Photo Surfaces Showing Sen. Clinton Posing With Chicago Landlord Rezko
A photograph has surfaced that purports to show Hillary Clinton posing with Bill Clinton and Chicago landlord Tony Rezko.
The unsourced photo appeared Friday morning on DrudgeReport.com.
In a televised debate earlier this week, Hillary Clinton attacked Barack Obama in a heated exchange for engaging in a land deal with Rezko while Obama was in the Illinois legislature. Obama has severed ties with the businessman, who supported Obama’s campaigns earlier in his career.
Rezko is awaiting trial next month on federal corruption charges. He was indicted on fraud, attempted extortion and money laundering counts for allegedly plotting to get campaign money and payoffs from firms seeking to do business before two state boards.
Once that trial is behind him, the 53-year-old Rezko faces a separate federal charge of swindling the General Electric Capital Corp. out of $10 million in connection with the sale of pizza restaurants.
Clinton was confronted with the photo of her with Rezko during an interview on NBC News Friday.
She said she didn’t know the man, adding, “I probably have taken hundreds of thousands of pictures. … I wouldn’t know him if he walked in the door. I don’t have a 17-year-relationship with him,” alluding to Obama’s ties to Rezko.
Clinton — who was forced to sever ties with major Democratic fundraiser Norman Hsu after it became known that Hsu was evading fraud charges — was asked if it was fair to attack Obama, knowing that Rezko had previously contributed to the Democratic party, and it’s impossible to completely vet all political contacts.
“There’s a big difference between standing somewhere taking a picture with someone you don’t know and haven’t seen since and having a relationship that, you know, the newspapers in Chicago have been exploring,” Clinton said.
Obama’s campaign reacted by claiming the photo proves Rezko’s prominent fundraising role for politicians across the board.
“The photo reflects the fact that Mr. Rezko was clearly involved in a wide range of fund raising for both Democrats and Republicans,” the campaign said in an initial statement.
Obama adviser David Axelrod chimed in, “If they are standing there beaming with Tony Rezko it means they knew who Tony Rezko was. He was a player, a prominent figure raising money and about town.”
Clinton’s campaign issued a statement via e-mail later Friday, with a number of links to Internet media sources that document Obama’s ties to Rezko.
“Tony Rezko has never contributed a dime to Hilary or Bill Clinton. They have no relationship with Tony Rezko,” Clinton spokesman Phil singer said. He also included a link to the political money-tracking site OpenSecrets.org, which indicates Rezko has not directly contributed to Clinton, at least as far back as 1990.
Singer then pointed to a number of stories describing Obama’s financial and political relationship with Rezko.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
KEN — I have heard the same remarks as you from a top Secret Service Agent regarding H. Clinton and her controlling and self-serving agenda. She will do anything to gain power!
Everyone needs to grow a brain. Do we all forget the HORROR of the very lovely 1st Lady, Roslyn Carter photographed with mass murder John Gacy.
Anyone with a brain knows that a lot of public people are photographed with 100,000 everyday people that they do NOT know.. The media needs to do a better job of reporting.
For someone who is backed by the defense industry, and who voted to sell cluster bombs to rouge nations and who voted to continue the use of landmines that kills children around the world I find this Rezko story small potatoes to what she has done.
Hello! Good peoples such as Senator Kerry,Obama, Mrs.Clinton, Mr. President Clinton, Ms. Ophra, Mr.Rezco (Landlord) few Politicians, including maybe in the media such in the press
gets “contacts” is really worthwhile to look and see then at the face.-
When all of them get together for a Lunch ..Who pays..for the tab??
Thanks & Cooperation
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones…..
Are we “really” ready for Four more years of the Clintons and the B.S & self-serving agendas that follows them around! America “please” wake up before it is too late for our country! They are so two-faced and will bring this country down!
If the real truth ever comes out about Bill AND Hillary’s donars—it will shake up politics as we know it for decades to come!
dumb article
Now let’s remember that even though Barack Obama had connections with this guy a while back, had the guy been identified as a crook yet?
The bad things people do can come up long after we have known and interacted with them.
Do we have evidence of these relationships/interactions that continued after they were made known or were these relationships/interactions prior to the criminal activities and findings?
How many times does a crime get committed and then we hear “I never would have thought he/she would do such a thing?” Some of these new criminals may be a neighbor, friend, relative, or co-worker. So, where is the evidence that Barack was “in” with this guy knowing of his criminal activity?
Hillary is doing a great job and I fully expect to see her as our next president. She is well able
to take care of the job. We had good years when Bill was president, easy to make a living. We
want Hillary for our next President.