The Real Story of Rezko and Obama: 10 Myths Debunked

[ProSense]

The Real Story of Rezko and Obama: 10 Myths Debunked

Note: I'm the author of a new book, Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest, but I'm not part of the Obama campaign.

There’s been a huge amount of misinformation and rumor about Barack Obama’s dealings with Tony Rezko. This is not a new story. At the first Democratic debate in 2007, Brian Williams of NBC asked Obama about his connections to Rezko. The same thing happened on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos. But it’s a complex set of charges, and a lot of details have been falsely reported on blogs and in the mainstream press.

Here are 10 myths debunked about Obama and Rezko:

Myth #1: Obama did legal work for Rezko

Claim: Hillary Clinton during a debate denounced Obama for "representing your contributor, Rezko, in his slum landlord business in inner city Chicago."

The truth: According to Factcheck.org, "Obama was associated with a law firm that represented the community groups working with Rezko on several deals. There's no evidence that Obama spent much time on them, and he never represented Rezko directly. So it was wrong for Clinton to say he was ‘representing ... Rezko.’ That's untrue."

Myth #2: Obama knew Rezko was a slumlord

The truth: There’s no evidence that Obama knew about problems with Rezko’s buildings. A state senator doesn’t deal with tenant complaints, and the Chicago newspapers never reported on Rezko’s problems as a landlord until after he was indicted. According to the Chicago Tribune, "in the years before 2005, Rezko enjoyed a reputation in Illinois as an up-and-coming, even enlightened entrepreneur with a strong interest in the risky low-income and affordable housing markets."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-rezkojan23,0,709353,full.story

Myth #3: Obama underpaid for his house in a deal with Rezko

Claim: Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass wrote: "Rezko paid more than the asking price for the side lot, and Obama paid less than the asking price for the big house. It’s the Chicago way." Kass claimed that Rezko was "Obama's Real Estate Fairy" and this is "the story of the dream house the Obamas wanted and couldn't quite afford and how the Rezkos helped."

The truth: None of this is true. The seller decided to divide the lot in offering it for sale, not Obama or Rezko. Rezko had paid the list price for his lot, not an excessive amount (as the resale value later proved). The owner reportedly had already been offered $625,000 for the side lot, so Rezko didn’t offer any more money and there was no way Obama could have gotten a special deal this way. The only special arrangement Rezko provided was selling the two lots on the same day, which simplified matters for the seller. Obama paid $1.65 million for a house originally priced at $1.95 million. His was the higher of two bids for the main property. It’s not unusual at all in the Chicago real estate business to see a 15 percent price cut on an expensive house that’s been on the market for four months. Nor is it unusual that a vacant lot next door would sell to a condo developer without such a discount. In the Hyde Park market, there are a lot of upper-middle-class residents making six figures, but not very many millionaires (it’s not Lincoln Park or the Gold Coast). Therefore, a pricey mansion is very difficult to sell, while a $300,000 townhouse is very common.

Myth #4: Rezko’s lot was a front (yard) deal

Claim: One blogger declared it was "a $925,000 favor to a sitting US Senator" because "the Rezko property was never intended to be a separate piece of land."

The truth: It’s insane to think that Obama arranged for Rezko to buy the lot as his front yard, and never intended for anyone to develop it. If Obama had arranged such a deal, it would be crazy for him to spend $104,500 to buy part of the land from Rezko. There is not even the slightest evidence to support this notion.

Myth #5: Obama underpaid (or overpaid) for the slice of Rezko’s lot<...>

Myth #6: Obama hasn’t returned all the money linked to Rezko’s donations

Myth #7: Rezko had a special relationship with Obama<...>

Myth #7: Rezko had a special relationship with Obama<...>

Myth #9: Obama should have known about Rezko’s sleazy background<...>

Myth #10: Obama hasn’t been forthcoming about his mistakes with Rezko

more

[Maven]

1. Here's something far more entertaining to read on Rezko

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=4254514#4254673

:)

[Flabbergasted]

2. About what I figured thanks.

[aquart]

3. When is it NOT insane for a developer to pay $382,000 more than land is worth?

Since a developer has to factor price of land into final asking price, who would be such a fool?

I mean, doing a favor for a friend is nice...but a $382,000 favor? That would have to be a very good friend, indeed.

I think you distracted from the real issue nicely. But you still don't deal with the one question there is: Mrs. Rezko $382,000 more than the land was worth on the same day Obama bought his house for $300,000 less than the asking price...paid to the same seller. Would a mere acquaintance do that? Or would a GOOD FRIEND? And what makes ANY friend that good? Gosh, that's more than one question.

But I'm sure it was a perfectly normal Chicago real estate deal. We've all heard about Chicago.

Is your entire book full of such excellent "debunking"?

[AndyA]

4. Debunking the myth debunking

As a state senator, Barack Obama wrote letters to city and state officials supporting his political patron Tony Rezko's successful bid to get more than $14 million from taxpayers to build apartments for senior citizens.

The deal included $855,000 in development fees for Rezko and his partner, Allison S. Davis, Obama's former boss, according to records from the project, which was four blocks outside Obama's state Senate district.

Obama's letters, written nearly nine years ago, for the first time show the Democratic presidential hopeful did a political favor for Rezko -- a longtime friend, campaign fund-raiser and client of the law firm where Obama worked -- who was indicted last fall on federal charges that accuse him of demanding kickbacks from companies seeking state business under Gov. Blagojevich.


The letters appear to contradict a statement last December from Obama, who told the Chicago Tribune that, in all the years he's known Rezko, "I've never done any favors for him.''

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/425305,CST-NWS-obama13.article

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. This post is on Daily Kos today with a zillion comments that I waded through

I am definitely for John Edwards, but have moved Obama into second position and I am beginning to believe that he WILL be the nominee and I am ok ( even happy) with that.

What I am NOT ok with, and my greatest fear, is that there is some fire to go along with the smoke in the Rezko story about the house purchase that will prove to be fatal to the eventual success of Barack Obama.

I said that I waded through ALL the comments on Kos, all 400+ of them and I did. And something became every evident to me that seems to be missed by just about everyone in this house deal.

There was another offer $for 25,000 less for the adjoining lot that Rezko eventually bought. It is clear to me that Obama wanted someone HE KNEW to buy the lot next door, because he was ALREADY planning to buy/annex a strip of it. This may have something to do with driveway easements and shared access, I am unclear about that part, but it seems to be the reason the 10 foot wide strip was so important.

If someone Obama didn't know was the successful bidder on the lot property, there is probably no way that other person would sell off a strip of their lot, especially if it put control of the shared access to the Obama side. Is this why it was critical for a FRIEND of Obama's to buy the lot, so that this second transaction could be concluded later?

It is my opinion based on the reported facts, that Obama could possibly have asked Rezko to do him a $625,000 favor by purchasing the lot and agreeing in advance that Obama could later buy a strip of it.

Now, is this illegal, unethical, or improper? I really don't know. To me, it gives the appearance of impropriety because it was a FAVOR. Not many of us have friends or acquaintances that we can go to for $625,000 of out of pocket requests for a FAVOR.

So, of course one must ask, what was in it for Rezko? Apparently, he was able to sell the strip to Obama and the lot to someone else and make a profit. I think Obama skates on this one, but just barely.

[usregimechange]

6. Kick!