Doug Ross: "And, once again, the mainstream media is AWOL..."
On Saturday morning, the list of subpoenas served by the U.S. Attorney's office in the Governor Rod Blagojevich case was made public....
A veritable "who's who" of Obama staffers, surrogates and affiliates were among those whose communications with Blago were served with subpoenas....
Among those whose communications were served:
David Axelrod, Obama's "Karl Rove" and the biggest surprise on the list. Obama's team issued a report in December that said his staff had no "inappropriate contact" with Blago, so the inclusion of Axelrod is a bit of a shock.
Valerie Jarrett, Blago's "Senate Candidate 1", a real estate management executive and political hack of the first order. Her ties to failed and fraudulent real estate deals in Chicago were the subject of numerous investigations and should have instantly disqualified her for any public office.
Rahm Emanuel was already deeply involved in the case with some reports describing as many as 21 conversations with Blago's office during the period in question.
Tony Rezko, Obama's first advocate, fundraiser and adviser, was convicted last year on numerous charges related to kickbacks, and is now awaiting sentencing. Rezko is "cooperating with authorities, FBI Agent Daniel Cain said in an affidavit."
Other communications served include:
• Patricia Blagojevich, first lady
• River Realty, her former employer
• Friends of Blagojevich, the governor's campaign committee
• Citizens for Blagojevich, his former committee
• Robert Blagojevich, the governor's brother and campaign chairman
• Christopher Kelly, former adviser and fundraiser for governor
• Alonzo Monk, former Blagojevich chief of staff, now a lobbyist
• Milan Petrovic, lobbyist and campaign fundraiser
• John Wyma, former Blagojevich adviser, now a lobbyist
• Paul Rosenfeld, lobbyist
• J.B. Pritzker, wealthy Chicagoan whom Blagojevich might have considered to replace Obama in U.S. Senate
• Gery Chico, former Chicago school board president and one-time U.S. Senate candidate
• Doug Scofield, former Blagojevich adviser, now a consultant
• Scofield Communications
• Service Employees International Union
• Tom Balanoff, SEIU Illinois president
• Change to Win, an SEIU-affiliated activist group
• Sam Zell, owner of the Chicago Tribune
• Nils Larsen, an adviser to Zell
• The Chicago Tribune
• The Tribune Co., the newspaper's parent company
• Michael Vondra, owner of asphalt and construction companies
• Gerald Krozel, vice president of a concrete company
• John Johnston, president of Balmoral Park racetrack
• Fred Yang, Washington, D.C.-based Blagojevich consultant
• Garin Hart Yang Research Group, Yang's firm
• William Knapp, Washington, D.C.-based Blagojevich consultant
• Squire, Knapp & Dunn, Knapp's firm
• Doug Sosnick, political consultant
Right off the top, one notices J.B Pritzker -- brother to Penny Sue, Obama's campaign finance chair.
And yes, we all know the Pritzker family owns Hyatt Hotels, and yes, Ahmadinejad was feted at the Grand Hyatt in New York back in September, but there was some question as to whether Penny was specifically involved in that obscenity.
Keeping in mind that in November Penny Pritzker took herself out of the running for Commerce Secretary because she feared "problems with her confirmation based on past business dealings" -- go read Sub-Prime Slime.
P.S. for J-Boulderites:
Pritzker has friends in "Rabbi" Tirzah Firestone and husband David Friedman, who bundled $300,000 plus $500,000 respectively, for Obama's inauguration.
Ugh, there's this from the Chicago Trib:
.... David Friedman, an Obama bundler from Boulder, Colo., said Pritzker has brought an entrepreneurial feel to the fundraising effort. When he and two others pitched the idea of creating an “Obama University” to train less-experienced fundraisers on how to raise bigger sums, she askedfor a brief memo and quickly made it a reality.
I first met Tirzah in the early 90s, before she married Friedman; our kids went to school together for 12 years. It makes me absolutely sick to see that she has accepted the Obamessiah as her "beloved" lord and savior, and that she's promoting J-Street and B'Tselem.
I'm so glad I don't live in Boulder anymore.
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