WHOA! Apparently IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s pay-to-play politics extended to the Obama-replacement choice he was to make, and the Feebs have just arrested his fanny. Got him on tape.
UPDATE: More from that link at the Trib:
Updated at 9:08 a.m.: Blagojevich and Harris were arrested simultaneously at their homes at about 6:15 a.m., according to the FBI. Both were awakened in their residences and transported to FBI headquarters in Chicago, where they remained at 9 a.m.
Updated at 9 a.m.: Blagojevich is slated to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan today at a time that has not yet been scheduled, according to Randall Samborn of the U.S. attorney’s office.
Updated at 8:57 a.m.: On the issue of the U.S. Senate selection, federal prosecutors alleged Blagojevich sought appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate.
Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of Blagojevich in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co.
Blagojevich and Harris, along with others, obtained and sought to gain financial benefits for the governor, members of his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state jobs and state contracts.
“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement.
“They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism.”
Blagojevich don’t sound like a Mississippi name. Reckon he changed it from Hood or DeLaughter?
Now that’s arrogance with a capital “A”. Doncha wonder who squealed to the feebs about the senate appointment?
Here’s a link to the criminal complaint. Interesting reading.
“I don’t believe there’s any cloud that hangs over me. I think there’s nothing but sunshine hanging over me,” – IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) to reporters yesterday. (from Daily Dish)
well if the Guv has any letters written to the judge, dont worry, Quinn and Sandra will be there with bells on to snatch them to the public. lol
We’ve been waiting a long time for this. The feds should open a prison devoted exclusively to housing crooked Illinois politicians. Of course, the prison would need an entire wing just for our former governors.
Mayor Daley remains the elusive target.
Congratz, Dr. X.
Hey Lotus, remember the good ole days at ‘The Dump’?…..Fitz!
Our boy Fitz is having an interesting career, inny, woo?
Having practiced med in Il for 11 years the pols there are certainly of a piece. Lotus you may recall I sent a link to a downstate trial Lawyer who fell from grace like Mr Scruggs after some sexual and drug armadilloes
He never made quite the impact that Scruggs did nationally but had his fingers in Asbestos, without getting cancer I might add.
NL
Boy howdy, this statement from Fitz has amazingly-lurid deets. A little above halfway-down this page begins the passage about the Senate-seat machinations. I can’t get over Blago’s blatant, oblivious stupidity.
Fitz (I guess) presser begins at the top of the hour.
Yep, AC, I remember that one.
Who the hell did Obama think he was, refusing to pay for a valuable Senate seat?
Anderson
Price has dropped with Recession and he was holding out for a deal.
NL
Guess I am AC today on this computer usually only when I want to pseudo-hide
So…DrX, does indicted Blago still have the authority to fill the empty senate seat? If not, who then?
GG, yes, Fitz just said Blago still has that authority, as long as he remains guv. BUT, now that the whistle’s blown, he’s much less likely to pull something.
Kycol @ 1: He’s from the Point Cadet part of Biloxi.
Wowzers, the YouTube of Fitz’s presser, when it’s up, will stun you. Hearing it, you’ll almost certainly decide that the stupidest crook in the crookedest state is none other than its guv.
Dick Durbin’s calling for a special election for that Senate seat, since no one Blago names could possibly have any cred. I’d think the IL Dems would pressure him to resign by EOB today, but of course, he’s so dumb, he might not take the hint.
“So…DrX, does indicted Blago still have the authority to fill the empty senate seat? If not, who then?”
I don’t think we know yet. Blago isn’t about to resign the governorship, but I could imagine an emergency court order barring any decision on the senate appointment because of the specific allegation of corruption related to the appointment. I doubt that there is anything in place constitutionally in Illinois to deal with this unusual situation should Blagojevich be blocked from making the appointment.
We could see a prolonged vacancy or, perhaps, the legislature could craft some sort of emergency fix that could withstand constitutional muster. I haven’t the foggiest notion as to what a legislative fix might look like. This is new territory.
Also, related to the Blago indictment, I read some interesting stuff tied to the Tribune Company (the subject of another Folo post). Late last month, Blago and his wife hatched a plan to force Tribune owner Sam Zell to fire editorial staff by withholding favors desperately needed by Zell to facilitate the sale of the Chicago Cubs.
I’ve transcribed the relevant portion of the indictment here if anyone is interested.
The water surrounding the empty senate seat is muddier than ever according to some Chicago pols, suggesting that nobody anybody’d want desires a Blago stamp of approval.
Dr X, have you seen this?
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/trib_agreed_to_hold_story_on_blago_probe.php
Dr X, how would you characterize the historical “temperature” between Blago and Obama? I don’t have the sense that it’s been at all warm.
Maybe the answer to my question at 2 and yours at 23, lotus:
Local news reports, meanwhile, suggest that it was Obama chief-of-staff Rahm Emanuel who blew the whistle on the governor.
Dr X & neighbors have great reason to be pissed — four of the last five IL guvs have been indicted and three have gone to the pokey. Complete bipartisan balance among these perps, too — two of each party.
Dr X, have you seen this?
No! It’s news to me.
how would you characterize the historical “temperature” between Blago and Obama?
As far as I know, there was never any animosity, but they weren’t close. Blagojevich’s corruption has been known for so long, I don’t think Obama wanted to get any closer than necessary. Obama’s fellow Illinois Democratic Senator Dick Durbin has barely been on speaking terms with Blagojevich for some time.
Thanks.
Won’t it be interesting to find out who Senate Candidate 5 (who seemed willing to play but didn’t trust Blago enough to do so without putting part of it in “escrow”) is. A “he,” so rule out Schakowski, Duckworth, and Madigan.
or..#5 could be part of a sting.
The emissary? Jackson Sr? Just going over the list in my mind.
Here’s the longest YouTube of the presser up so far — about 11 minutes — but not the best A/V quality.
Male wannabes mentioned . . . Jackson Jr, Gutierrez, Davis . . . who else, Dr X?
In this YouTube, a guy at Chicago Fox station saying, “We did receive a tip this morning that perhaps all of this came together so quickly because the Governor may have reached out to Rahm Emanuel, the president-elect’s chief of staff, in attempting to leverage filling the Senate seat. And it may have been Rahm Emanuel who tipped the scale and made this move as quickly as it did.”
That is, Rahm E blew the whistle to Fitz or the FBI.
Check out Marc Ambinder‘s string of Blago posts. Just now on CNN, Obama began, “Obviously, like the rest of the people of Illinois, I am saddened and sobered. As this is an ongoing investigation involving the governor, I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to comment at this time.” Later he said, “I had no contact with the governor or his office so I was not aware of what was happening. As I said, it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment.”
Just one of the Guv’s many quotes From the Tribune; July 2008:
“I’m not worried about anything. What I’m a little concerned about is the lack of integrity and the sensationalism of some of the reporters who exaggerate and with hysterical sensationalism overstate and are dishonest about how they report some of the things.”
http://tinyurl.com/6e8naz
Bank of America just folded and agreed to extend credit to Republic Window — the workers won!
Lotus#36
One small step for workers/ unions to begin undoing the damage started by Reagan all those years ago.
shazaam!!
Great news that Bank of America (aka Bank of China) gave in. The company meanwhile is starting up a window mfg plant in western Iowa with equipment moved out during the Thanksgiving weekend.
Is creep a noun or a verb?
“Republic Windows owner linked to Iowa plant purchase”.
http://tinyurl.com/6hnwds
Well, at least it’s still in the US of A, Kycol.
> sigh < Yo, even xkcd is onto Blago: http://xkcd.com/181/
Weirdest thing: No matter how many times I’ve tried to move the last sentence of #41 to a new line, it hasn’t budged.
???
I think some form of “pay-to-play” in politics is rampant all over the country —a GOB tradition. It doesn’t matter where you go —the names and faces might be different — the accent different — the pedigree different —-but there are GOBs everywhere. And its time to put it all to a stop. And to some degree, that is up to us all. We can no longer show indifference to it when the perpetrator is not wearing the opposite political party’s stripes. Stopping it will require a bi-partisan, equal opportunity vigor to stamp it out.
We currently have some wolves guarding the sheep in this regard —especially in the US Congress —both the Senate and House. And its time to clean house and make a statement. A top down approach usually works best.
I’ll betcha this wire tap “sitiation” will get the attention of many who are engaged in the same type of thing as the Illinois Guv. And if some of them lose some precious sleep worrying about when they might be awakened in the early morning to go to the pokey to make bail, then that’s all right with me —they’ve earned it.
Lotus@41:Agreed but my point was they could not pay wages owed but could buy another plant.
Yepper, Kycol. Truth’s not in them.
In addition to those you mention, there is retiring State Senator Emil Jones. He’s been a staunch Blagojevich supporter and such a power unto himself, I doubt he would make such an offer. Blago already owes him big.
I don’t think any of the other males who were interested would cut such a deal. That would include first term State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn.
Hope we’ll find out who #5 is at some point.
I should add that Jackson Sr and Blagojevich go back to 1999 when they took a trip to Belgrade that was widely regarded as political grandstanding by both men. The two led a delegation to negotiate the release of 3 American peacekeepers who walked into the hands of Serb forces. Blago, the son of immigrants, speaks Serbian and Jesse Jackson is, well, Jesse Jackson. The State Department and the Clinton administration opposed the private mission, as I recall.
At the time, Blagojevich wasn’t well known to Illinois citizens. To the extent that he was known, he was mostly regarded as a hack whose father-in-law, Chicago Alderman Dick Mell, got him a congressional seat via the Democratic machine in Chicago.
Exceeding all expectations, the two won the release of the 3 soldiers, returning triumphantly to Illinois.
afotl sez: “We can no longer show indifference to it when the perpetrator is not wearing the opposite political party’s stripes. ”
I agree-greed and arrogance has no color; red or blue, greed is greed and arrogance is arrogance. However, I so object to pols using it against each other to win points for “their team” (read votes). John Boehner has drawn up talking points for Repubs to use the Jefferson and now Blago and probably Rangel troubles. I have no problem with anybody going after these guys but only if they are truly interested in seeing something done about it. And, only if they themselves don’t live in a glass house.
I’m still wondering what our flyby troll today thinks is the “wrong” politics. (Since we haven’t shown any on this thread, who knows what the troll counts as “wrong.”)
Dr X, what do you bet happens next? Resignation or impeachment/special election?
Emil Jones is pretty powerful and a “friend” of Obamas
If you’re looking for a vote, lotus-I’ll go with impeachment. I don’t know what political will there might be in the IL senate for this but, if the will is there, it can be done fairly quickly.
Lotus,
If Blago is like other Illinois pols, there will be no graceful resignation. He will stay in office until he is convicted, which will happen. Then Lt. Gov Pat Quinn becomes Governor, which makes Pat Quinn really happy. He’s always wanted the job–he and Blago aren’t friends.
One possible monkey-wrench in all of this: Patti Blagojevich. She has also been under federal investigation and there has been speculation about criminal activity in her real estate dealings. Here’s what I’m wondering, specifically. Will Fitzgerald’s office offer the Governor a bargain that keeps Patti out of trouble, if indeed they’ve got something on her? It would be a powerful wedge that could bring things to a close more quickly. Blagojevich is a louse, but I think he loves his wife and kids. He’d go down to prevent her from going down.
Pam,
Yes indeed, Emil Jones is a good friend of Obama. He was Obama’s mentor in the state senate. Jones is also a staunch political ally of G-Rod, but no one has ever alleged that Jones was involved in any of the Governor’s corruption. In part, that’s why I doubt he is number 5. That said, he’s a former city inspector and an old fashioned nepotist with many family members and friends finding themselves in well-paying state jobs as a result of their association with him. That’s normal here, but I can’t quite get over the feeling that the guy is sleazy. As for Obama, every politician here has sleazy political associations. You can’t be in government and be effective without them. That said, not everyone partakes in the criminal behavior.
Lotus,
Sorry, I guess you were asking about impeachment. Don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. The powerful house speaker is Mike Madigan. It is believed that his daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, wants to run for governor in two years. Daddy Madigan despises Blagojevich, but he wants his daughter in the governor’s mansion come 2011. Lisa Madigan is the state’s most popular politician and things are looking great for her now.
So, I’m thinking that both Madigans would like to see this thing with Blagojevich drag out as long as possible. The less time Patrick Quinn has to consolidate power as Blago’s successor, the better chance Lisa Madigan has of beating Quinn in the Democratic primary for the governor’s race.
Furthermore, I’m not sure the legislators want to conduct their own public impeachment trial with the federal trial pending. It could conceivably queer things with a federal jury.
Admittedly, I’m speculating about all of this. Illinois politics is so twisted, there could very well be some glaring considerations I’m overlooking. And, Madigan hates Blagojevich. It may just be that he won’t be able to resist getting behind impeachment.
I’m with those who are stunned at how blatant Blagojevich’s corruption was. To think that he could keep having conversations like that over the phone for so long without them being recorded is amazing, even if we were still living in the pre-9/11 world where that sort of thing took a court order.
Since it’s Pat Fitzgerald’s case, though, I have to believe it’s true. He’s way too careful to overreach, which makes this all the more incredible.
As I speculated at #29-NBC just reported that JJJ has been working with the feebs for quite a while regarding Blago. Though I don’t think he was involved in that manner in the senate yard sale.
Weird conflict of versions on that, GG.
ccvz sent me part of a CNN story that said, “Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. has served as an informant to the U.S. attorney’s office in Illinois, two sources close to Jackson tell CNN. Jackson has served as an informant for more than a decade and has relayed information relating to embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich since 2006, the sources said. Jackson has not served as an informant in the current investigation into Blagojevich.”
But over at TPM, their version says JJJr has been working with the feds on the Blago case “since summertime.”
???
I may have “assumed” feebs when I heard the NBC report-a case of hearing what you want to hear, perhaps. However, the TPM report reads pretty much like what I (think) I heard.