Indicted Chicago businessman Tony Rezko raised up to a quarter-million dollars for Barack Obama during his early days in politics, Obama admitted in an interview with the Chicago Tribune published Friday on the newspaper's Web site.

The Tribune reports that in the interview Obama portrayed Rezko as a bigger fundraiser for his early campaigns than previously thought. Obama said Rezko raised as much as $250,000 to support Obama's first three campaigns for political office.

The real estate developer is currently on trial in a federal court in Chicago on political corruption charges. Rezko doesn't deny his role as a high-powered money man for Democrats, but he has refuted prosecutors' allegations that he tried to shake down companies that wanted to do business with the state.

Hillary Clinton's campaign has criticized Obama repeatedly for his ties to Rezko. Obama told the Tribune that he erred in pursuing real estate transactions with Rezko while the developer was under grand jury investigation.

Obama said he made "a mistake in not seeing the potential conflicts of interest," since Rezko was a contributor, but added that voters still should trust him as a presidential candidate because he wasn't engaged in any wrongdoing.

Click here to read the full Chicago Tribune story.