Obamas Exposed: $317K Job for Michelle, $1.65 Mansion

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has exposed alleged favors for Barack and Michelle Obama.

Soon after Barack Obama’s 2004 Senate win in Illinois, Michelle was seeking a high-paying position. Blagojevich admits he was asked to make a phone call. It was a “standard political favor” to help her secure the position at the University of Chicago Hospitals.

Michelle was given the vice president role. Her pay increased to $317,000 in 2005. This amount included bonuses and a one-time payout. The hospital has major ties to federal Medicaid and Medicare funding.

At the same time, the Obamas bought their Kenwood mansion for $1.65 million.

Longtime Obama fundraiser and political fixer Tony Rezko (through his wife) bought the adjoining vacant lot the same day. The Obamas later purchased a strip of that land from Rezko’s wife to expand their yard. Rezko had been helping the Obamas with fundraising, the job push, and this property deal.

Rezko was later convicted on federal corruption charges and served roughly 7–10 years in prison. When the heat came on, Obama distanced himself, offered no support despite the favors, and downplayed their close ties.

Blagojevich says the mainstream media (influenced by Obama adviser David Axelrod) helped bury the story.

“I thought Obama was all right, you know,” Blagojevich said. “Kind of cold and impersonal, but okay, and I was happy to be helpful. But he’s one of the more selfish people in politics on a one-on-one level, and he’s not pure like the driven snow in the sense of his ethics or morality.”

These stories originally surfaced during the 2008 campaign but Illinois politics and dishonest Big Media covered for them. No charges were ever brought up against the Obamas, who denied any type of wrongdoing. Obama later called the Rezko land deal a “boneheaded mistake.”