Hussein Was Consulted On Corrupt Health Board Appointees
“Yo, Barry, do me a favor, would yuz?”
Sen. Barack Obama was among eight state officials and others consulted about who should be appointed to a state board that later became involved in what prosecutors describe as a fraud scheme, according to a memo from a Democratic official.
The June 2003 memo by former Democratic National Committee chairman David Wilhelm did not indicate exactly what input Obama had in connection with appointing members to the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board. It gave no indication Obama was involved in the alleged corruption that later engulfed the board.
The memo was discussed Monday at the trial of Antoin ”Tony” Rezko, a Chicago businessman who was a prominent contributor to Obama and Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Among other things, Rezko is on trial for allegedly plotting with board member Stuart Levine to split a bribe from a contractor.
Prosecutors say Levine used his position on the health facilities planning board and a state pension board to pressure companies for payoffs. They say Rezko used political clout with Blagojevich to help Levine.
Wilhelm wrote his memo to Susan Lichtenstein, who was on the stand at Rezko’s trial for a second day Monday. She was general counsel to Blagojevich in June 2003.
Blagojevich was deciding at that time who to appoint to the board. Wilhelm mentioned a number of possible candidates, including Levine and Thomas Beck.
Levine was appointed to the board. He has pleaded guilty to charges in the case and is expected to be the government’s star witness against Rezko. Beck has been charged with no wrongdoing in the case.
Wilhelm’s memo said ”we worked closely over the past six months” with eight officials including three state senators, one of whom was Obama.
In addition to being chairman of the DNC under President Clinton, Wilhelm also was a key figure in Blagojevich’s 2002 campaign and played a major role on his transition team.
(AP)
Nods to LftBhndAgn.
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With as many sinister elements as there are in politics I’m sure all the candidates have similar issues in their past. McCain has the Keating affair http://www.dailybreeze.com/ci_8516182, Clinton well….you have a few, ag futures, pilfering the White House dishes, etc… The benefit Obama has is his “newness”. The longer you are in Washington the dirtier your hands get, even without being around any dirt.
March 10th, 2008 at 11:20 am