Marathon Pundit: Obama surfaces in Rezko indictment

More bad news for Barack Obama--and it involves his indicted friend, Tony Rezko.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Obama is not named in the Dec. 21 court document. But a source familiar with the case confirmed that Obama is the unnamed "political candidate" referred to in a section of the document that accuses Rezko of orchestrating a scheme in which a firm hired to handle state teacher pension investments first had to pay $250,000 in "sham" finder’s fees. From that money, $10,000 was donated to Obama’s successful run for the Senate in the name of a Rezko business associate, according to the court filing and the source.

More....

The Illinois senator isn't accused of any wrongdoing. And there’s no evidence Obama knew contributions to his 2004 U.S. Senate campaign came from schemes Rezko is accused of orchestrating.

The allegations against Rezko that involve Obama are contained in one paragraph of a 78-page document filed last month in which prosecutors outline their corruption and fraud case against Rezko, who was also a key money man for Gov. Blagojevich and other politicians.

Rezko is set to go to trial Feb. 25. The revelation that Obama's name could come up in court is a political headache he doesn’t need as he heads into a round of primaries that are likely to determine his party’s nomination for president.

The Sun-Times article mentions the 2003 US Senate campaign fundraiser held at Rezko's mansion, which is pictured above. Rezko paid for most of the event, but Obama's staff does not know who attended the event, or how much it cost.

UPDATE 2:40pm CST: The December, 2007 Rezko indictment is here. The "Obama reference" is on page 36.

Thanks for the links:
The Bench
Illinois GOP Network
Backyard Conservative

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