http://www.shout.net/~bigred/cn.html
(Melchizedek Communique, MC042211) Were you there when they crucified Rod Blagojevich?
Potential jurors are being questioned for the second trial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, also known as "Blago." With unlimited funds, federal hounds have barked ceaselessly on the trail of the increasingly impoverished Blagojevich. No longer can Blago afford the legal fire-power he had at his first trial. The federal hounds and their allies in the news media sniff blood and are salivating in anticipation.
In the early morning of Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2008, Blago had been arrested. It had been only the day before that Blago had defied the Bank of America and championed the cause of workers at Republic Windows. The then-Governor had ordered that Illinois government cease doing business with Bank of America. It is unclear why the feds chose to stage a dramatic pre-dawn raid and arrest of the Illinois Governor: Why not just wait until Blago was at work? Why did the feds instead upset the two young daughters of Rod Blagojevich when they burst into his home with needless theatrics?
Among the names which won increased publicity in connection with the Blago case is John Harris, the Governor's chief of staff. Pressure was put on Harris to testify against Blago. A Sword of Damocles hangs over the head of Harris -- Cooperate, or else! Did that same sort of pressure have anything to do with the tragic death of Chris Kelly, adviser and fundraiser for Rod Blagojevich? "Christopher Kelly died after taking an overdose of pain medications, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office." [1]
Another name, that of State Senator Jimmy DeLeo, a personal friend of Blago, is a "power-behind-the-power" in Illinois, according to Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass. [2]
What does Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. know? He had met with Blago the day before the Governor's dramatic pre-dawn arrest. [3]
Chicago, notices Blago in his book, The Governor, is strangely organized as if it is a Catholic Archdiocese. The Mayor's office and City Hall are like the Cardinal's residence in this perception. But now, with Rahm Emanuel shoehorned in as the next Mayor of Chicago, what does this mean for the Chicago "Archdiocese"? (Nothing is meant here, per se, against Rahm Emanuel, who is Jewish. But rather unease about Emanuel's being selected mayor privately in the smoke-filled rooms instead of by the rough-and-tumble of the democratic process is here expressed.)
In the Archdiocesal politics of Chicago, Rod Blagojevich is of Serbian nationality, and is thereby linked to the Greek Orthodox Church. In both World War I and World War II Serbia was a staunch ally of the United States. Siding with the Nazis was Catholic Croatia. And yet, during the 1990s Yugoslavian wars, the Greek Orthodox Serbs were the "bad guys" and the Catholic Croatians were relatively condoned!
Chicago politics and its political organizations "are very much like old feudal organizations from medieval Europe." Among the feudal chieftains is Richard Mell, the father of Patti Blagojevich, wife of Blago. Richard Mell holds great power in Chicago as a "ward boss." [3]
Another Illinois chieftain is Michael Madigan, Illinois State House Speaker. All the other state representatives have tiny operating budgets and must come crawling to Madigan for funds. Sighs Madigan with a twinkle in his eye, "They are always after me lucky charms." And, in fact, Michael Madigan resembles the Lucky Charms leprechaun.
Before he was Governor, Blago ran for Congress. Back then, he was introduced to Tony Rezko. One day Tony Rezko took Blago to a law office and introduced him to a young lawyer named Barack Obama. David Axelrod, later a senior adviser in the Obama White House, helped Blago find a chief of staff when Blago was elected to Congress. "David [Axelrod] was my media consultant in that race for Congress," confides Blago in his book, The Governor. While in Congress, Blago had a close working relationship with Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. When Blago left Congress, Rahm Emanuel came in to fill the vacated congressional seat. Emanuel managed to raise "a boatload of money" for his congressional campaign, notes Blago. One wonders, since Rahm Emanuel is a dual citizen of Israel and the United States, whether any of the "boatload" came in via the Mossad.
These and other jellyfish swim just beneath the surface of "Rod Blagojevich Part 2" now beginning. But Blago is about tapped out of lawyer money, unlike the feds who can just print all they need. And so the odds do not favor the former Governor at this point. The news media have already long-since placed a crown of thorns on Blago's head. The judge, James B. Zagel, like Pontius Pilate, has washed his hands.
By the light of burning heretics Christ's bleeding feet I track,
Toiling up new Calvaries ever with the cross that turns not back..." [4]
But "where today the martyr stands,
On the morrow crouches Judas with the silver in his hands." [4]
------- Notes -------
[1] "Chris Kelly suicide: Medical examiner says former Blagojevich adviser overdosed on pain medications",Chicago Tribune archives, Nov. 10, 2009
[2] "Stage is set for heads to roll, cash to roll in", by John Kass. Chicago Tribune, Jan. 15, 2009
[3] The Governor, by Rod Blagojevich. Beverly Hills, CA: Phoenix Books, 2009
[4] "The Present Crisis", by James Russell Lowell
Showing posts with label Rod Blagojevich. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rod Blagojevich. Show all posts
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Friday, October 8, 2010
Congratulations Gov. Blagojevich
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2010/08/17/congratulations-gov-blagojevich
Congratulations Gov. Blagojevich
August 17, 2010
Scott Creighton
I had forgotten why I had been banned at the Huffington Post... now I remember.
"I just got banned from HuffPo and my profile was [wiped-out] so that no one can read my comments.
Not because I am a republican troll. They have plenty of those there, and they let them post some of the most horrible comments I have seen.
I posted no calls for violence, no racist statements, no anti-Semitic comments, no profanity.
They banned me for pointing out what a witch-hunt this Blagojevich thing has become. They banned me because I posted links showing the connection between [Bank] of America and Blago’s demise.
They banned me because I pointed out that Madigan is probably on that list Rahm gave Blago’s people, and that Arianna had gone on TV the night before that came out and flat out claimed that Rahm hadn’t had any connection with Blago’s people."
me, Dec. 16th 2008
Or maybe they banned me because of this...
"I am not going back to Huffington Post. She is getting all kinds of press for her recent article 'Character is Destiny' where she argues that in the end, the character of Rod Blagojevich is what set this in motion. That’s a fascinating theory coming from a 'liberal journalist' who married a homosexual oil tycoon millionaire friend of the Bush family and then settled her plagiarism case out of court, when she stole another writer’s work and put in her book claiming it as her own. Is that 'character' befitting the 'destiny' she has received?"
me, Dec. 13th, 2008
I don’t know… it’s a toss-up. Ah, but I digress.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was found guilty on only one charge that had been leveled against him, the other 23 charges were dismissed in a mistrial. The judge declared the mistrial so that the case could be tried again.. talk about your double-jeopardy; “Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried twice for the same crime on the same set of facts.”
"A federal jury found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty on Tuesday of one count of lying to federal agents, and the judge said he intends to declare a mistrial on the remaining counts.
… The count on which Blagojevich was found guilty included accusations that he lied to federal agents when he said he did not track campaign contributions and kept a “firewall” between political campaigns and government work."
MSNBC
I guess it’s called a “mistrial” when the banks and the corrupt politicians that serve them don’t get the version of “justice” they wanted from the jury. I know this, because that is exactly what happened.
Back in December of 2008, I took up this case, investigating it as much as I could because I could smell something was terribly wrong with what they were trying to do to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The evidence was everywhere and no one, including the left stalwarts like MSNBC and Huffington Post were willing to step up and take a stand for Blago.
They helped railroad Gov. Blagojevich just as much as Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald did. And they did it to support the soon to be anointed President of “CHANGE”. Well, how did all that “change” work out?
Gov. Blagojevich didn’t do anything that every other revolving door politician does these days and the establishment left knows it.
What Blago did do was stand up to Bank of America and threaten to cancel all their state accounts in Illinois… and that they could NOT allow.
The Bank put in a call to Rahm and that was that. The next day, arrests were made.
Think Progress reports that a Chicago reporter has said that it may have been Rahm Emanuel that “tipped off” law enforcement (IE “snitched Blago out”). And now, Obama is also going on record saying “he” personally had no contact with Blago about this issue, but he isn’t saying his staff didn’t… so far… OBAMA: “I had no contact with the governor or his office so we were not…ahh ahhh ahhh… I ..was not aware of what was happening.”
Open Secrets – Bank of America’s PAC donated $10,000 to Rahm Emanuel and $254,167 to Barack Obama. BOA is also a DNC partner
Now here is an article (from HuffPo ironically) about Blago moving to strip Bank of America of state contracts...
"Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich announced Monday that he is asking all Illinois government agencies to suspend business with Bank of America. Blagojevich contended that Bank Of America received a multi-billion dollar bailout from the government and should accordingly restore credit to the Republic Windows & Doors company in Chicago."
HuffPo
What happened here is very simple: after the bailouts, a politician tried to make a stand and hold the banks accountable with our trillions of dollars of bailout money that was supposed to go toward easing credit and starting the lending up again (remember that lie?). So they smacked him down and made an example of him.
Now the people of the jury in the case have spoken and they to get smacked down, their conclusions rejected so that the NARRATIVE of what happened won’t go down in the history books in an accurate representation of what really happened.
I want to congratulate Gov. Blagojevich for this victory. Yes, they will hit you with the biggest penalty they can and yes they will retry the case til they get the results that make history a little easier for Rahm Emanuel and the bankers…
… but in the end, you did your job. You stood with the workers at Republic and you took a stand for what was right. As Gov. of Illinois, you were the highest legal representative of the people of that state and you did your job. Republic workers got their compensation as they deserved and as you stated in your press conference. You paid a high price. One day, one day soon I hope, the people of this country will recognize the sacrifice you made.
Congratulations Gov. Blagojevich
August 17, 2010
Scott Creighton
I had forgotten why I had been banned at the Huffington Post... now I remember.
"I just got banned from HuffPo and my profile was [wiped-out] so that no one can read my comments.
Not because I am a republican troll. They have plenty of those there, and they let them post some of the most horrible comments I have seen.
I posted no calls for violence, no racist statements, no anti-Semitic comments, no profanity.
They banned me for pointing out what a witch-hunt this Blagojevich thing has become. They banned me because I posted links showing the connection between [Bank] of America and Blago’s demise.
They banned me because I pointed out that Madigan is probably on that list Rahm gave Blago’s people, and that Arianna had gone on TV the night before that came out and flat out claimed that Rahm hadn’t had any connection with Blago’s people."
me, Dec. 16th 2008
Or maybe they banned me because of this...
"I am not going back to Huffington Post. She is getting all kinds of press for her recent article 'Character is Destiny' where she argues that in the end, the character of Rod Blagojevich is what set this in motion. That’s a fascinating theory coming from a 'liberal journalist' who married a homosexual oil tycoon millionaire friend of the Bush family and then settled her plagiarism case out of court, when she stole another writer’s work and put in her book claiming it as her own. Is that 'character' befitting the 'destiny' she has received?"
me, Dec. 13th, 2008
I don’t know… it’s a toss-up. Ah, but I digress.
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was found guilty on only one charge that had been leveled against him, the other 23 charges were dismissed in a mistrial. The judge declared the mistrial so that the case could be tried again.. talk about your double-jeopardy; “Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried twice for the same crime on the same set of facts.”
"A federal jury found former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich guilty on Tuesday of one count of lying to federal agents, and the judge said he intends to declare a mistrial on the remaining counts.
… The count on which Blagojevich was found guilty included accusations that he lied to federal agents when he said he did not track campaign contributions and kept a “firewall” between political campaigns and government work."
MSNBC
I guess it’s called a “mistrial” when the banks and the corrupt politicians that serve them don’t get the version of “justice” they wanted from the jury. I know this, because that is exactly what happened.
Back in December of 2008, I took up this case, investigating it as much as I could because I could smell something was terribly wrong with what they were trying to do to Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The evidence was everywhere and no one, including the left stalwarts like MSNBC and Huffington Post were willing to step up and take a stand for Blago.
They helped railroad Gov. Blagojevich just as much as Rahm Emanuel and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald did. And they did it to support the soon to be anointed President of “CHANGE”. Well, how did all that “change” work out?
Gov. Blagojevich didn’t do anything that every other revolving door politician does these days and the establishment left knows it.
What Blago did do was stand up to Bank of America and threaten to cancel all their state accounts in Illinois… and that they could NOT allow.
The Bank put in a call to Rahm and that was that. The next day, arrests were made.
Think Progress reports that a Chicago reporter has said that it may have been Rahm Emanuel that “tipped off” law enforcement (IE “snitched Blago out”). And now, Obama is also going on record saying “he” personally had no contact with Blago about this issue, but he isn’t saying his staff didn’t… so far… OBAMA: “I had no contact with the governor or his office so we were not…ahh ahhh ahhh… I ..was not aware of what was happening.”
Open Secrets – Bank of America’s PAC donated $10,000 to Rahm Emanuel and $254,167 to Barack Obama. BOA is also a DNC partner
Now here is an article (from HuffPo ironically) about Blago moving to strip Bank of America of state contracts...
"Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich announced Monday that he is asking all Illinois government agencies to suspend business with Bank of America. Blagojevich contended that Bank Of America received a multi-billion dollar bailout from the government and should accordingly restore credit to the Republic Windows & Doors company in Chicago."
HuffPo
What happened here is very simple: after the bailouts, a politician tried to make a stand and hold the banks accountable with our trillions of dollars of bailout money that was supposed to go toward easing credit and starting the lending up again (remember that lie?). So they smacked him down and made an example of him.
Now the people of the jury in the case have spoken and they to get smacked down, their conclusions rejected so that the NARRATIVE of what happened won’t go down in the history books in an accurate representation of what really happened.
I want to congratulate Gov. Blagojevich for this victory. Yes, they will hit you with the biggest penalty they can and yes they will retry the case til they get the results that make history a little easier for Rahm Emanuel and the bankers…
… but in the end, you did your job. You stood with the workers at Republic and you took a stand for what was right. As Gov. of Illinois, you were the highest legal representative of the people of that state and you did your job. Republic workers got their compensation as they deserved and as you stated in your press conference. You paid a high price. One day, one day soon I hope, the people of this country will recognize the sacrifice you made.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
David McGowan on Rod Blagojevich
So after waging a no-holds-barred campaign to garner convictions against the Blagojevich brothers - first through the media and then in a federal courtroom - the government managed to get a conviction on just one of twenty-eight counts -- which just goes to show you that when you are being persecuted by criminals, it's probably not because you are guilty.
For more work from our man Dave:
http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/
For more work from our man Dave:
http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Key players in the indictment against Blagojevich
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iJkoKCLpl98BhZupoK_PqxQuTp0QD97AM32G5
Key players in the indictment against Blagojevich
By The Associated Press
4-2-9
The federal indictment of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and five co-defendants charges they conspired to trade official government action for Blagojevich's political or personal gain involve a variety of characters. Among key players mentioned in the indictment:
___
Rod Blagojevich, 52, of Chicago, a former state legislator and congressman elected governor in 2002 and re-elected four years later despite wide discussion of federal investigations into his administration. He was impeached and removed from office in January. He faces 16 counts of wire fraud, racketeering and extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and making false statements in a "pay-to-play" scheme to trade government action for personal and political enrichment beginning in 2002.
___
John Harris, 47, of Chicago, Blagojevich's chief of staff from late 2005 until December, when he was arrested and resigned. He is charged with a single count of wire fraud and is cooperating with authorities.
___
Alonzo Monk, 50, of Park Ridge, a longtime friend of Blagojevich who served on his staff when the Democrat was in Congress, managed both his gubernatorial campaigns and was his first chief of staff. He is charged with a single count of wire fraud.
___
Robert Blagojevich, 53, of Nashville, Tenn., the ex-governor's brother who became his campaign finance chairman in August. He faces two counts of wire fraud.
___
Christopher Kelly, 50, of Burr Ridge, a construction company owner and principal fundraiser for Blagojevich, who faces counts of fraud and extortion conspiracy and attempted extortion. He pleaded not guilty last month to separate corruption charges involving construction work at O'Hare International Airport and recently pleaded guilty to obstructing the Internal Revenue Service for paying gambling debts with company money and claiming it as a business expense.
___
William F. Cellini Sr., 74, of Springfield, a longtime Republican fundraiser who also collected significant funds for Blagojevich. He faces the same charges as Kelly.
___
Congressman A: An Illinois member of the U.S. House. When he asked about a $2 million grant for a public school in his district that Blagojevich had promised and included in the 2006 state budget, Blagojevich told the congressman's staff member he had to hold a fundraiser for Blagojevich.
___
Senate Candidate A: The indictment claims Blagojevich believed an associate of Senate Candidate A promised to raise $1.5 million in campaign funds if he appointed the candidate to the Senate. This is consistent with U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.
___
Senate Candidate B: Several counts involve discussions Blagojevich and others had about whether he could get financial benefit or a high-paying job with a not-for-profit organization for appointing Senate Candidate B. This is consistent with Valerie Jarrett, a close adviser to President Barack Obama. Blagojevich thought Jarrett was Obama's choice to succeed him in the Senate, but Jarrett withdrew her name in mid-November.
___
Children's Memorial Hospital: The indictment claims Blagojevich tried to get a $50,000 campaign contribution from the hospital or its CEO, Patrick M. Magoon, in exchange for an $8 million pediatric care reimbursement promised by the state.
Racetrack Executive: John Johnston, owner of two Chicago-area horse racing tracks, from whom Blagojevich wanted to get a $100,000 campaign contribution in exchange for signing a law benefiting horse racing. Johnston's lawyer has said the contribution was not made, the federal government talked to Johnston and told him he is not a target or subject of the investigation.
Key players in the indictment against Blagojevich
By The Associated Press
4-2-9
The federal indictment of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and five co-defendants charges they conspired to trade official government action for Blagojevich's political or personal gain involve a variety of characters. Among key players mentioned in the indictment:
___
Rod Blagojevich, 52, of Chicago, a former state legislator and congressman elected governor in 2002 and re-elected four years later despite wide discussion of federal investigations into his administration. He was impeached and removed from office in January. He faces 16 counts of wire fraud, racketeering and extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and making false statements in a "pay-to-play" scheme to trade government action for personal and political enrichment beginning in 2002.
___
John Harris, 47, of Chicago, Blagojevich's chief of staff from late 2005 until December, when he was arrested and resigned. He is charged with a single count of wire fraud and is cooperating with authorities.
___
Alonzo Monk, 50, of Park Ridge, a longtime friend of Blagojevich who served on his staff when the Democrat was in Congress, managed both his gubernatorial campaigns and was his first chief of staff. He is charged with a single count of wire fraud.
___
Robert Blagojevich, 53, of Nashville, Tenn., the ex-governor's brother who became his campaign finance chairman in August. He faces two counts of wire fraud.
___
Christopher Kelly, 50, of Burr Ridge, a construction company owner and principal fundraiser for Blagojevich, who faces counts of fraud and extortion conspiracy and attempted extortion. He pleaded not guilty last month to separate corruption charges involving construction work at O'Hare International Airport and recently pleaded guilty to obstructing the Internal Revenue Service for paying gambling debts with company money and claiming it as a business expense.
___
William F. Cellini Sr., 74, of Springfield, a longtime Republican fundraiser who also collected significant funds for Blagojevich. He faces the same charges as Kelly.
___
Congressman A: An Illinois member of the U.S. House. When he asked about a $2 million grant for a public school in his district that Blagojevich had promised and included in the 2006 state budget, Blagojevich told the congressman's staff member he had to hold a fundraiser for Blagojevich.
___
Senate Candidate A: The indictment claims Blagojevich believed an associate of Senate Candidate A promised to raise $1.5 million in campaign funds if he appointed the candidate to the Senate. This is consistent with U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill.
___
Senate Candidate B: Several counts involve discussions Blagojevich and others had about whether he could get financial benefit or a high-paying job with a not-for-profit organization for appointing Senate Candidate B. This is consistent with Valerie Jarrett, a close adviser to President Barack Obama. Blagojevich thought Jarrett was Obama's choice to succeed him in the Senate, but Jarrett withdrew her name in mid-November.
___
Children's Memorial Hospital: The indictment claims Blagojevich tried to get a $50,000 campaign contribution from the hospital or its CEO, Patrick M. Magoon, in exchange for an $8 million pediatric care reimbursement promised by the state.
Racetrack Executive: John Johnston, owner of two Chicago-area horse racing tracks, from whom Blagojevich wanted to get a $100,000 campaign contribution in exchange for signing a law benefiting horse racing. Johnston's lawyer has said the contribution was not made, the federal government talked to Johnston and told him he is not a target or subject of the investigation.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Blagojevich's Lawyers Seek Subpoenaes
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/25/blagojevichs-lawyers-want-obamas-aides-subpoenaed/
Blagojevich's Lawyers Seek Subpoenaes for Emanuel, Jackson Jr.
In an effort to prove the Illinois governor's innocence, his lawyers ask the Illinois House panel to subpoena two of Obama's top aides and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Lawyers for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich want two key aides to President-elect Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. subpoenaed, according to Chicago media reports.
Blagojevich's legal team has asked the Illinois House panel that members of Obama's incoming administration testify before the House impeachment committee, including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, WBBM-TV and the Chicago Sun-Times reported late Wednesday.
Ed Genson, Blagojevich's chief lawyer, said testimony from the aides will prove the governor's insistence that he did nothing illegal to fill Obama's now vacant U.S. Senate seat.
The news comes days after Obama's team released an internal review that confirmed no "inappropriate" discussions had taken place in the Blagojevich probe.
The report said Emanuel was the only adviser to talk to Blagojevich and his top aide John Harris on the subject of the Senate seat. The incoming chief of staff was authorized to pass on the names of four people he considered qualified to take over his seat: Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Illinois Veterans' Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Jackson Jr.
Federal prosecutors asked the Illinois House impeachment committee not to delve into the criminal charges against Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday, a request that could hasten a decision on whether to boot Blagojevich from office.
In a letter, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald warned the committee that interviewing witnesses and discussing documents related to the charges against Blagojevich could undermine his criminal investigation. He declined to give the committee documents and other information about his probe, but left open the possibility of giving the committee copies of Blagojevich conversations captured by federal wiretaps.
"Any inquiry into these topics, as well as the taking of testimony from present and former members of the governor's staff, could significantly compromise the ongoing criminal investigation," Fitzgerald wrote.
Committee members had promised to abide prosecutors' recommendations about what should be off limits, so Fitzgerald's request means the panel won't conduct its own investigation of possible criminal activity. They have said that if they can't pursue the criminal charges, then their fact-gathering work is largely done.
State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, the committee chairwoman, said a decision on whether to recommend an impeachment vote by the full House could come the week of Jan. 5.
Blagojevich is accused of trying to use his authority as governor to appoint Obama's Senate replacement to get cash or a lucrative job for himself, starting days before Obama's Nov. 4 election through Dec. 5. The governor has denied any criminal wrongdoing and has resisted multiple calls for his resignation, including from Obama.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Blagojevich's Lawyers Seek Subpoenaes for Emanuel, Jackson Jr.
In an effort to prove the Illinois governor's innocence, his lawyers ask the Illinois House panel to subpoena two of Obama's top aides and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Lawyers for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich want two key aides to President-elect Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. subpoenaed, according to Chicago media reports.
Blagojevich's legal team has asked the Illinois House panel that members of Obama's incoming administration testify before the House impeachment committee, including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, WBBM-TV and the Chicago Sun-Times reported late Wednesday.
Ed Genson, Blagojevich's chief lawyer, said testimony from the aides will prove the governor's insistence that he did nothing illegal to fill Obama's now vacant U.S. Senate seat.
The news comes days after Obama's team released an internal review that confirmed no "inappropriate" discussions had taken place in the Blagojevich probe.
The report said Emanuel was the only adviser to talk to Blagojevich and his top aide John Harris on the subject of the Senate seat. The incoming chief of staff was authorized to pass on the names of four people he considered qualified to take over his seat: Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, Illinois Veterans' Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Jackson Jr.
Federal prosecutors asked the Illinois House impeachment committee not to delve into the criminal charges against Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday, a request that could hasten a decision on whether to boot Blagojevich from office.
In a letter, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald warned the committee that interviewing witnesses and discussing documents related to the charges against Blagojevich could undermine his criminal investigation. He declined to give the committee documents and other information about his probe, but left open the possibility of giving the committee copies of Blagojevich conversations captured by federal wiretaps.
"Any inquiry into these topics, as well as the taking of testimony from present and former members of the governor's staff, could significantly compromise the ongoing criminal investigation," Fitzgerald wrote.
Committee members had promised to abide prosecutors' recommendations about what should be off limits, so Fitzgerald's request means the panel won't conduct its own investigation of possible criminal activity. They have said that if they can't pursue the criminal charges, then their fact-gathering work is largely done.
State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, the committee chairwoman, said a decision on whether to recommend an impeachment vote by the full House could come the week of Jan. 5.
Blagojevich is accused of trying to use his authority as governor to appoint Obama's Senate replacement to get cash or a lucrative job for himself, starting days before Obama's Nov. 4 election through Dec. 5. The governor has denied any criminal wrongdoing and has resisted multiple calls for his resignation, including from Obama.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Blagojevich questions censored on Transition site
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1208/Blagojevich_questions_censored_on_Transition_site.html
December 10, 2008
Blagojevich questions censored on Transition site
President-elect Barack Obama's Transition today launched "Open for Questions," a Digg-style feature allowing citizens to submit questions, and to vote on one another's questions, bringing favored inquiries to the top of the list.
It was suggested when it launched that the tool would bring uncomfortable questions to the fore, but the results so far are the opposite: Obama's supporters appear to be using -- and abusing -- a tool allowing them to "flag" questions as "inappropriate" to remove all questions mentioning Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich from the main pages of Obama's website.
The Blagojevich questions -- many of them polite and reasonable -- can be found only by searching words in them, like "Blagojevich," which produces 35 questions missing from the main page of the site.
"Given the current corruption charges involving Blagojevich, will 'serious' campaign finance reform that takes money completely out of politics through publicly funded elections be a priority in the first term?" asked Metteyya of Santa Cruz, California.
"This submission was removed because people believe it is inappropriate," reads the text underneath it.
Also removed as "inappropriate":
"In light of the recent corruption scandals (Blagojevich, Rangel, Jefferson, Stevens, etc) that have dominated the political scene,is there any ethics legislation being crafted to actually curb corruption and prevent another wave of nixonian cynicism?", a question from "lupercal," of Gainesville.
And: "Is Barack Obama aware of any communications in the last six weeks between Rod Blagojevich or anyone representing Rod Blagojevich and any of Obama's top aides?", a question from Phil from Pennsylvania.
Declaring a question "inappropriate" is different from merely voting it down; it's calling foul on a question, not just disapproving of it.
Community reporting systems like this are often vulnerable to abuse from committed partisans -- YouTube has wrestled with a parallel problem -- and the only solution is conscious efforts to remedy it.
So far, Obama's team does not seem to have stepped in to allow uncomfortable questions to rise to the top, and instead is allowing his supporters to sanitize the site.
December 10, 2008
Blagojevich questions censored on Transition site
President-elect Barack Obama's Transition today launched "Open for Questions," a Digg-style feature allowing citizens to submit questions, and to vote on one another's questions, bringing favored inquiries to the top of the list.
It was suggested when it launched that the tool would bring uncomfortable questions to the fore, but the results so far are the opposite: Obama's supporters appear to be using -- and abusing -- a tool allowing them to "flag" questions as "inappropriate" to remove all questions mentioning Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich from the main pages of Obama's website.
The Blagojevich questions -- many of them polite and reasonable -- can be found only by searching words in them, like "Blagojevich," which produces 35 questions missing from the main page of the site.
"Given the current corruption charges involving Blagojevich, will 'serious' campaign finance reform that takes money completely out of politics through publicly funded elections be a priority in the first term?" asked Metteyya of Santa Cruz, California.
"This submission was removed because people believe it is inappropriate," reads the text underneath it.
Also removed as "inappropriate":
"In light of the recent corruption scandals (Blagojevich, Rangel, Jefferson, Stevens, etc) that have dominated the political scene,is there any ethics legislation being crafted to actually curb corruption and prevent another wave of nixonian cynicism?", a question from "lupercal," of Gainesville.
And: "Is Barack Obama aware of any communications in the last six weeks between Rod Blagojevich or anyone representing Rod Blagojevich and any of Obama's top aides?", a question from Phil from Pennsylvania.
Declaring a question "inappropriate" is different from merely voting it down; it's calling foul on a question, not just disapproving of it.
Community reporting systems like this are often vulnerable to abuse from committed partisans -- YouTube has wrestled with a parallel problem -- and the only solution is conscious efforts to remedy it.
So far, Obama's team does not seem to have stepped in to allow uncomfortable questions to rise to the top, and instead is allowing his supporters to sanitize the site.
Senate scandal snares Obama’s chief aide
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5337807.ece
The Sunday Times
December 14, 2008
Senate scandal snares Obama’s chief aide
Sarah Baxter, Washington
THE bullish, foul-mouthed but effective Chicago arm-twister Rahm Emanuel has come under pressure to resign as Barack Obama’s chief of staff after it was revealed that he had been captured on court-approved wire-taps discussing the names of candidates for Obama’s Senate seat.
Emanuel’s presence at the heart of the scandal threatens to roil the president-elect’s administration as a Chicago prosecutor builds his corruption case against Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois governor.
Blagojevich has been accused of plotting to sell Obama’s Senate seat - which is in the governor’s gift - in return for financial and political favours.
Republicans are salivating at the prospect of tying the president-elect to the notoriously corrupt Chicago machine in which he forged his career. Grover Norquist, an influential conservative tax reform lobbyist, said: “If Obama wants to be squeaky clean, he is going to have to cut all his Chicago friends loose. His chief of staff has fingerprints on the murder weapon.”
Emanuel ducked out of view last week, avoiding reporters’ questions and complaining of harassment and “death threats” as the news spread that he was the likely unnamed adviser cited by the FBI with whom the tainted Blagojevich hoped to bargain over the appointment.
For the “No Drama” Obama team, the spiralling controversy has been an alarming distraction in the midst of the US economic meltdown. Obama has yet to release a promised timeline of contacts between members of his transition team and the governor's office, while Emanuel is thought to be consulting lawyers.
Ed Rendell, the outspoken governor of Pennsylvania, said the Obama team was bungling its response. “The rule of thumb is: whatever you did, say it and get it over with and make it a one-day story as opposed to a three-day story,” he said.
Private telephone discussions between Emanuel and John Harris, Blagojevich’s chief of staff, began as early as the weekend before the November 4 election, the Chicago Tribune revealed yesterday. Emanuel let it be known that Valerie Jarrett, an Obama adviser, Tammy Duckworth, a wounded Iraq war veteran, and two other candidates would be “acceptable” to Obama.
Emanuel had further talks with the governor’s office after the election, during which he added another name to the list. It does not appear that Emanuel engaged in any illegal horse-trading - Blagojevich complained at one stage that all the president-elect’s team was offering was “appreciation”. “F*** them,” the governor said.
Jarrett, Obama’s first choice as senator, was swiftly named a senior White House adviser to Obama after Blagojevich complained, according to FBI transcripts, that he was not going to “give f******” Jarrett the f****** Senate seat and I don’t get anything”.
However, questions remain over what Emanuel said when and how much he know about the governor’s “pay to play” scheme. He may have been fully aware of what Blagojevich was attempting. At one stage the governor told an aide that he wanted an unnamed “president-elect adviser”, thought to be Emanuel, to help “raise 10, 15m” for a charitable group, which the governor could head.
Did Emanuel receive the news, and if so, how? Did he report his suspicion of illegal activity to the FBI or did he treat it just as a normal part of wheeler-dealing in the corrupt Windy City? And did he use the same four-letter language to discuss the succession in the same crude terms as Blagojevich?
Obama once joked at a charity “roast” that the notoriously crude Emanuel - who was elected to Congress in Blagojevich’s old seat - was rendered “practically mute” when he lost his middle finger in an accident.
“When you are Rahm Emanuel and you use the f-word all the time, it is supposed to be cute and amusing,” Norquist said. “When the governor of Illinois gets caught, people say, ‘Oh, he’s crazy’, and the proof that he is crazy is that he talks like Rahm Emanuel.”
Obama faces a stark choice. Emanuel was his first apppointment as his chief of staff after the election. If he were to throw him out of the inner circle now with his reputation under siege, it would be a singular act of disloyalty before the transition team has even had a chance to take office.
Emanuel has not yet resigned as a member of the House of Representatives for Illinois, although he has pledged to do so. Obama had to work hard to persuade Emanuel, who had his own independent power base in Congress and a semblance of normal family life with his young children, to join him in the most intensive, high-pressure job in the White House.
However, the scandal is lapping at Obama’s own ankles. Blagojevich is a product of the entrenched graft and corruption that have characterised Chicago’s style of government since the days of Al Capone, the prohibition-era gangster.
He is being investigated by Patrick Fitzgerald, 47, a fearless prosecutor who brought down Scooter Libby, Vice-President Dick Cheney’s neoconservative adviser, and Conrad Black, the media baron.
Fitzgerald is a much-resented figure among Obama’s advisers. David Axelrod, the Chicago mastermind behind Obama’s campaign, once complained: “He goes after fleas and elephants with the same bazooka. At some point there is a line . . . where you begin criminalising politics in its most innocent form.”
Obama is himself embroiled in a sub-plot of the scandal with uncomfortable connections to Blagojevich, even though the president-elect said last week that he was “appalled” by the governor’s actions.
As Fitzgerald widens his inquiry across Chicago, witnesses will be lining up to talk – if only to save their own necks. Harris, who has been accused with his boss of planning to sell the Senate seat, resigned last Friday, prompting speculation that he intends to cooperate with federal investigators.
Ominously for Obama, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, the property dealer and fixer who helped him to buy his $1.65m house in Chicago by purchasing an adjacent plot on the same day, has also been talking to investigators in an attempt to reduce a prison sentence following his conviction for fraud and bribery. Rezko is expected to be a key witness in the corruption case against Blagojevich but he also knows more than anybody about the house purchase and other deals with Obama.
When the house came on the market, the seller insisted that both plots were sold at the same time. But while Obama bought his part of the property for $300,000 under the asking price, it has emerged that Rezko’s wife not only paid the asking price for their slice of land – $625,000 – but that the extra piece of property may have been deliberately overvalued.
A valuer who made an initial lower estimate, only to be overruled, is believed to be giving evidence to Fitzgerald’s team.
Rezko also appears to have helped Blagojevich with his domestic affairs. Investigators have been trying to find out whether he charged the governor for $90,000 worth of improvements to the family room and deck of his house.
The governor’s wife, Patti Blagojevich, a Lady Macbeth figure who may face charges herself for encouraging her husband to behave corruptly, received $47,000 in commission from a property deal involving Rezko.
In a further disturbing connection, Rezko regularly supplied Blagojevich with a “clout list” of names of people he thought the governor should appoint to state boards and jobs.
Obama made use of Rezko’s clout list on at least one occasion, when he recommended that Eric Whitaker, an old Harvard friend and doctor, be hired as director of Illinois’s public health department.
Whitaker, Obama said, “had expressed an interest in that job. He did contact me, or Tony contacted me, and I gave him a glowing recommendation because I thought he was outstanding”.
Fitzgerald made it clear that Obama is not a target of investigation. Emanuel is thought to be free from any threat of charges. But that will not be the end of the matter.
The Sunday Times
December 14, 2008
Senate scandal snares Obama’s chief aide
Sarah Baxter, Washington
THE bullish, foul-mouthed but effective Chicago arm-twister Rahm Emanuel has come under pressure to resign as Barack Obama’s chief of staff after it was revealed that he had been captured on court-approved wire-taps discussing the names of candidates for Obama’s Senate seat.
Emanuel’s presence at the heart of the scandal threatens to roil the president-elect’s administration as a Chicago prosecutor builds his corruption case against Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois governor.
Blagojevich has been accused of plotting to sell Obama’s Senate seat - which is in the governor’s gift - in return for financial and political favours.
Republicans are salivating at the prospect of tying the president-elect to the notoriously corrupt Chicago machine in which he forged his career. Grover Norquist, an influential conservative tax reform lobbyist, said: “If Obama wants to be squeaky clean, he is going to have to cut all his Chicago friends loose. His chief of staff has fingerprints on the murder weapon.”
Emanuel ducked out of view last week, avoiding reporters’ questions and complaining of harassment and “death threats” as the news spread that he was the likely unnamed adviser cited by the FBI with whom the tainted Blagojevich hoped to bargain over the appointment.
For the “No Drama” Obama team, the spiralling controversy has been an alarming distraction in the midst of the US economic meltdown. Obama has yet to release a promised timeline of contacts between members of his transition team and the governor's office, while Emanuel is thought to be consulting lawyers.
Ed Rendell, the outspoken governor of Pennsylvania, said the Obama team was bungling its response. “The rule of thumb is: whatever you did, say it and get it over with and make it a one-day story as opposed to a three-day story,” he said.
Private telephone discussions between Emanuel and John Harris, Blagojevich’s chief of staff, began as early as the weekend before the November 4 election, the Chicago Tribune revealed yesterday. Emanuel let it be known that Valerie Jarrett, an Obama adviser, Tammy Duckworth, a wounded Iraq war veteran, and two other candidates would be “acceptable” to Obama.
Emanuel had further talks with the governor’s office after the election, during which he added another name to the list. It does not appear that Emanuel engaged in any illegal horse-trading - Blagojevich complained at one stage that all the president-elect’s team was offering was “appreciation”. “F*** them,” the governor said.
Jarrett, Obama’s first choice as senator, was swiftly named a senior White House adviser to Obama after Blagojevich complained, according to FBI transcripts, that he was not going to “give f******” Jarrett the f****** Senate seat and I don’t get anything”.
However, questions remain over what Emanuel said when and how much he know about the governor’s “pay to play” scheme. He may have been fully aware of what Blagojevich was attempting. At one stage the governor told an aide that he wanted an unnamed “president-elect adviser”, thought to be Emanuel, to help “raise 10, 15m” for a charitable group, which the governor could head.
Did Emanuel receive the news, and if so, how? Did he report his suspicion of illegal activity to the FBI or did he treat it just as a normal part of wheeler-dealing in the corrupt Windy City? And did he use the same four-letter language to discuss the succession in the same crude terms as Blagojevich?
Obama once joked at a charity “roast” that the notoriously crude Emanuel - who was elected to Congress in Blagojevich’s old seat - was rendered “practically mute” when he lost his middle finger in an accident.
“When you are Rahm Emanuel and you use the f-word all the time, it is supposed to be cute and amusing,” Norquist said. “When the governor of Illinois gets caught, people say, ‘Oh, he’s crazy’, and the proof that he is crazy is that he talks like Rahm Emanuel.”
Obama faces a stark choice. Emanuel was his first apppointment as his chief of staff after the election. If he were to throw him out of the inner circle now with his reputation under siege, it would be a singular act of disloyalty before the transition team has even had a chance to take office.
Emanuel has not yet resigned as a member of the House of Representatives for Illinois, although he has pledged to do so. Obama had to work hard to persuade Emanuel, who had his own independent power base in Congress and a semblance of normal family life with his young children, to join him in the most intensive, high-pressure job in the White House.
However, the scandal is lapping at Obama’s own ankles. Blagojevich is a product of the entrenched graft and corruption that have characterised Chicago’s style of government since the days of Al Capone, the prohibition-era gangster.
He is being investigated by Patrick Fitzgerald, 47, a fearless prosecutor who brought down Scooter Libby, Vice-President Dick Cheney’s neoconservative adviser, and Conrad Black, the media baron.
Fitzgerald is a much-resented figure among Obama’s advisers. David Axelrod, the Chicago mastermind behind Obama’s campaign, once complained: “He goes after fleas and elephants with the same bazooka. At some point there is a line . . . where you begin criminalising politics in its most innocent form.”
Obama is himself embroiled in a sub-plot of the scandal with uncomfortable connections to Blagojevich, even though the president-elect said last week that he was “appalled” by the governor’s actions.
As Fitzgerald widens his inquiry across Chicago, witnesses will be lining up to talk – if only to save their own necks. Harris, who has been accused with his boss of planning to sell the Senate seat, resigned last Friday, prompting speculation that he intends to cooperate with federal investigators.
Ominously for Obama, Antoin “Tony” Rezko, the property dealer and fixer who helped him to buy his $1.65m house in Chicago by purchasing an adjacent plot on the same day, has also been talking to investigators in an attempt to reduce a prison sentence following his conviction for fraud and bribery. Rezko is expected to be a key witness in the corruption case against Blagojevich but he also knows more than anybody about the house purchase and other deals with Obama.
When the house came on the market, the seller insisted that both plots were sold at the same time. But while Obama bought his part of the property for $300,000 under the asking price, it has emerged that Rezko’s wife not only paid the asking price for their slice of land – $625,000 – but that the extra piece of property may have been deliberately overvalued.
A valuer who made an initial lower estimate, only to be overruled, is believed to be giving evidence to Fitzgerald’s team.
Rezko also appears to have helped Blagojevich with his domestic affairs. Investigators have been trying to find out whether he charged the governor for $90,000 worth of improvements to the family room and deck of his house.
The governor’s wife, Patti Blagojevich, a Lady Macbeth figure who may face charges herself for encouraging her husband to behave corruptly, received $47,000 in commission from a property deal involving Rezko.
In a further disturbing connection, Rezko regularly supplied Blagojevich with a “clout list” of names of people he thought the governor should appoint to state boards and jobs.
Obama made use of Rezko’s clout list on at least one occasion, when he recommended that Eric Whitaker, an old Harvard friend and doctor, be hired as director of Illinois’s public health department.
Whitaker, Obama said, “had expressed an interest in that job. He did contact me, or Tony contacted me, and I gave him a glowing recommendation because I thought he was outstanding”.
Fitzgerald made it clear that Obama is not a target of investigation. Emanuel is thought to be free from any threat of charges. But that will not be the end of the matter.
The affair of Illinois Governor Blagojevich
http://wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/blag-d15.shtml
Questions in the affair of Illinois Governor Blagojevich
By Patrick Martin
15 December 2008
Two top aides to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich resigned this week in the wake of the launching of criminal proceedings against the governor, and there was mounting pressure from state and national Democratic Party leaders for the governor himself to step down.
Deputy Governor Bob Greenlee resigned Wednesday and Chief of Staff John Harris stepped down Friday, deepening the governor’s isolation. Harris was arraigned with Blagojevich on Tuesday on charges of influence-peddling, including an effort to sell the appointment to the US Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
Both Greenlee and Harris were rumored to be cooperating with the federal prosecutor, US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who announced the charges against the governor at a Tuesday press conference.
Blagojevich met for four hours Saturday with a top criminal lawyer in Chicago, and there were widespread media reports—denied by a Blagojevich spokesman—that he planned to resign as governor on Monday.
While it has long been public knowledge that the US Attorney’s office in Chicago was investigating the Blagojevich administration for a series of “pay to play” arrangements in which construction firms and other companies gave campaign contributions to the governor in return for state contracts, the rapid-fire events since Tuesday raise many questions.
Fitzgerald’s decision to file a complaint and have the governor and his chief of staff arraigned, rather than seeking an indictment from a grand jury are highly unusual, as were his remarks at the Tuesday press conference.
In op-ed columns in both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, former federal prosecutors sharply criticized Fitzgerald’s conduct, noting that his much publicized comments at the press conference—declaring that the governor was engaged in “a political corruption crime spree” that “would make Lincoln roll over in his grave”—were highly prejudicial and improper.
Both columns noted that Fitzgerald was violating ethics guidelines. The Justice Department requires that prior to a trial a “prosecutor shall refrain from making extrajudicial comments that pose a serious and imminent threat of heightening public condemnation of the accused.” The US district court for northern Illinois mandates that a “lawyer shall not make an extrajudicial statement the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is likely to be disseminated by public media and, if so disseminated, would pose a serious and imminent threat to the fairness of an adjudicative proceeding.”
These guidelines are routinely ignored when the accused are poor, working-class or minority individuals, particularly those purportedly involved in terrorism. But it is relatively rare for a member of the political establishment, in this case a two-term sitting governor, to be treated in this fashion.
The frenzy to remove Blagojevich from office as soon as possible is also remarkable. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion with the state Supreme Court Friday seeking to have Blagojevich declared “incapable” of performing his office and have Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn installed as acting governor.
In her motion, Madigan argued that, “The pervasive nature and severity of these pending charges disable Mr. Blagojevich from making effective decisions on critical time-sensitive issues.” She sought to invoke a provision in the state constitution allowing for the replacement of a governor on the grounds of “disability,” although the constitutional history suggests that this term was meant to apply to a physical or mental breakdown, not a prosecution.
The traditional constitutional separation of powers would seem to bar the courts from intervening in such a fashion against the executive branch. Madigan conceded that her motion has no legal precedent, remarking at a news conference, “I recognize that this is an extraordinary request, but these are extraordinary circumstances.”
Madigan’s father, Michael Madigan, the Democratic leader in the state House of Representatives, said he would move for impeachment of the governor at a special session of the legislature called for Monday in Springfield if Blagojevich did not resign or was not removed by the court. Impeachment, the traditional constitutional procedure for removal of a chief executive, would take considerably longer, since it would require a trial before the state Senate and conviction.
Neither of the Madigans, nor Lt. Gov. Quinn, nor Republican state legislative leaders who have given their enthusiastic support, explained why it was necessary to remove Blagojevich from office so precipitously, before any trial or even evidentiary hearing on the criminal charges brought against him by the US Attorney.
It is a peculiar fact that Blagojevich, were he to be forced out of office now, would be the fourth Democratic governor of a major state forced to leave office in the past five years, following the recall of Gray Davis in California in 2003, the resignation of New Jersey’s James McGreevey in 2004 and the resignation of Elliott Spitzer of New York earlier this year.
If there is a political motivation in the charges against Blagojevich, however, this could well involve a desire to protect a more important Democrat—President-elect Barack Obama. At least one top Obama aide, Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Obama’s choice for White House chief of staff, was in contact with Blagojevich about the selection of Obama’s successor in the Senate.
While the Obama transition office refused to release any information on such contacts for several days after the Blagojevich scandal become public, on Friday it confirmed that Emanuel had delivered a list to Blagojevich of a half-dozen prominent Democrats whom Obama could support as his replacement. Any telephone conversations on this topic between Emanuel and Blagojevich or Harris would likely have been tape-recorded by the FBI, which wiretapped the governor’s calls for nearly two months, beginning in mid-October.
The timing of Fitzgerald’s decision to bring charges against Blagojevich suggests that he may have wanted to act before anyone in the Obama camp could respond favorably to the governor’s shakedown effort. This fact is underscored by a report in the Washington Post Saturday noting that “debate raged within the legal community about whether US Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald moved prematurely to bring bribery and conspiracy charges before the consummation of an illegal act.”
In plain language, Blagojevich was arrested before he could make any deal for the delivery of the Senate appointment in return for political and/or financial favors. While he may well be guilty of a series of other corrupt practices, among them selling state contracts for campaign contributions, extortion against the owner of the Chicago Tribune and a Chicago-area children’s hospital, on the most sensational charge, the sale of Obama’s seat in the US Senate, he seems to have engaged only in thinking and talking, with no apparent overt action.
Fitzgerald not only preempted any possible deal between Blagojevich and Obama, he included exculpatory information about Obama in the 76-page document charging Blagojevich, including several quotes of telephone conversations in which the governor cursed the president-elect for failing to offer a quid-pro-quo for the Senate selection. The US attorney—whose job depends on re-nomination by the incoming president—also went out of his way to declare that he was making no suggestion that Obama or anyone in his transition team had acted improperly.
Questions in the affair of Illinois Governor Blagojevich
By Patrick Martin
15 December 2008
Two top aides to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich resigned this week in the wake of the launching of criminal proceedings against the governor, and there was mounting pressure from state and national Democratic Party leaders for the governor himself to step down.
Deputy Governor Bob Greenlee resigned Wednesday and Chief of Staff John Harris stepped down Friday, deepening the governor’s isolation. Harris was arraigned with Blagojevich on Tuesday on charges of influence-peddling, including an effort to sell the appointment to the US Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
Both Greenlee and Harris were rumored to be cooperating with the federal prosecutor, US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who announced the charges against the governor at a Tuesday press conference.
Blagojevich met for four hours Saturday with a top criminal lawyer in Chicago, and there were widespread media reports—denied by a Blagojevich spokesman—that he planned to resign as governor on Monday.
While it has long been public knowledge that the US Attorney’s office in Chicago was investigating the Blagojevich administration for a series of “pay to play” arrangements in which construction firms and other companies gave campaign contributions to the governor in return for state contracts, the rapid-fire events since Tuesday raise many questions.
Fitzgerald’s decision to file a complaint and have the governor and his chief of staff arraigned, rather than seeking an indictment from a grand jury are highly unusual, as were his remarks at the Tuesday press conference.
In op-ed columns in both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, former federal prosecutors sharply criticized Fitzgerald’s conduct, noting that his much publicized comments at the press conference—declaring that the governor was engaged in “a political corruption crime spree” that “would make Lincoln roll over in his grave”—were highly prejudicial and improper.
Both columns noted that Fitzgerald was violating ethics guidelines. The Justice Department requires that prior to a trial a “prosecutor shall refrain from making extrajudicial comments that pose a serious and imminent threat of heightening public condemnation of the accused.” The US district court for northern Illinois mandates that a “lawyer shall not make an extrajudicial statement the lawyer knows or reasonably should know is likely to be disseminated by public media and, if so disseminated, would pose a serious and imminent threat to the fairness of an adjudicative proceeding.”
These guidelines are routinely ignored when the accused are poor, working-class or minority individuals, particularly those purportedly involved in terrorism. But it is relatively rare for a member of the political establishment, in this case a two-term sitting governor, to be treated in this fashion.
The frenzy to remove Blagojevich from office as soon as possible is also remarkable. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion with the state Supreme Court Friday seeking to have Blagojevich declared “incapable” of performing his office and have Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn installed as acting governor.
In her motion, Madigan argued that, “The pervasive nature and severity of these pending charges disable Mr. Blagojevich from making effective decisions on critical time-sensitive issues.” She sought to invoke a provision in the state constitution allowing for the replacement of a governor on the grounds of “disability,” although the constitutional history suggests that this term was meant to apply to a physical or mental breakdown, not a prosecution.
The traditional constitutional separation of powers would seem to bar the courts from intervening in such a fashion against the executive branch. Madigan conceded that her motion has no legal precedent, remarking at a news conference, “I recognize that this is an extraordinary request, but these are extraordinary circumstances.”
Madigan’s father, Michael Madigan, the Democratic leader in the state House of Representatives, said he would move for impeachment of the governor at a special session of the legislature called for Monday in Springfield if Blagojevich did not resign or was not removed by the court. Impeachment, the traditional constitutional procedure for removal of a chief executive, would take considerably longer, since it would require a trial before the state Senate and conviction.
Neither of the Madigans, nor Lt. Gov. Quinn, nor Republican state legislative leaders who have given their enthusiastic support, explained why it was necessary to remove Blagojevich from office so precipitously, before any trial or even evidentiary hearing on the criminal charges brought against him by the US Attorney.
It is a peculiar fact that Blagojevich, were he to be forced out of office now, would be the fourth Democratic governor of a major state forced to leave office in the past five years, following the recall of Gray Davis in California in 2003, the resignation of New Jersey’s James McGreevey in 2004 and the resignation of Elliott Spitzer of New York earlier this year.
If there is a political motivation in the charges against Blagojevich, however, this could well involve a desire to protect a more important Democrat—President-elect Barack Obama. At least one top Obama aide, Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Obama’s choice for White House chief of staff, was in contact with Blagojevich about the selection of Obama’s successor in the Senate.
While the Obama transition office refused to release any information on such contacts for several days after the Blagojevich scandal become public, on Friday it confirmed that Emanuel had delivered a list to Blagojevich of a half-dozen prominent Democrats whom Obama could support as his replacement. Any telephone conversations on this topic between Emanuel and Blagojevich or Harris would likely have been tape-recorded by the FBI, which wiretapped the governor’s calls for nearly two months, beginning in mid-October.
The timing of Fitzgerald’s decision to bring charges against Blagojevich suggests that he may have wanted to act before anyone in the Obama camp could respond favorably to the governor’s shakedown effort. This fact is underscored by a report in the Washington Post Saturday noting that “debate raged within the legal community about whether US Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald moved prematurely to bring bribery and conspiracy charges before the consummation of an illegal act.”
In plain language, Blagojevich was arrested before he could make any deal for the delivery of the Senate appointment in return for political and/or financial favors. While he may well be guilty of a series of other corrupt practices, among them selling state contracts for campaign contributions, extortion against the owner of the Chicago Tribune and a Chicago-area children’s hospital, on the most sensational charge, the sale of Obama’s seat in the US Senate, he seems to have engaged only in thinking and talking, with no apparent overt action.
Fitzgerald not only preempted any possible deal between Blagojevich and Obama, he included exculpatory information about Obama in the 76-page document charging Blagojevich, including several quotes of telephone conversations in which the governor cursed the president-elect for failing to offer a quid-pro-quo for the Senate selection. The US attorney—whose job depends on re-nomination by the incoming president—also went out of his way to declare that he was making no suggestion that Obama or anyone in his transition team had acted improperly.
Emanuel and Jesse Jackson Jr face new revelations
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5332897.ece
December 13, 2008
Blagojevich scandal: Rahm Emanuel and Jesse Jackson Jr face new revelations
James Bone in Chicago
Pressure grew on two of Barack Obama’s closest political aides yesterday as new details emerged of the “pay-for-play” allegations against the Governor of his home state.
Rahm Emanuel, the President-elect’s new Chief of Staff, and Jesse Jackson Jr, the co-chairman of his presidential campaign, both faced new revelations about their possible involvement in the scandal.
Fox News Chicago reported that Mr Emanuel, a Chicago politician who won the Illinois Governor’s former congressional seat, may have been captured on FBI wire-taps discussing the fate of Mr Obama’s vacated US Senate seat with Rod Blagojevich.
The TV station said Mr Emanuel had “multiple conversations” with the Governor, who is accused of trying to “sell” the open Senate seat for a Cabinet post or lucrative top foundation job. The report said the Governor was given a list of Senate candidates acceptable to Mr Obama. Because the FBI was secretly taping Mr Blagojevich in recent weeks, Mr Emanuel’s conversations may have been recorded, Fox News Chicago said.
Any recordings of the newly appointed White House Chief of Staff speaking to Mr Blagojevich about Mr Obama’s former Senate seat would prove an acute embarrassment to the incoming Obama Administration, even if no illegal deals were discussed, and could even force Mr Emanuel’s resignation. Mr Obama has promised to release details of any contacts between his staff and the Governor’s office but told a news conference on Thursday that he was “absolutely certain” that none of his aides was involved in any deal-making.
Mr Emanuel skipped Mr Obama’s press conference, which he typically attends. Cornered by a Chicago Sun-Times reporter at a concert at his children’s school, he refused to comment.
“I’m not going to say a word to you,” Mr Emanuel said. “I’m going to do this with my children. Don’t do that. I’m a father. I have two kids. I’m not going to do it.”
He was asked: “Can’t you do both?” Mr Emanuel replied: “I’m not as capable as you. I’m going to be a father. I’m allowed to be a father.”
Mr Emanuel told an ABC News cameraman, whom he invited into his house to use the toilet yesterday, that he was receiving “regular death threats” because his home address had been put on TV.
Jesse Jackson Jr, the Congressman son of the famed civil rights leader, also faced new questions yesterday about his quest for Mr Obama’s vacated Senate seat.
A group of ethnic Indian businessmen with ties to Mr Jackson and Mr Blagojevich reportedly held a lunch on October 31 and discussed raising $1 million for the Governor’s campaign to encourage him to pick Mr Jackson as Senator, the Chicago Tribune said.
Raghuveer Nayak, a major Blagojevich donor who also has ties to the Jackson family, then co-sponsored a fund-raiser for the Governor on Saturday attended by Mr Blagojevich and Jesse Jackson Jr’s brother Jonathan, the newspaper said.
Mr Nayak, a leader of Chicago’s Asian community, owns a string of surgery clinics and was once involved in a land deal with Jonathan Jackson.
Mr Jackson Jr met Mr Blagojevich at 4pm on Monday to discuss his interest in the Senate seat. Mr Blagojevich was arrested at his home at 6am on Tuesday by prosecutors who said they were trying to thwart a “political crime spree”. Jesse Jackson Jr is due to meet prosecutors next week, but has been told he is not a target of the investigation.
He insisted yesterday that no one had offered the Governor money for the Senate seat on his behalf.
“People know me. They know who I am. I’m confident that no one on my behalf made a single offer to anybody for anything. I would not accept the position if it were offered under those circumstances,” he said.
Mr Blagojevich, meanwhile, went to work again yesterday without making any public comment despite the growing clamour for his resignation. Lisa Madigan, the Illinois Attorney-General, filed a motion with the state’s highest court asking the judges to declare the scandal-plagued Governor unfit to hold office. John Harris, Mr Blagojevich’s Chief of Staff, who was charged along with the Governor, last night stepped down from his job, adding to the pressure on his boss.
December 13, 2008
Blagojevich scandal: Rahm Emanuel and Jesse Jackson Jr face new revelations
James Bone in Chicago
Pressure grew on two of Barack Obama’s closest political aides yesterday as new details emerged of the “pay-for-play” allegations against the Governor of his home state.
Rahm Emanuel, the President-elect’s new Chief of Staff, and Jesse Jackson Jr, the co-chairman of his presidential campaign, both faced new revelations about their possible involvement in the scandal.
Fox News Chicago reported that Mr Emanuel, a Chicago politician who won the Illinois Governor’s former congressional seat, may have been captured on FBI wire-taps discussing the fate of Mr Obama’s vacated US Senate seat with Rod Blagojevich.
The TV station said Mr Emanuel had “multiple conversations” with the Governor, who is accused of trying to “sell” the open Senate seat for a Cabinet post or lucrative top foundation job. The report said the Governor was given a list of Senate candidates acceptable to Mr Obama. Because the FBI was secretly taping Mr Blagojevich in recent weeks, Mr Emanuel’s conversations may have been recorded, Fox News Chicago said.
Any recordings of the newly appointed White House Chief of Staff speaking to Mr Blagojevich about Mr Obama’s former Senate seat would prove an acute embarrassment to the incoming Obama Administration, even if no illegal deals were discussed, and could even force Mr Emanuel’s resignation. Mr Obama has promised to release details of any contacts between his staff and the Governor’s office but told a news conference on Thursday that he was “absolutely certain” that none of his aides was involved in any deal-making.
Mr Emanuel skipped Mr Obama’s press conference, which he typically attends. Cornered by a Chicago Sun-Times reporter at a concert at his children’s school, he refused to comment.
“I’m not going to say a word to you,” Mr Emanuel said. “I’m going to do this with my children. Don’t do that. I’m a father. I have two kids. I’m not going to do it.”
He was asked: “Can’t you do both?” Mr Emanuel replied: “I’m not as capable as you. I’m going to be a father. I’m allowed to be a father.”
Mr Emanuel told an ABC News cameraman, whom he invited into his house to use the toilet yesterday, that he was receiving “regular death threats” because his home address had been put on TV.
Jesse Jackson Jr, the Congressman son of the famed civil rights leader, also faced new questions yesterday about his quest for Mr Obama’s vacated Senate seat.
A group of ethnic Indian businessmen with ties to Mr Jackson and Mr Blagojevich reportedly held a lunch on October 31 and discussed raising $1 million for the Governor’s campaign to encourage him to pick Mr Jackson as Senator, the Chicago Tribune said.
Raghuveer Nayak, a major Blagojevich donor who also has ties to the Jackson family, then co-sponsored a fund-raiser for the Governor on Saturday attended by Mr Blagojevich and Jesse Jackson Jr’s brother Jonathan, the newspaper said.
Mr Nayak, a leader of Chicago’s Asian community, owns a string of surgery clinics and was once involved in a land deal with Jonathan Jackson.
Mr Jackson Jr met Mr Blagojevich at 4pm on Monday to discuss his interest in the Senate seat. Mr Blagojevich was arrested at his home at 6am on Tuesday by prosecutors who said they were trying to thwart a “political crime spree”. Jesse Jackson Jr is due to meet prosecutors next week, but has been told he is not a target of the investigation.
He insisted yesterday that no one had offered the Governor money for the Senate seat on his behalf.
“People know me. They know who I am. I’m confident that no one on my behalf made a single offer to anybody for anything. I would not accept the position if it were offered under those circumstances,” he said.
Mr Blagojevich, meanwhile, went to work again yesterday without making any public comment despite the growing clamour for his resignation. Lisa Madigan, the Illinois Attorney-General, filed a motion with the state’s highest court asking the judges to declare the scandal-plagued Governor unfit to hold office. John Harris, Mr Blagojevich’s Chief of Staff, who was charged along with the Governor, last night stepped down from his job, adding to the pressure on his boss.
Is Emanuel the adviser on gov tape?
http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1326788%2Crahm-emanuel-blagojevich-obama-121108.article
Is Emanuel the adviser on gov tape?
Obama's chief of staff refuses to answer the question
December 11, 2008
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND ABDON M. PALLASCH Staff Reporters
President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, refused to take questions from reporters this morning about whether he was the Obama “advisor” named in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The complaint states Blagojevich wanted a promise of a high-level appointment or some other reward for Blagojevich in exchange for Blagojevich naming Obama’s friend Valerie Jarrett to replace him in the U.S. Senate.
Emanuel was uncharacteristically absent from Obama’s news conference this morning. He was spotted two hours later in the lobby of Chicago’s City Hall. He was there to listen to his two children performing in a concert with their school, Anshe Emet.
A Sun-Times reporter pressed him to comment about whether he was the emissary named in the criminal complaint.
“You’re wasting your time,” Emanuel said. “I’m not going to say a word to you. I’m going to do this with my children. Don't do that. I’m a father. I have two kids. I’m not going to do it.”
Asked, “Can’t you do both?” Emanuel replied, “I’m not as capable as you. I’m going to be a father. I’m allowed to be a father,” and he pushed the reporter’s digital recorder away.
Blagojevch was caught on tape saying that he wanted the Obama advisor in question to know what Blagojevich wanted in exchange for the Jarrett appointment.
Blagojevich said, “He asks me for the fifth CD thing, I want it to be in his head.” Emanuel represents the 5th Congressional District in Illinois.
No one in the Obama campaign or administration has been charged with any wrongdoing. Obama said this morning that none of his staff has had a hand in any dealmaking on his Senate replacement.
Is Emanuel the adviser on gov tape?
Obama's chief of staff refuses to answer the question
December 11, 2008
BY FRAN SPIELMAN AND ABDON M. PALLASCH Staff Reporters
President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, refused to take questions from reporters this morning about whether he was the Obama “advisor” named in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The complaint states Blagojevich wanted a promise of a high-level appointment or some other reward for Blagojevich in exchange for Blagojevich naming Obama’s friend Valerie Jarrett to replace him in the U.S. Senate.
Emanuel was uncharacteristically absent from Obama’s news conference this morning. He was spotted two hours later in the lobby of Chicago’s City Hall. He was there to listen to his two children performing in a concert with their school, Anshe Emet.
A Sun-Times reporter pressed him to comment about whether he was the emissary named in the criminal complaint.
“You’re wasting your time,” Emanuel said. “I’m not going to say a word to you. I’m going to do this with my children. Don't do that. I’m a father. I have two kids. I’m not going to do it.”
Asked, “Can’t you do both?” Emanuel replied, “I’m not as capable as you. I’m going to be a father. I’m allowed to be a father,” and he pushed the reporter’s digital recorder away.
Blagojevch was caught on tape saying that he wanted the Obama advisor in question to know what Blagojevich wanted in exchange for the Jarrett appointment.
Blagojevich said, “He asks me for the fifth CD thing, I want it to be in his head.” Emanuel represents the 5th Congressional District in Illinois.
No one in the Obama campaign or administration has been charged with any wrongdoing. Obama said this morning that none of his staff has had a hand in any dealmaking on his Senate replacement.
Obama Might Have Caught Wind of Blagojevich
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/11/obama-blago/
Complaint Suggests Obama Might Have Caught Wind of Blagojevich Dealings
Barack Obama says he had no contact with Gov. Rod Blagojevich over his vacant Senate seat, but the sequence of events in the FBI complaint suggests he might have caught wind of the governor's alleged dealings.
FOXNews.com
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Barack Obama insists that he and his staff were not involved in the alleged schemes Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich cooked up to sell off the president-elect's vacant Senate seat.
But the timeline of activity outlined in the FBI's 76-page complaint against Blagojevich suggests Obama's team was aware that his home-state governor was playing political hardball in the weeks before his arrest.
That's because shortly after Blagojevich allegedly told his advisers, in an expletive-laced conference call, that he would not appoint Obama's pick to the Senate absent huge favors in return, Obama's apparent pick promptly dropped out of the running for the Senate and joined the new White House staff.
"Reading between the lines ... clearly somebody from (Obama's) operation did have a conversation with Blagojevich," Democratic strategist Bob Beckel told FOX News. He added that Obama's representative evidently wasn't trying to cut a deal since Blagojevich indicated he was "getting nothing out of the Obama people."
FOX News has confirmed that Valerie Jarrett, a senior Obama adviser, is the individual identified in the Blagojevich affidavit as Senate Candidate 1.
The affidavit states that Senate Candidate 1 was likely to be supported by Obama for the seat, and that the Illinois governor was mulling a variety of ways to capitalize on such an appointment. Blagojevich allegedly wanted a corporate board appointment for his wife or millions in donations to a non-profit organization for his benefit, or even an appointment as secretary of health and human services, in exchange for appointing Senate Candidate 1. (Obama nominated former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle for the Cabinet post Blagojevich wanted on Thursday.)
But in the series of wiretapped conversations detailed in the complaint, Blagojevich and his advisers made clear that Obama was not willing to trade anything for the appointment of Senate Candidate 1.
An apparently disappointed Blagojevich discussed the post on a two-hour conference call Nov. 10 with his wife, his general counsel, his chief of staff John Harris (who also was arrested), and "various Washington, D.C., advisers."
"F--- him. For nothing? F--- him," Blagojevich said in response to advice that he wouldn't get anything out of Obama, according to the court document. Blagojevich said he would not pick Senate Candidate 1 without some kind of reward.
The next day, the complaint shows Blagojevich spoke with Harris about the seat, and said of Obama, "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F--- them."
If Obama and his staff didn't know anything about these conversations, then Jarrett at least exercised good timing.
By Nov. 12, news reports broke that Jarrett was no longer interested in the Senate seat. The affidavit shows Harris took this as a bluff.
But two days later, reports broke that Jarrett would be named Obama's senior adviser and assistant for intergovernmental relations in the White House. By Saturday, it was official, and Jarrett was out of the running for Senate.
It's unclear who, if anybody, could have notified Obama about Blagojevich's demands. The "various Washington, D.C., advisers" are not named. The affidavit also says Blagojevich met with a Service Employees International Union official, whom Blagojevich understood to be "an emissary" sent to discuss Senate Candidate 1.
This individual also is not named.
Obama, who is not accused of any wrongdoing, said at a press conference Thursday that not only has he never engaged the governor on the topic of his Senate seat, but "I am confident that no representative of mine would have any part in any deals related to this seat."
He said he has asked his team to compile any information they might have about any contact with the Illinois governor's office regarding his Senate seat, so that he can share that information with the public. But he said he is "absolutely certain" his aides were not involved in any alleged dealmaking.
The affair, nevertheless, has caused headaches for the popular president-elect, who faces accusations from Republicans that he's not being completely honest about who knew what when.
"There's still a lot of questions out there," said Michael Steele, former Maryland lieutenant governor who is running for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee. "I think the president-elect did try his best to sort of isolate himself from this. Now the staff and the folks who are representing him, that's a different issue."
RNC Chairman Mike Duncan released a written statement Thursday accusing Obama of providing "less than forthcoming answers to simple questions" about Blagojevich.
"While it is encouraging that the President-elect has stated his office will disclose contacts with the scandal-ridden governor, it remains disappointing that his actions are in response to political pressure," he said.
FOX News' Major Garrett contributed to this report.
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