Skip to main content
  • CNSNews.com
  • MRC TV
  • Biz & Media
  • Culture & Media
  • TimesWatch
  • Take Action!

Join Us @:
Facebook
Twitter
Amazon Kindle

Tell the Truth campaign logo
NewsBusters.org logo

February 22, 2012
  • Home
  • Blogs
  • About
  • Forum
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Account
  • RSS
Home » Blogs » Noel Sheppard's blog
  • In Story On Proposed Ultrasound Mandate, WashPost's Kumar Fails to Note Va. Abortionists Already Use Them
  • Bozell Column: The Bill Press Hate Machine
  • Andrea Mitchell: Hillary Was Right--There Really Was A Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
  • Rick Santorum Says 'Phony Theology' Controversy Is 'Media Trying to Destroy Conservatives'
  • Chris Matthews Sneers: 'If You're Really Anti-Gay, You Become Catholic Now'
  • Douglas Brinkley: Bill Clinton Is a 'Folk Figure in America' Like 'Babe Ruth or Buffalo Bill'
  • CNN's Soledad O'Brien Responds to NewsBusters Catching Her 'Obama Bump'
  • WashPost's 'Conservative' Blogger Rubin Scolds Santorum to 'Grow Up" and 'Stop Whining' About Liberal Media Bias

Rezko Sentenced to 10½ Years, Media Ignore It And/Or His Ties to Obama

By Noel Sheppard | November 23, 2011 | 10:40

Change font size:  A |  A
Noel Sheppard's picture

Depending on which news outlet you rely on for current events, you may not have heard that convicted Chicago real estate developer Tony Rezko was sentenced to 10½ years in prison Tuesday.

On top of this, unless you read the following report from Reuters, you mightn't have known just how connected he was to a junior senator from Illinois who just so happens to be the President of the United States:

A U.S. judge on Tuesday sentenced Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a former Chicago fundraiser for President Barack Obama, to 10-1/2 years in prison for corruption and extortion.

Rezko's conviction was among a slew of guilty pleas that led to the conviction in two trials of former Democratic Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and several of his aides. [...]

Rezko became a minor campaign issue for Obama during the 2008 presidential race. The two had become close friends and Rezko had raised tens of thousands of dollars for the then-Illinois state senator's successful U.S. Senate and presidential campaigns.

At one point, the Republican National Committee referred to Rezko as Obama's "money man".

Rezko also advised Obama in the purchase of the future president's large home on the south side of Chicago. Rezko's wife purchased and then resold to the Obama family a side yard to the home they could not afford initially.

When Rezko was convicted, Obama said he was "saddened" and added, "This isn't the Tony Rezko I knew."

From what I can tell, this was the best print report on this matter which was nicely headlined "Former Obama Fundraiser Rezko Gets 10-year Sentence."

Rival the Associated Press went far easier on Obama in its piece entitled "Blago Ally Rezko Gets 10½ Years, Minus Time Served" which began, "A former top fundraiser for Rod Blagojevich was sentenced Tuesday to 10½ years in prison for pressuring businesses for millions in kickbacks, an unusually stiff penalty that could portend a tough day for the former governor when he is sentenced for his own corruption convictions."

Buried way down in the article: "Rezko also was a political fundraiser for Obama during his campaigns for Illinois senator, though not for his presidential campaign. Obama has not been accused of wrongdoing in the case, but his relationship with Rezko became an issue during the 2008 election."

That's all the AP thought was necessary to share with readers about the President's dealings with this criminal years ago.

But that's better than most of the newspapers outside of Chicago. The New York Times hasn't published a word about this. Ditto most of the nation's major papers.

For its part, the Washington Post on Wednesday published a snippet of the AP piece in the Digest section on page A-3:

Blagojevich ally sentenced to prison

A former top fundraiser for Rod Blagojevich (D) was sentenced Tuesday to 10 ½ years in prison for pressuring businesses for millions in kickbacks, an unusually stiff penalty that could portend a tough day for the former governor when he is sentenced for his own corruption convictions.

Antoin “Tony” Rezko spent 3 ½ years in custody awaiting sentencing on his 2008 convictions for fraud, money laundering and plotting to squeeze more than $7 million in kickbacks from companies that wanted to do business with the state during Blagojevich’s tenure. He will get credit for time served and will serve 85 percent of his total sentence.

Attorneys for the former Chicago real estate developer and fast-food entrepreneur had asked that he be set free, saying he had served more time than others convicted as part of the federal investigation of Blagojevich.

Notice the conspicuous absence of the name "Obama."

USA Today was even more deceptive including the following at the end of a news digest piece on page 3A headlined "Justice Dept. Sues Over Utah Immigration Law":

Blagojevich fundraiser gets 10 years

A former top fundraiser for ousted Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, whose trial exposed a pay-to-play political culture, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Antoin "Tony" Rezko will get credit for 3 years already served. Rezko was convicted in 2008 of fraud, money laundering and plotting to squeeze $7 million in kickbacks from companies. The governor was convicted on charges that included trying to sell or trade an appointment to President Obama's Senate seat.

Story Continues Below Ad ↓

When you think about how these outlets for weeks filled their pages with thirteen year old unproven allegations of sexual harassment by Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, and their interest in jewelry purchases by Newt Gingrich for his wife, the bias at play becomes nauseating.

The same can be said of America's television news outlets. According to LexisNexis, ABC, CBS, MSNBC, and NBC didn't say one word about this Tuesday despite the sentence breaking early in the day.

This of course isn't at all surprising. As NewsBusters reported earlier this month, the broadcast network news outlets ran more stories about Cain's alleged sexual harassment in a week than they did Obama's ties to Rezko throughout the entire 2008 campaign. MSNBC during roughly the same period ran more stories about the Cain scandal than it did Obama's connections to Rezko, domestic terrorist Bill Ayers and America-hating Rev. Jeremiah Wright combined.

For its part, CNN mentioned the Rezko sentencing once Tuesday on John King, USA:

JOHN KING, HOST: A judge today sentenced one-time Obama campaign contributor Tony Rezko to ten and a half years in prison. That for his part in a kickback scandal involving the former Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich.

This was comically in a segment King called "News You Need to Know."

I guess the supposedly most trusted name in news didn't think its viewers needed to know much about this.

That's par for the course for this outlet. As NewsBusters reported earlier this month, CNN ran more stories about the Cain scandal in six days than it ever did on Obama's connections to Rezko.

Fox News's Special Report also gave Tuesday's sentencing short shrift:

SHANNON BREAM, SUBSTITUTE HOST: Chicago based Democratic pollster and fundraiser Tony Rezko was sentenced today to 10-and-a-half in prison. He was convicted in 2008 on corruption charges. Rezko has ties to both President Obama and former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

By far the best television report on this subject came from Fox Business Network's Power and Money:

DAVID ASMAN, HOST: Finally tonight, Tony Rezko was sentenced today to 10-and-a- half years in prison. The former power player in Chicago politics has been sitting in jail for three-and-a-half years waiting to be sentenced for 16 counts of political corruption. The prosecutors argue against cutting his sentence for time served even though he has been serving some pretty hard time in a high-risk unit with terrorists and members of a Mexican drug cartel. They clearly want to keep Rezko in deep isolation for a very long time.

But the man who would probably most like to see Tony Rezko stay out of sight is President Obama. One of the first political contributions ever came from companies controlled by Tony Rezko in 1995. In 2003 Rezko was put on Obama's campaign finance committee for the U.S. Senate. And in 2005 the Obama's purchased a one $1.65 million house in Chicago with a $300,000 assist from Rezko, something the president later publicly regretted.

While the press has been running big headlines about the lousy character judgments of Republican presidential contenders, somehow the president's lousy judgment in associating so closely with Tony Rezko keeps getting a pass. We all make mistakes, but a close association with a guy prosecutors are locking up with drug assassins and terrorists deserves at least as much scrutiny as gifts once purchased for a candidate's wife. Or maybe that's just us.

Apparently, David, it's just you.

Share this

About the Author

Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of NewsBusters. Click here to follow Noel Sheppard on Twitter.
  • Barack Obama
  • David Asman
  • John King
  • Michelle Obama
  • Rod Blagojevich
  • Shannon Bream
  • Tony Rezko
  • Special Report
  • ABC
  • Associated Press
  • CBS
  • CNN
  • Fox Business Network
  • Fox News Channel
  • MSNBC
  • NBC
  • New York Times
  • Reuters
  • USA Today
  • Washington Post
  • Noel Sheppard's blog
  • Login or register to post comments
  • Printer-friendly version
Donate to NewsBusters

Comments

Here's the deal.

Submitted by Newsbubba on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 11:01am.

"Tony, go to jail. We'll see that you have all the comforts of home. Hang out for about a year, and keep your mouth shut about ANYTHING to do with Me and Moochie, or our homies, like Rahm and that dumb ass, Durbin.

"Next year, right after the morons in this country reelect Me, I will give you a full pardon for Christmas, My man! Wipe the record clean. Maybe even find you a job in My next administration. Put you at Freddie Mac. How's that sound, yo?

"That's your choice, My brother; or you can spill the beans and meet with a very untimely accident in the general population. Your choice."

From the Office of the President of the United States

Barack Hussein Obama (signed)

  • Login or register to post comments

I've already thought about

Submitted by Ed Gregory on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 11:26am.

I've already thought about how soon the pardon will come, because you know it will. I think it's Rezko's call. He could reach out to agent zero and say "Make it happen or I start talking."

What would be even more fun is if James O'Keefe infiltrated Rezko's prison -- you just know it'll be minimum-security -- and got him to start talking on hidden camera.

  • Login or register to post comments

Media Ignore It And/Or His Ties to Obama

Submitted by NewLife56 on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 11:05am.

This is because they for whatever reason stuck their nose up Obama Butt so far, they now are stuck and can't get out. I don't blame President Obama for this, I blame the media for thinking brainwashing the public is the reason they exsist. And the sad and scary part is, allot in the public allow the Media to think for them

NewLife56
  • Login or register to post comments

You know,...

Submitted by BBallleaper on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 11:23am.

for GUY?? with at least 3 fathers and even more possibles, who may have been born in Kenya, Hawaii or believes he was born in a manger in Moscow, who was raised as a mulatto marxist muslim but who supposedly spent 20 years on his royal ass in a pew in a black anti-American 'church', who we know for sure did NOT write two books yet pocketed the change, who illegally attained the office of the President, who has never shown one semester of grades or explained how a sub-intellect moron community organizer street thug bag man for the Daley machine ever matriculated at Occidental, Columbia, and low and behold was admitted to the Harvard Law School,...but wait for it, they actually elected this mutant head of the Law Review although he NEVER wrote even one legal article, who has so many different social security numbers than when he retires his first check will be for 8 million dollars a month. Not bad for a prissy effeminate who married the most vicious, arrogant and yes UPPITY first lady ever! Now, as we wait for the total collapse of our economy, the muslim hordes to take over America only to find they will have to fight it out to the death with millions of illegal Mexicans and the drug cartels, supplied with guns from Barry,... Corzine steals billions in broad daylight, OWS is smelling up every PUBLIC and PRIVATE park in America, in SF they fornicate in the streets as Piglosi gets her next plastic surgery, and seven Republican dwarfs fight each other rather than stand up for America and demand these marxists either step down or be toppled!

  • Login or register to post comments

So I,m putting you down for a no.

Submitted by mandrake on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 11:51am.

Don't mind me, I'm just calculating the odds. (In Canada it's legal to bet on American politics)

  • Login or register to post comments

Same ol' story

Submitted by deadeyedan on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 3:09pm.

And here's their version of political discourse:

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/warner-todd-huston/2008/08/28/obama-campaig...

As has been pointed out, the LSM could figure out what golf club (a wedge) was used by Elin Woods on Tiger's rear car window but they have to avoid finding out why it was that the ONE could get into Occidental affordably without resorting to foreign exchange status.

LIBERALISM - government of the people by the theories and for the ideologists

  • Login or register to post comments

Yo, BBallleaper.

Submitted by Newsbubba on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 7:20pm.

I take it you don't shoot "hoops" with Da One?

I agree with everything you said, but you left out his title; RBFSOB.

  • Login or register to post comments

Now, be fair...

Submitted by richflanj on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 11:25am.

There are other inportant stories out there. Like Newt telling the hippies to get a bath and then a job. <>

"... I’m always wrong." - Rachel Maddow
  • Login or register to post comments

And Rush said "uppity"

Submitted by ant on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 11:37am.

We must be informed. The media's excuse is probably that Americans are too dumb to understand this financial stuff, like Whitewater or Frank-Dodd.

  • Login or register to post comments

Unfortunately the media is correct, ant.

Submitted by Newsbubba on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 7:24pm.

We ARE too dumb to understand much of anything, since a majority of us voted for the RBFSOB who is now in the White House, and is in the process of destroying this country.

I must admit that he is doing a damned fine job of it so far, and I don't see a single Republican in Washington with the rocks to stop him.

  • Login or register to post comments

Hey, you gotta cut some slack

Submitted by killa37 on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 12:31pm.

Hey, you gotta cut some slack here....................Tony Rezko was, like William Ayers, 'just some guy in the neighborhood', and when he was busted, 'that wasn't the Tony Rezko that I knew'. Kinda like 'I never heard Jeremiah Wright say those things'.........

Hey - isn't Rezko also a mooooooooooooooooooooooooslem???

  • Login or register to post comments

someone please compare the

Submitted by Edhenry on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 12:31pm.

someone please compare the number of stories about Abramhoff vs Rezco.

edhenry
  • Login or register to post comments

one day-maybe not today/tomorrow/next day-

Submitted by JIMMY1660 on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 1:58pm.

the true story of Obama the scum bag will come out-and the MSM-will need to crawl under a rock.
Obama & Rezko-Ayers-Van Jones-Rev Wright-Khalid al Mansour-Black Panthers-etc will be told.
we may even have a Federal Grand Jury-invite some of Obama's closest friends and give them immunity.
lets get the truth told.

Fast & Furious along with Solyndra are example of who BHO is BHO Policies have caused Failed Economy- Liberals = Wealth Re-distribution

 

 

 

  • Login or register to post comments

Except it won't be told by

Submitted by dscott on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 4:16pm.

Except it won't be told by Rezko.

Last month I believe it was decided he wouldn't be used to testify against anyone else since it was proven he lied so much. In other words Rezko gained immunity from being compelled to testifying against anyone by lying, lying, lying. If you will remember, Susan McDougal was jailed for 18 months for refusing to testify against the Clintons regarding Whitewater. The immoral of the story in dealing with the US legal system when prosecutors are trying to flip you: LIE, LIE, LIE and make sure it's demonstrable.

Obama can rest easy now since Rezko can never be used to testify against him.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, starving the poor one gallon of ethanol at a time. Fill your tank with E85 and cull a village.
  • Login or register to post comments

Hmmm, either naive, stupid or completely corrupt lair

Submitted by exLib on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 3:13pm.

So says Obama in regards to Rev Wright of 20 years, marriage, baptism and book dedication; when told about the curse on America, the anti-semitism, and the slandering of black conservatives -

"i never heard such words come out of his mouth".

Tony Rezko of friendship, affordable housing and campaign funds; when confronted on his corruption -

"I never knew this man"

So, we have to make a judgement and the choices are:

1 - Naive. He is some version of Gomer Pyle, who is just so good that he doesn't see the bad in others.

2 - Stupid - The man is a complete moron and these people are just using him for their own ends and he's too stupid to realize it.

3 - He's a completely corrupt liar, who agrees with everything or almost everything Rev Wright says or believes about America, Jews and his Republican adversaries, and was knee-deep in the corruption of Rezko as well.

None of the there give one any reason to feel optimistic.

  • Login or register to post comments

Going to jail.

Submitted by desert3030 on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 3:15pm.

Does this mean he can't help with any future home buying needs the President may have? He learned he has some Irish background and maybe he will be buying next to Chris Dodd?

Desert3030
  • Login or register to post comments

Chicago Tribune goes blank on Rezko's connections/history

Submitted by Gary Hall on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 3:42pm.

Obama's home town paper, the Chicago Tribune, certainly is well aware of the Obama/Rezko/Democratic Party relationships - history. Here in a June, 2008 story, they laid it all out :
June 5, 2008 - Rezko convicted:

  • Political insider guilty of money laundering, fraud, aiding bribery Antoin "Tony" Rezko, whose friendship and fundraising prowess helped shape the political careers of Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, was convicted Wednesday of using his political clout to orchestrate a multimillion-dollar kickback scheme.

However, suddenly yesterday the Chicago Tribune suffers a cerebral brain-fart:

  • Top Blagojevich adviser Tony Rezko gets 10½ years - Convicted extortionist faces sentencing, argues for time served

Two words just don't seem to show up in the article - Obama, or Democrat.

Hmm.

(;~> gary

  • Login or register to post comments

Insider traders in Congress may soon join Rezko...

Submitted by big.league.slider on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 10:38pm.

There is a clear paper trail linking some members of Congress to their insider stock trades. While the trades based on insider information themselves may not presently be illegal for members of congress, what would be illegal is for those members of congress to pass along insider information to someone else. The people involved in any related stock trades are easy to track down, since there are extensive records of these trades.

If I were Rep. Issa, I'd be licking my chops. And if I were Rep. Pelosi, Sen. Kerry or Rep. Frank, I would be looking for a good defense attorney.

  • Login or register to post comments

One can only hope

Submitted by Boudin on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 10:47pm.

But considering how corrupt the current Admin is, I doubt it

Seek Truth, Defend Liberty
  • Login or register to post comments

That's true

Submitted by ant on Wed, 11/23/2011 - 11:25pm.

I believe Theresa Heinz-Kerry is known to have dumped over $500,000 worth of risky stock after one of these financial review sessions. Money that anyone else would have lost. Makes you wonder how millions of dollars worth of stock dumped by Congressmen might have negatively affected an economy already trending down. But...but...Bush!

  • Login or register to post comments

Big shock that the news isn't

Submitted by goon on Thu, 11/24/2011 - 8:28pm.

Big shock that the news isn't reporting this story.

  • Login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.

Donate to NewsBusters Today!

This form needs Javascript to display, which your browser doesn't support. Sign up here instead

User Shortcuts

Log in

  • My account
  • My buddylist
  • Log in to check messages
  • RSS feed
  • About NB
  • Contact us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise on NB

 

 

Join our campaign to get the media to Tell the Truth!

 

  • Catholic candidate debates and ashes (Daily Caller)
  • The (liberal media) debate mistake (NRO)
  • Obama's dividend tax increase will hurt more than just 'the rich' (WSJ)
  • Bush outpolls Obama in survey of presidents (Surber)
  • The debate on gas prices GOP needs to push on Obama (Ed Rollins)
  • Ultrasounds already part of Va. Planned Parenthood abortion procedures (Commentary)

RSS FeedAmazon KindleFacebookTwitter

Recent comments

  • Fishpot
    2 min 13 sec ago
  • Ah, Mr. Williams
    2 min 24 sec ago
  • Lying to students over Climate Change
    8 min 39 sec ago
  • Santorum is NOT a HYPOCRITE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    10 min 26 sec ago
  • Oops, now it's all Christians, not just Catholics
    12 min 39 sec ago
More >

Over the Edge
more cartoons
  • Sarah Palin: 'Lamestream Media' Are 'All Wee-Weed Up' About Santorum's Satan Remark
  • UPDATED |WashPost Runs Cartoon Depicting Drunken Bishop, Refused to Run Strip by Same Artist Mocking Muhammad
  • Chris Matthews Concedes: 'Liberals Don't Want to Pay More Taxes'; 'It's All a Game'
  • Al-Jazeera English Wins Prizes, Leftists Want More Access to American TV
  • Film ‘There’s No Tomorrow’ Spreads Eco-Hysteria About Economic Collapse
More >
NewsBusters

Executive Editor
Matthew Sheffield

Editor at Large
Brent Baker

Senior Editors
Tim Graham
Rich Noyes

Managing Editor
Ken Shepherd

Associate Editor
Noel Sheppard

Contributing Editors
Tom Blumer
Geoffrey Dickens
Dan Gainor
David Limbaugh
Lachlan Markay
Mithridate Ombud
Clay Waters
Scott Whitlock

Senior Contributor
Mark Finkelstein

Editorial Associate
Aubrey Vaughan

Contributing Writers
Matthew Balan
Michael M. Bates
Erin R. Brown
Jack Coleman
Kyle Drennen
Douglas Ernst
P. J. Gladnick
Stephen Gutowski
Matt Hadro
D. S. Hube
Kathleen McKinley
Dave Pierre
Amy Ridenour
Julia A. Seymour
Terry Trippany
Rusty Weiss
Brad Wilmouth

Publisher
Brent Bozell

Site Design
Dialog New Media

 

  • Home
  • Blogs
  • About
  • Forum
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Account
  • rss
  • CNSNews
  • MRC TV
  • Biz & Media
  • Culture & Media
  • Take Action!
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Amazon Kindle
  • Advertise
  • Jobs

Copyright © 2005-2012 NewsBusters. Terms of Use.