Names to Watch at Rezko Trial: Rove and Hastert
Most people have been waiting for the name of Sen. Barack Obama to surface during the trial of Chicago developer and political fixer Antoin "Tony" Rezko. (And it did recently, when it appeared in connection with a party held at Rezko's home in April of 2004 on behalf of Nadhmi Auchi, a British citizen appealing a fraud conviction in France. The Swamp writes that Rezko was allegedly trying to partner up with Auchi and may have been using an Obama appearance to demonstrate clout. Obama doesn't deny that he might have been there, but says he doesn't remember the event.)
But the names who have been attracting the most attention over the past few days have been former Bush political guru Karl Rove and former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
Last week, prosecutors told the judge in the Rezko trial that it has a witness [former Illinois state official Ali Ata] that would testify that he has a conversation with Rezko where it was alleged that Karl Rove was working to remove the Chicago U.S. attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald. As Newsweek notes, the revelation immediately produced reverberations in Washington.
Democrats in Congress now want to question Ata. They believe he can help buttress their theory that Rove played a key role in discussions that led to the firings of U.S. attorneys at the Justice Department in 2006. The House Judiciary Committee "intends to investigate the facts and circumstances alleged in this testimony," panel chairman Rep. John Conyers of Michigan said in a statement to Newsweek.
Ata will allegedly testify that he has a conversation with Rezko where he was told that Bob Kjellander, a prominent GOP state lobbyist, was talking to Rove about getting rid of Fitzgerald.
Rove's lawyer said he doesn't remember having conversations about Fitzgerald with Kjellander. Kjellander also said he never had a conversation with Rove about firing Fitzgerald.
Monday it was Hastert's turn.
The Chicago Tribune reports that another witness, Elie Maloof, a former Rezko business associate, said Rezko told him about "an effort under way to fire U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald and replace him with someone more compliant to be hand-picked by Hastert, then the top Republican in the House. Rezko said the Hastert designee would then 'order the prosecutor to stop the investigation' ..."
Hastert's spokesman Brad Hahn said the accusation that Hastert might be in on a scheme came "out of left field" and was without basis.
Ata will actually testify this Thursday, so this story is far from over. You can follow daily updates on the Rezko trial at the Tribunes' "Gavel to Gavel" coverage.
10:49 AM ET | 04-29-2008 | permalink
