Blagojevich trial scandal, Part 1, Media coverup

“Journalism died in 2008″…Sean Hannity

Blagojevich Trial Coverup Scandal

Part 1

We have a trial, a story, about Rod Blagojevich, his numerous corrupt cronies including Tony Rezko, Stuart Levine, Barack Obama and a host of others involved in long time crime and corruption in Chicago and IL. We have a story, far bigger and more far reaching than Watergate. We have a story including businessmen, attorneys, state and local officials, the Governor of Illinois, the occupant of the White House and his long time associates, and it is barely being covered by the mainstream media. And worse than that, it is being covered up. Even our last refuge of information access, the internet, is being manipulated.

Here is a typical comment from the mainstream media regarding the upcoming Blagojevich trial and what he has been charged with.
From the Chicago Tribune, May 12, 2010.
“Sarah Palin didn’t miss the chance to talk about Illinois’ rich history of corruption during a speech to a sold-out crowd in a Chicago suburb.”
“Ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich goes on trial on corruption charges next month. He has pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to sell President Barack Obama’s old senate seat.”
Read more:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-il–palin-illinoiscorruption,0,5551566.story
 

Bill O’Reilly interviewed Blagojevich several month ago and only asked about the alleged selling of the senate seat.
No wonder most people believe that is all the trial is about.
Here are some exerpts from the Rod Blagojevich Second Superceding Indictment.

 
“The primary purpose of the Blagojevich Enterprise was to exercise and preserve power over the government of the State of Illinois for the financial benefit of defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, both directly and through Friends of Blagojevich, and for the financial benefit of his family members and associates.”
“Defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Kelly, Monk, Cellini, Harris, Robert Blagojevich, Rezko, Levine, and others, used and agreed to use the powers of the Office of the Governor, and of certain state boards and commissions subject to influence by the Office of the Governor, to take and cause governmental actions, including: appointments to boards and commissions; the awarding of state business, grants, and investment fund allocations; the enactment of legislation and executive orders; and the appointment of a United States Senator; in exchange for financial benefits for themselves and others, including campaign contributions for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, money for themselves, and employment for ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his wife.”
“In or about 2003, defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Monk, Kelly, and Rezko, agreed to direct lucrative state business relating to the refinancing of billions of dollars in State of Illinois Pension Obligation Bonds to a company whose lobbyist agreed to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to Rezko out of the fee the lobbyist would collect, and Rezko in turn agreed to split the money with ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Monk, and Kelly.”
“In or about late 2002, Ali Ata, an Illinois businessman who was solicited by Rezko to make political contributions to defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, brought a $25,000 check to Rezko’s offices, where Ata met with ROD BLAGOJEVICH. During that meeting, ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked Rezko if Rezko had talked to Ata about positions in the administration, and Rezko said that he had. In or about July 2003, after discussions with Rezko about possible state appointments, Ata gave Rezko another $25,000 check payable to ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s campaign. Shortly after this, Ata had a conversation with ROD BLAGOJEVICH at a fundraising event, during which ROD BLAGOJEVICH indicated that he was aware Ata recently had made another substantial contribution to ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s campaign, and told Ata that he understood Ata would be joining his administration. Ata replied that he was considering taking a position, and ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that it had better be a job where Ata could make some money. ROD BLAGOJEVICH ultimately appointed Ata as the executive director of the Illinois Finance Authority.”
“On or about October 29, 2003, when Joseph Cari, a national Democratic fundraiser, was traveling on a plane with defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Kelly, and Levine to a Blagojevich fundraiser in New York hosted by Cari, he spoke with ROD BLAGOJEVICH, who discussed Cari’s background as a national fundraiser and ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s interest in running for President. ROD BLAGOJEVICH said it was easier for governors to solicit campaign contributions because of their ability to award contracts and give legal work, consulting work, and investment banking work to campaign contributors, and that Kelly and Rezko were his point people in raising campaign contributions. ROD BLAGOJEVICH also said there were state contracts and other state work that could be given to contributors who helped ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Rezko, and Kelly, and that Rezko and Kelly would follow up with Cari in relation to the discussion that had just occurred.
During the October 29, 2003, fundraiser, Levine told Cari that there was a plan in place in the Blagojevich administration pursuant to which Rezko and Kelly would pick consultants to do business with State of Illinois boards, and, thereafter, the consultants would be asked to make campaign contributions.
Sometime after October 2003, Rezko told Cari that Rezko had a close relationship with the Blagojevich administration, that Rezko had a role in picking consultants, law firms and other entities to get state business, and that defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s Chief of Staff, Monk, helped implement Rezko’s choices for state work. Rezko also said that, in exchange for raising money for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, the Blagojevich administration would be helpful to Cari’s business interests.
On or about March 5, 2004, Cari met with Kelly, who said he was following up on Cari’s conversations with defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Rezko, and Levine. Kelly asked for Cari’s help in raising money on a national level for ROD BLAGOJEVICH. When Cari said he was not inclined to help, Kelly pushed Cari to assist and said that helping ROD BLAGOJEVICH would be good for Cari’s business interests and that Cari could have whatever Cari wanted if he agreed to help.”

“In or about March 2004, Lobbyist A met with Christopher Kelly to ask how two clients of Lobbyist A could become eligible to manage investments for TRS.

Kelly informed Lobbyist A that TRS was Rezko’s area, and subsequently told Lobbyist A that he had spoken with Rezko, and that it would require a $50,000 campaign contribution to defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH for a firm to get on TRS’s list of recommended fund managers.”

“In or about April 2004, Rezko, Kelly, and Levine agreed that they would use their influence and Levine’s position at TRS to prevent Capri Capital from receiving a potential $220 million allocation from TRS unless Capri Capital or one of its principals, Thomas Rosenberg, agreed to make a payment, such as by arranging to raise a significant amount of money in campaign contributions for the benefit of defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH. At Levine’s direction, Cellini assisted the plan by indicating to Rosenberg that Capri Capital had not yet received its $220 million allocation from TRS because of its failure to make political donations to ROD BLAGOJEVICH.”

“On or about May 11, 2004, after Rosenberg threatened to expose the extortion attempt, Rezko, Kelly, Levine, and Cellini agreed that in light of Rosenberg’s threat it was too risky to continue demanding money from Rosenberg or to block the $220 million allocation to Capri Capital. Rezko subsequently told Levine that defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH had been told about the attempt to extort Rosenberg, and that ROD BLAGOJEVICH had agreed that Capri Capital should receive the $220 million allocation because of Rosenberg’s threat, but felt that Rosenberg should receive nothing further from the State of Illinois.”

“After the discussion involving Kelly, Rezko, Levine, and Cellini on or about May 11, 2004, Cellini and Levine took steps to conceal the extortion plan, including by using their influence and Levine’s position at TRS to ensure that Capri Capital received its $220 million allocation.”

“To ensure that defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH and Monk would continue to give Rezko substantial influence regarding matters such as appointments to boards and commissions, the selection of candidates for state employment, and the awarding of state contracts, grants, and investment fund allocations, Rezko gave certain benefits to ROD BLAGOJEVICH and Monk, including the following:
a.
In or about late August 2003, Rezko directed to ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife a payment of $14,369, purportedly in connection with a real estate transaction involving property at 850 North Ogden Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, for which transaction ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife had not performed any services.
b.
From in or about October 2003 to in or about May 2004, Rezko, through his real estate development company, provided ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife with payments of $12,000 a month, purportedly for real estate brokerage services.

c.
In or about January 2004, while Rezko’s real estate development company was paying ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife $12,000 a month, Rezko directed to ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife a payment of $40,000, purportedly for brokerage services in connection with the sale of property at 1101 West Lake Street, Chicago, Illinois, even though the sale of the property had been arranged without the assistance of ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife.

d.
From in or about the spring of 2004 until in or about 2006, Rezko provided to Monk a number of $10,000 cash gifts to pay for various items, such as a car and home improvements, which cash gifts totaled approximately $70,000 to $90,000.”

“After the real estate business of defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s wife became the subject of critical media coverage, ROD BLAGOJEVICH directed Harris to try to find a paid state board appointment or position for her. During several conversations in or about early 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH informed Harris that ROD BLAGOJEVICH wanted his wife put on the Pollution Control Board, which pays salaries to its board members. When Harris told ROD BLAGOJEVICH that his wife was not qualified for the position, ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Harris to find other employment for his wife.”

“In or about 2006, after United States Congressman A inquired about the status of a $2 million grant for the benefit of a publicly-supported school, defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH instructed Harris not to release the grant until further direction from ROD BLAGOJEVICH, even though ROD BLAGOJEVICH previously had agreed to support the grant and funding for the grant had been included in the state’s budget.
In response to inquiries by a high-ranking state official as to whether the grant money could be released, defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH informed the official that ROD BLAGOJEVICH wanted it communicated to United States Congressman A that United States Congressman A’s brother needed to have a fundraiser for ROD BLAGOJEVICH.”

“On or about October 8, 2008, defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH advised Lobbyist A that he intended to take official action that would provide additional state money to Children’s Memorial Hospital, and that ROD BLAGOJEVICH wanted to get $50,000 in campaign contributions from the Chief Executive Officer of Children’s Memorial Hospital (“the Children’s CEO”).”

“On or about November 13, 2008, defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Robert Blagojevich that he wanted campaign contributions to be made by the end of the year by Racetrack Executive, who, as ROD BLAGOJEVICH knew, managed horse racing tracks that would financially benefit from a bill pending in the Illinois legislature that would require certain Illinois casinos to give money to a fund that would be used to help the Illinois horse racing industry (the “Racing Bill ”). At that time, as ROD BLAGOJEVICH knew, Monk had been trying to arrange a contribution from Racetrack Executive, and ROD BLAGOJEVICH had set a goal of raising $100,000 in contributions from and through Racetrack Executive.”

“On or about September 18, 2008, defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Monk, and Robert Blagojevich met with Construction Executive, who was both an executive with a company that manufactured and distributed road building materials and a representative of a trade group involved with the construction of roads. In that meeting, ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that he was planning on announcing a $1.5 billion road building program that would be administered through the Illinois Toll Highway Authority (the “Tollway”) and that he might authorize an additional $6 billion road building program later on. Shortly thereafter in the conversation, ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked for Construction Executive’s help in raising contributions for ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s campaign by the end of the year. After Construction Executive left the meeting, ROD BLAGOJEVICH instructed Monk to try to get Construction Executive to raise $500,000 in contributions. As ROD BLAGOJEVICH knew, Monk subsequently had a series of conversations with Construction Executive about the possibility of Construction Executive arranging for campaign contributions to ROD BLAGOJEVICH.”

“Beginning in or about October 2008, and continuing until on or about December 9, 2008, defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, on multiple occasions, instructed Harris to communicate to individuals at the Tribune Company that ROD BLAGOJEVICH would withhold proposed state financial support that would benefit the Tribune Company, publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper, unless the Tribune Company fired editorial board members who had been critical of ROD BLAGOJEVICH.”

“From in or about 2002 to on or about December 9, 2008, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and ROBERT BLAGOJEVICH, together with Alonzo Monk, John Harris, Christopher Kelly, William F. Cellini, Sr., Antoin Rezko, Stuart Levine, and others, acting with the intent to defraud and to deceive, devised and participated in a scheme to deprive the people of the State of Illinois and the beneficiaries of TRS of their intangible right to the honest services of ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Harris, Monk, and Levine.”

“It was further part of the scheme that in or about 2003, defendant ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Monk, Kelly and Rezko, agreed to direct lucrative state business relating to the refinancing of billions of dollars in State of Illinois Pension Obligation Bonds to a company whose lobbyist agreed to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars to Rezko out of the fee the lobbyist would collect, and Rezko in turn agreed to split the money with ROD BLAGOJEVICH, Monk, and Kelly.”

“It was further part of the scheme that in or about the spring of 2003, Kelly, Rezko, Cellini, and Levine agreed that Kelly and Rezko would use their influence with the Blagojevich administration to assist Cellini and Levine in maintaining influence over the activities of TRS, and in return, Cellini and Levine would use their influence with TRS to cause TRS to invest in funds, and to use the services of law firms, selected by Kelly and Rezko, at times in exchange for substantial contributions to Friends of Blagojevich.”

Read more:

http://www.justice.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2010/pr0204_02a.pdf

The second Superseding Indictment of Rod Blagojevich is 113 pages long. Tony Rezko’s Superceding Indictment is 65 pages.

Does anyone reading this believe that the Blagojevich Trial is mostly about selling Obama’s senate seat?

Did Bill O’Reilly read the Criminal Complaint or Indictments?
Spread this story far and wide.

In Part 2, I will present some disturbing information that questions the motives of the US Department of Justice.