Posted by
Gabrielle Cusumano on Saturday, May 01, 2010 12:00:00 AM
May 1, 2010
UPDATE: Reports out of Washington, D.C. -- PRESIDENT OBAMA in a shocking cheating scandal after being caught in a DC Hotel with a former campaign aide.
READ MORE >>
October 20, 2008 Conservative Media Outlets were on this story back in October of 2008. Where was the Main Stream Media back then?
Also remember The National Enquirer broke the John Edwards - Rielle Hunter Affair and then their baby (love-child) story and it was all true. The National Enquirer is not just some sleazy scandal tabloid when it comes to the truth and the electorate's right to know!
Defense of Target: Barack Obama faces rumours about his private life
Obama is hit by 'affair' smears following claims that attractive aide was banned by his wife
By Sharon Churcher
Last updated at 11:38 PM on 11th October 2008
The original article in the Daily Mail)
- Target: Barack Obama faces rumours about his private life
Barack Obama is the target of a shadowy smear campaign designed to derail his bid for the US Presidency by falsely claiming he had a close friendship with an attractive African-American female employee.
The whispers focus on a young woman who in 2004 was hired to work on his team for his bid to become a senator.
The woman was purportedly sidelined from her duties after Senator Obama’s wife, Michelle, became convinced that he had developed a personal friendship with her.
The allegations were initially circulated in August, just two weeks before the convention at which Obama finally beat his opponent for the Democratic Party nomination, Hillary Clinton.
The woman, now 33, vigorously denies the vicious and unsubstantiated gossip.
And some Washington insiders suggested that she was the victim of an 11th-hour attempt to smear Obama by die-hard Hillary supporters.
But now the rumours have resurfaced, suggesting that they may be coming from elements in the Republican Party.
According to sources interviewed by The Mail on Sunday, the respected Los Angeles Times, the tabloid National Enquirer and the huge ABC television network have been provided with the woman’s name.
In the most commonly-purveyed version of the rumour, she was ‘exiled’ to a Caribbean island because Michelle Obama objected to her job on the 2004 campaign.
A lawyer representing the woman said: ‘Although her duties on the [2004] campaign changed over time, there was never any hint that Mrs Obama had any concerns about her relationship with the Senator or played any role in recommending a change in her duties.’
According to our investigation into the rumours, they originated with political veterans who claim to be loyal Democrats.
They have tried to persuade reporters that they have the woman’s interests at heart.
One of the sources who has been circulating the rumours admitted never meeting the woman but claimed he has spoken to ‘a group of African American’ women who are
her friends and believe she was mistreated.
Denial: The woman, whose identity we have protected, rejected the claims
‘They said she was removed from her position and the political scene because Michelle got wind of the fact that she had a close friendship with her husband,’ the source said. ‘She disappeared, then she reappeared in the Caribbean.’
The Mail on Sunday located the woman in the Caribbean, where she now works. She denied that Mrs Obama had raised any objections to her job on the 2004 campaign.
‘No,’ she said. ‘Nothing happened. I just left ... at the end of the campaign.’
Asked about the claim that Mrs Obama accused her of having a close friendship with the Senator, she said: ‘I have no comment on anything.
‘I switched careers. That’s it. I’m a Democrat and I support Senator Obama ... I don’t have anything to say.’
She added that she emigrated to the Caribbean from the US after falling in love with the man with whom she now lives.
Senator Obama’s team did not respond to our request for comment.
But one day after we contacted Obama’s team, a London law firm informed The Mail
on Sunday that it had been retained by the woman to help her to counter the whispering campaign, which they said was ‘absolutely false’.
In the Presidential race, polls showed that with just over three weeks to go until the November 4 election, Mr Obama is leading his Republican rival John McCain.
A Newsweek poll published on Friday showed Illinois senator Mr Obama ahead of the 72-year-old Arizona senator by 52 per cent to 41 per cent.
A month ago, that poll had the two candidates tied at 46 per cent. Other polls in the most contested states have also shown a swing toward Mr Obama. He seems to have benefited as voters anxious about turmoil on Wall Street and across the globe give him higher marks for economic leadership.
Addressing a public meeting in Ohio, Mr Obama called for a plan to help small American businesses hampered by the credit crunch to get loans for operating expenses and payrolls. He urged the world’s finance ministers to take co-ordinated action to tackle the crisis.
‘In this global economy, financial markets have no boundaries. So the current crisis demands a global response,’ he said. Pushing a line of attack that seems to have helped him build an advantage, he said Mr McCain ‘doesn’t really seem to get what’s going on’ with the financial crisis.
Mr Obama mocked a McCain adviser for telling reporters amid a week of panic-selling on Wall Street that he didn’t think it made sense for the campaign to speak daily on
the markets.
‘Senator McCain’s campaign manager actually said that Senator McCain wasn’t talking about the market because there’s just not much a candidate for president can say – and they aren’t sure what he’d say each day even if he did talk about it,’ Mr Obama said.
Current Article
Sharon Churcher, a reporter with the Daily Mail, published this piece last night without naming a name other than Barack Obama:
Barack Obama is the target of a shadowy smear campaign designed to derail his bid for the US Presidency by falsely claiming he had a close friendship with an attractive African-American female employee.
The whispers focus on a young woman who in 2004 was hired to work on his team for his bid to become a senator.
The woman was purportedly sidelined from her duties after Senator Obama’s wife, Michelle, became convinced that he had developed a personal friendship with her.
The allegations were initially circulated in August, just two weeks before the convention at which Obama finally beat his opponent for the Democratic Party nomination, Hillary Clinton. . . .
According to our investigation into the rumours, they originated with political veterans who claim to be loyal Democrats.
They have tried to persuade reporters that they have the woman’s interests at heart.
One of the sources who has been circulating the rumours admitted never meeting the woman but claimed he has spoken to ‘a group of African American’ women who are her friends and believe she was mistreated.
Denial: The woman, whose identity we have protected, rejected the claims
‘They said she was removed from her position and the political scene because Michelle got wind of the fact that she had a close friendship with her husband,’ the source said. ‘She disappeared, then she reappeared in the Caribbean.’
The Mail on Sunday located the woman in the Caribbean, where she now works. She denied that Mrs Obama had raised any objections to her job on the 2004 campaign.
‘No,’ she said. ‘Nothing happened. I just left … at the end of the campaign.’
Asked about the claim that Mrs Obama accused her of having a close friendship with the Senator, she said: ‘I have no comment on anything.
‘I switched careers. That’s it. I’m a Democrat and I support Senator Obama … I don’t have anything to say.’
She added that she emigrated to the Caribbean from the US after falling in love with the man with whom she now lives.
Senator Obama’s team did not respond to our request for comment.
But one day after we contacted Obama’s team, a London law firm informed The Mail on Sunday that it had been retained by the woman to help her to counter the whispering campaign, which they said was ‘absolutely false’.
After you read Churcher’s article take a look at today’s piece by Hill Buzz, which carries the nifty title, Who is Vera Baker and Why is She in Martinique? and seems to have similar story line sans the allegations of any romantic entanglements.
According to Hill Buzz:
FEC Senate campaign records show she was paid a pretty penny as “Finance Director”.
However, people familiar with Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign say Claire Serdiuk was Obama’s Finance Director. Looking through everything we can see online for that 2004 campaign, Claire Serdiuk is consistently listed as the Finance Director - because that’s what she was.
There’s no mention of Vera Baker…but Vera Baker was paid as the “Finance Director” too.
And then, suddenly, Vera Baker was relocated to New York.
Looks like Kevin at Hill Buzz is stirring the waters in a clever way, but at least has FEC records to bolster the assertion that Baker served in a finance role of some sort with Barack’s campaign for the Senate. What is curious about the Churcher piece, which appears to be sympathetic to Obama by portraying him as the victim of an impending smear, is the note that a London law firm contacted the mail. They were threatened with a libel suit, so why the hell did they write the piece? If it is not news then why put it out and draw attention to an unnamed woman that is simply going to fuel the search for the woman in question?
It is true that Vera Baker had a business in Washington raising campaign funds. She was partners with another African American woman, Muthoni Wambu, Baker Wambu & Associates, a political fund-raising firm. Guess who Wambu works for now? Joe Biden. The Politico had a story about Baker Wambu’s business challenges in May 2007:
That’s what happened when Muthoni Wambu and Vera Baker, both African-American women, set up their own fundraising shop, Baker Wambu & Associates, in 2000.
Though it was never its owners’ intention, Baker Wambu soon found itself a top fundraising firm for the Congressional Black Caucus. Their only non-black clients were Reps. Mike Honda (D-Hawaii) and Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-N.Y.). Not a single white male politician linked up with the firm in its five years.
“We didn’t aim to be (a strictly CBC firm) at all. But we started to look and say, ‘Huh, that’s a good committee, that’s a big deal.’ … A lot of CBC members were really open to having a firm like ours raise money for them,” said Wambu, now deputy political director for Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s Democratic presidential campaign. “In many ways, they were overlooked as resources. Businesses hadn’t pitched to them.”
Here’s another little tidbit on Muthoni Wambu:
African American professionals can build prosperous careers in the capital city, especially those hoping to play a role in national politics. “There’s a mentality here that there’s enough for everyone; you’re not competing for what feels like a limited number of opportunities,” says 29-year-old Muthoni Wambu.
Like most Washingtonians, Wambu is a transplant. She left New York City’s Upper West Side to study journalism at Howard University and then networked her way into a political fundraising job with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. This was a new aspect of politics for Wambu, who soon discovered that it “brought together my strengths in a way that I’d never anticipated.”
In 2000, Wambu and Vera Baker, another Howard alum, started Baker-Wambu & Associates. The firm has raised over $3 million for the campaigns of members of Congress and other politicians. “Washington is the best place for our firm to blossom and grow, and one of the only cities where two 24-year-old African American women [could have built a successful business] with pennies and a dream,” she says.
Wambu moved to her neighborhood a few years back, when it was on the cusp of change, and has watched its value multiply over a relatively short period of time. She currently rents an apartment, but in the next year she plans to buy a house and is looking to spend around $400,000. During her 12 years in Washington, D.C., Wambu says that she also has seen the cost of living escalate.
Wambu’s job provides many opportunities to socialize– often with the nation’s most influential business and political leaders. “It is unique to find the number of African Americans that you see at these power restaurants, and [it’s] also extremely encouraging,” she says.
It will be interesting to see if Hill Buzz gets a nasty gram from Baker’s London lawyers. And, with rumors swirling that Republican investigators are on the scent, it is unlikely that this is the end of this story.http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/10/12/is-vera-baker-surfacing-as-a-potential-story-in-the-presidential-race/
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Fundraising Reception at Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Convention for Barack Obama, Democratic Candidate for US Senate-Illinois
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Organization:
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Obama for Illinois, Honorary Chairs: Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., Congressman Kendrick Meek, Congressman Artur Davis
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Political/Special Interest
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Geographical Area: |
Wash DC Area
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Start Date:
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9/10/2004
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End Date:
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9/10/2004
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Start Time:
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8:00 PM
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End Time:
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10:00 PM
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Event Info:
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Please Join Honorary Chairs Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., Congressman Kendrick Meek, Congressman Artur Davis ....
$2,000 National Chair (write/raise), $1,000 Host (write/raise), $50 Requested Contribution
To purchase tickets on-line, please go to:
http://www2.obamaforillinois.com/dcyp
Please mail and make personal checks payable to:
Obama for Illinois
P.O. Box 802799
Chicago, IL 60680-2799
For more information or to RSVP, please call Vera Baker at 202-628-3344 or vbaker@obamaforillinois.com
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Location:
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Pearl
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Room:
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901 9th Street, NW
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Phone:
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202-628-3344
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City:
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Washington
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State/Province:
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DC
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Zip:
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Country:
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Web Site:
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www2.obamaforillinois.com/dcyp
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Email:
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vbaker@obamaforillinois.com
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Contact:
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Vera Baker
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Role:
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_http://www.minorityprofessionalnetwork.com/caldata.asp?id=17828http://www.minorityprofessionalnetwork.com/caldata.asp?id=17828____________________________________________________________________
Who is Vera Baker?
Some people in Chicago claim she was Obama’s Finance Director for his 2004 Senate campaign. FEC Senate campaign records show she was paid a pretty penny as “Finance Director”.
However, people familiar with Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign say Claire Serdiuk was Obama’s Finance Director. Looking through everything we can see online for that 2004 campaign, Claire Serdiuk is consistently listed as the Finance Director - because that’s what she was.
There’s no mention of Vera Baker…but Vera Baker was paid as the “Finance Director” too.
And then, suddenly, Vera Baker was relocated to New York.
A C Advisory (Vera E. Baker Associate--Adela Cepeda)
Three First National Plz
Chicago, Il 60602
Revenue: $1M - $10M in sales
Bennett Johnson, Senior Vice President
Vera Baker, Managing Director of Municipal Trading
Early typecasting
This typecasting of black consultants and staffers starts early. "If someone offers them a job that is African-American-focused, you can do that job once, but you have to get out of it and do a general market job immediately or you'll be tracked," said a Democratic consultant who managed not to get tracked.
That's what happened when Muthoni Wambu and Vera Baker, both African-American women, set up their own fundraising shop, Baker Wambu & Associates, in 2000.
Though it was never its owners' intention, Baker Wambu soon found itself a top fundraising firm for the Congressional Black Caucus. Their only non-black clients were Reps. Mike Honda (D-Hawaii) and Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-N.Y.). Not a single white male politician linked up with the firm in its five years.
"We didn't aim to be (a strictly CBC firm) at all. But we started to look and say, 'Huh, that's a good committee, that's a big deal.' ... A lot of CBC members were really open to having a firm like ours raise money for them," said Wambu, now deputy political director for Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s Democratic presidential campaign. "In many ways, they were overlooked as resources. Businesses hadn't pitched to them."
From: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/3875_Page2.html
About Us
Firm Principal Vera Baker spends her time between the office in Fort de France, Martinique and the office Miami, Florida. She is an avid traveler, having visited 17 countries on 5 continents, muli-lingual (English and French) and an occasional free lance writer.
Prior to launching Cape Caribbean, Ms. Baker worked for Alta Capital Group-a full-service municipal bond broker-deal. She joined Alta Capital Group after serving as a Principal at Baker-Wambu & Associates, a strategic political and fundraising consulting firm based in Washington, DC.
Previously, she served as the National Finance Director on Senator Barack Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign. She also served as the Deputy Political Director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
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Attn: MSM
Cape Caribbean, LLC - Vera Baker
+0596 696 30 88 86 (Martinique)
+1 305 910 0140 (Miami)
info@capecaribbean.com
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BAKER, VERA WASHINGTON,DC 20001 BAKER-WOMBY 3/1/04 $500 Obama, Barack (D
Fascinating is that the source, Wolf, says that the dirt on this story was dug up by Hillary Clinton’s campaign. They put the story out there before the Democratic Convention, but failed to find enough hard evidence.
‘Wolf’ says that they have found witnesses who confirmed the stories privately, but not publicly yet.
Three news ‘entities’ are sitting on the story, Wolf said, at least one of them ready to go public soon; but not before, but after the elections. The reasons for them not sharing the story now, Wolf said, is two fold:
1. They don’t want to influence the outcome of the elections (also because they support Obama)
2. The most important reason, in Wolf’s eyes at least: they want to make money. What sells better and over a longer period; a candidate had an affair, or a sitting president or president-elect had? The second one of course.
at this moment we cannot possibly know whether Obama did indeed cheat on his wife Michelle. It could very well be that he did not do any such thing, and that the rumors are just that; empty, vicious rumors. When that becomes clear, those who said he did cheat, will be held accountable.
However, when something like this becomes increasingly important in the new media, it’s our duty to report it, whether we personally like it or not. Additionally, if the story is correct, it will cause a tremendous political earthquake.
What is clear is that this subject is not going away any time soon and, considering the sources - the conservative bloggers touting this story have been quite reliable, albeit biased and partisan, in the past - could play a role after November 4.
As for my personal opinion: it’s certainly worth reporting, both the rumor and if the story is proven correct / a major news organization runs with it, but it is insane that private relationships can cost someone elections and political support. Personal relationships have nothing to do with how good someone will govern; in fact, some of the greatest men and political leaders in history were serial cheaters.
http://www.poligazette.com/2008/10/25/obama-affair-rumors-reinforced/