Obama's Changing Story on His Relationship With Rezko

“Sen. Obama’s campaign is based on words and he is asking the public to base their votes for him on those words. But what we’ve been seeing over the last few weeks, as the media starts looking at Senator Obama’s record more closely, is that those words often seem to change. The latest example of this trend involves Tony Rezko. Throughout this campaign, we’ve heard Senator Obama routinely downplay his relationship with Mr. Rezko even though news accounts make it clear that Senator Obama hasn’t been straightforward when it comes to their relationship.” - Campaign Spokesperson Phil Singer

1.) Senator Obama’s insistence that Mr. Rezko was simply one of "thousands of donors" turned into an admission that this indicted political fixer was someone Senator Obama spoke to on the phone everyday:

April - Obama insists that Rezko is just one of ‘thousands of donors” Moderator: You've promised in your campaign a new kind of politics, but just this week the Chicago Sun-Times reported on questionable ties you have with a donor who was charged last year for demanding kickbacks on Illinois business deals. Aren't you practicing the very same kind of politics that many of the others on this stage have engaged in?
Obama: Well, not all, we have thousands of donors. This donor engaged in some ethical (sic) behavior and I have denounced it. [SC Democratic Debate, 4/26/07]

11 months later, Obama admits he talked daily with Rezko when helping to raise money for Obama’s Campaigns. “Obama said he and Rezko used to meet for breakfast or lunch a few times each year, but they might talk daily when Rezko was helping raise money for Obama's campaigns.” [Chicago Sun Times, 3/15/08]

2.) Senator Obama’s claim that his real estate transaction was unrelated to that of Mr. Rezko turned into an admission that Senator Obama and Tony Rezko did in fact jointly tour both properties together:

November 2006 - Obama vaguely describes Rezko’s purchase of adjacent lot as a coincidence. ‘I don't recall exactly what our conversations were or where I first learned, and I am not clear what the circumstances were where he made a decision that he was interested in the property I may have mentioned to him the name of [a developer and] he may at that point have contacted that person. I'm not clear about that.’ [Chicago Tribune, 11/1/06]

Over a year later, Obama campaign admits that Obama and Rezko toured the property together. Before he bought his South Side mansion in 2005, Sen. Barack Obama took his friend and fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko on a tour of the premises to make sure it was a good deal, Obama's campaign revealed Monday [Chicago Tribune, 2/19/08]

3.) Senator Obama’s claim that "no one had an inkling" about Mr. Rezko’s legal problems at the time they purchased that land turned into an admission that he had in fact known about Mr. Rezko had legal problems at the time of the transactions:

January - Sen. Obama said 'no one had an inkling he was involved in any problems' at the time of his relationship with Rezko. Obama on Rezko: He was somebody who I knew and had been a supporter for many years. He was somebody who had supported a wide range of candidates all throughout Illinois. Nobody had an inkling that he was involved in any problems. [CBS, Chicago Sun-Times, 1/23/08]

Two months later, Obama admits he was aware of Rezko’s legal problems in 2005. After news reports of Rezko's questionable political dealings first emerged in 2005, Obama said he asked his friend about them. Rezko assured him there was nothing wrong. "My instinct was to believe him," he said. [Chicago Sun-Times, 3/15/08]

4.) The Obama campaign’s regular claims that Mr. Rezko only raised $150,000 turned into an admission reported that he in fact had raised at least $100,000 more than had previously been disclosed:

January - Obama campaign says donation of $149,985 to charity encompasses ‘any and all funds that could be reasonably credited to Mr. Rezko.’ Campaign Spokesperson Bill Burton said, “By refunding these donations, the campaign has returned any and all funds that could be reasonably credited to Mr. Rezko's political support." With the latest donations, Obama has returned a total of $149,985 in contributions from Rezko and his associates since Rezko was indicted on federal fraud charges in the fall of 2006. [ABC, 1/30/08]

Two months later, Obama admits that Rezko raised $250,000. In a 90-minute interview with Tribune reporters and editors, Obama disclosed that Rezko had raised more for Obama's earlier political campaigns than previously known, gathering as much as $250,000 for the first three offices he sought. [Chicago Tribune, 3/15/08]