U. of Chicago medical center VP revealed as Jeremiah Wright briber

On an appearance on Sean Hannity’s radio show on Monday, “The Amateur” author Edward Klein revealed the name of a close ally of President Barack Obama that his book alleges offered a $150,000 bribe to Rev. Jeremiah Wright to be quiet until after the 2008 election.

“Well, what happened is that after ABC’s Brian Ross broadcast the video tapes of the Rev. Wright ‘God damning America’ and slamming whites and slamming Jews and America, he was contacted by one of Obama’s closest personal friends — a guy who travels on Obama’s plane, who plays basketball with him, who goes on vacation with him,” Klein said. “His name is Dr. Eric Whitaker. Dr. Whitaker is the vice president of the University of Chicago Medical Center and he’s a member of Obama’s very tight inner circle. And he sent an email to a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ.”

Klein reminded listeners that Whitaker’s hospital is the same one that paid first lady Michelle Obama $316,962 a year to handle community affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center while her husband served in the U.S. Senate.

In an email, Klein said Whitaker had offered Wright $150,000 “if he would shut-up and not criticize Obama anymore.” When Wright refused Whitaker’s offer, Klein said Obama himself personally met with Wright, which supposedly took place after Obama’s March 18, 2008 “race speech,” confirmed by both Wright’s word and the U.S. Secret Service logs.

excerpts from link in 45.

Whitaker was exchanging e-mails with the president right up until the night before the vote on the health care legislation. He was there for Obama’s address to the joint session of Congress urging them to pass health care reform. That was the night a South Carolina congressman challenged Obama’s contention that the law would not cover illegal immigrants.

“I heard Rep. Joe Wilson shout, ‘You lie’ and, you know, we were going to try to deal with that South Side style,” Whitaker said as the room erupted in laughter. “I was sitting in the first lady’s box, and I decided to comport myself in a little different manner.”

Whitaker introduced mutual friends of his and the presidents in the audience, including the successor to Obama’s controversial former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

“I also want to recognize my pastor from a church you all have never heard of, Otis Moss from Trinity United Church of Christ,” Whitaker said to laughter and applause.

Is sending government money to pastors to talk about chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension good public policy? Whitaker said “yes.”

“Our work in this particular area was recognized by the [Centers for Disease Control] as being an important innovation for improving the heath of the minority population,” Whitaker said. “That’s kind of under some controversy as of late, but I stand by the fact that churches on the ground are important actors in the community with ministers who are opinion leaders.”

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