Fitzgerald as well as the donations to Barack Obama that Hillary Clinton pointed out.

"Predictably, the Chicago Sun-Times reports that the national co-chair of Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigo, also got Rezko donations. ...[MY NOTE: The Son-Times story seems to have vanished into a cyberspace black hole.]

"Here is the rundown on his fellow defendants, from FEC data via www.opensecrets.org, in descending order by amounts donated:

  • Stuart Levine: 210 donations for federal candidates, totaling $255,350, mostly to Republicans. Biggest contributions to Illinois Republican Party and to National PAC. One $5000 donation to the Illinois Democratic Party. Most individual donations to GOP candidates from GWBush on down, except for a few $2000 donations to Joe Lieberman, Mark Green of NY, who now appears frequently on MSNBC as a Clinton supporter, and Illinois State Comptroller Daniel W. Hynes, whose father, Thomas C. Hynes, was formerly a Cook County Assessor. Dan Hynes was among Barack Obama’s primary opponents in the Illinois U.S. Senate race in 2003. Levine donated $1000 to Bill Clinton in 1995. Levine has not donated to Obama.
  • Joseph Cari, Jr: pulled out his checkbook 137 times from 1993 on, giving $193,836 under Joseph and $8958 under Joe to candidates for federal office, mostly to Dems. Further donations from family members incl $1000 to Bill Clinton in 1995. Biggest Cari donations went to the DNC and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Individual donations, usually $1000 apiece, to Dem candidates across the country incl the natl figures—Gore, Kerry, Kennedys—and others incl Robert Torricelli in NJ, Chuck Robb in VA, and even the late Paul Wellstone in MN ($250). Cari donated $2000 to Bill Clinton in 1995, another $1000 to Clinton campaign manager David Wilhelm, $500 and $1000 to Hillary Clinton in 2000 and 2003, and donated twice to HILLPAC in 2002. The Hillary Clinton campaign has apparently returned the $1000 but not the other donations. Cari also donated several times to Southern Wine & Spirits, a PAC donating to both major parties which has also donated to both Clintons . Cari has also donated to several Illinois Democratic candidates including Gov. Blagojevich and former Congressman Dan Rostenkowski. No contribution to Obama individually is listed, but the Obama campaign has returned $1439 from apportioned committee contributions.
  • P. Nicholas Hurtgen, former Bear Stearns manager in Chicago: 48 federal contributions from Hurtgen and his wife in recent years, totaling $47,787, almost entirely to GOP candidates--$5000+ to the Republican National Committee, $4000 to GWBush, most of the rest to other Republicans. However, the Hurtgens have also donated $2000 to Rahm Emanuel and $7000 to Mark Green of NY, a Clinton supporter.
  • Jacob Kiferbaum: Kiferbaum and close relatives have donated $27,000 since 2001, mostly to Republicans. Kiferbaum’s largest individual donation was $10,000 to Maria Pappas, another Democratic primary contender for the Senate seat won by Obama. Kiferbaum has also given $4000 to GWBush, $4000 to Joe Lieberman, $2000 to Jack Ryan—Obama’s GOP opponent for Senate, until he had to withdraw—and $3000 to Republican Congressman Mark Kirk of Illinois 10th District. Kirk has returned $2000 of the Kiferbaum donation.
  • Steven Loren: 3 small—by these standards—federal donations, $1000 to Mark Kirk and $250 apiece to Harold Ford of TN and Charles Schumer of NY."