Ill. Gov Blagojevich in Federal custody

leroy · Dec 9, 2008

breaking news...

Ill. Gov Blagojevich in Federal custody

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been taken into federal custody at his home, the Chicago Tribune reported on Tuesday citing unnamed sources.

The newspaper said on its website that the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago would not confirm the information.

Blagojevich was the subject of a federal corruption probe.
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Illinois ggov taken into custody

(CNN) -- Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is in federal custody on corruption charges, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.
Rod Blagojevich, 51, is currently serving his second term as governor.

Rod Blagojevich, 51, is currently serving his second term as governor.

Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Federal prosecutors say Blagojevich, Harris and others conspired to gain financial benefits in appointing President-elect Barack Obama's Senate replacement, according to the statement.

Blagojevich, Harris and others are also alleged to have withheld state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field. The statement says this was done to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members who were critical of Blagojevich.

The statement also alleges that Blagojevich and others tried to illegally obtain campaign contributions.

A news conference is expected at noon ET.

Blagojevich and Harris will appear in U.S. District Court later Tuesday.

Blagojevich, 51, is currently serving his second term as governor.
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SamFisher · Dec 9, 2008

please change thread title to include phrase "a different kind of politics"

A_3PO · Dec 9, 2008

SamFisher said:

please change thread title to include phrase "a different kind of politics"
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Don't worry; you won't be disappointed. He'll ignore this and start his own thread on the same subject, with the appropriate title.

mc mark · Dec 9, 2008

Apparently the terrorist wiretapping laws Bush shoved down our throats was used to obtain this information on Blagojevich.

Hum…

rhadamanthus · Dec 9, 2008

What a moron. Send his ass to jail.

CHICAGO – Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama's election as president.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

A 76-page FBI affidavit said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti.

The affidavit said Blagojevich discussed getting a substantial salary for himself at a nonprofit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions.

It said that Blagojevich also talked about getting his wife placed on corporate boards where she might get $150,000 a year in director's fees.

He also allegedly discussed getting campaign funds for himself or possibly a post in the president's cabinet or an ambassadorship once he left the governor's office.

"I want to make money," the affidavit quotes him as saying in one conversation.

U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said in a statement that "the breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering."

"They allege that Blagojevich put a for sale sign on the naming of a United States senator," Fitzgerald said."

Among those being considered for the post include U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Jesse Jackson Jr.

Blagojevich also was charged with using his authority as governor in an attempt to squeeze out campaign contributions.

His chief of staff, John Harris, also was arrested.

Both men were expected to appear later Tuesday before a federal magistrate in Chicago.

Corruption in the Blagojevich administration has been the focus of a federal investigation involving an alleged $7 million scheme aimed at squeezing kickbacks out of companies seeking business from the state. Federal prosecutors have acknowledged they're also investigating "serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" under Blagojevich.

Political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko who raised money for the campaigns of both Blagojevich and Obama is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of fraud and other charges. Blagojevich's chief fundraiser, Christopher G. Kelly, is due to stand trial early next year on charges of obstructing the Internal Revenue Service.

Blagojevich took the chief executive's office in 2003 as a reformer promising to clean up former Gov. George Ryan's mess.

Ryan, a Republican, is serving a 6-year prison sentence after being convicted on racketeering and fraud charges. A decade-long investigation began with the sale of driver's licenses for bribes and led to the conviction of dozens of people who worked for Ryan when he was secretary of state and governor.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081209/ap_on_re_us/blagojevich_corruption_probe

MoonDogg · Dec 9, 2008

Hahahahha what a colossal douchebag.... Don't drop the soap, Rod.

gifford1967 · Dec 9, 2008

It's starting to look like Fitzmas.

mc mark · Dec 9, 2008

rhadamanthus said:

What a moron. Send his ass to jail.
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I trust the Bush justice department about as much as I trust Cheney. That being said, if this guy actually did what they say he did, he's an idiot and should go to jail.

underoverup · Dec 9, 2008

SamFisher said:

please change thread title to include phrase "a different kind of politics"
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lol, you know it just burned him not to get a chance to start this thread.

Oski2005 · Dec 9, 2008

What the hell Illinois? That's back to back corrupt governors.

rimrocker · Dec 9, 2008

This guy is pathological. He's been under investigation for years and now he goes and pulls this? Unbelievable.

A three-year federal corruption investigation of pay-to-play politics in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration has expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, the Tribune has learned.

Federal authorities got approval from a judge before the November general election to secretly record the governor, sources told the Tribune, and among their concerns was whether the selection process might be tainted. That possibility has become a focus in an intensifying investigation that has included recordings of the governor and the cooperation of one of his closest friends.

The governor has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The specific contents of the recent recordings have not been disclosed. Blagojevich has said the appointment of a Senate successor, which is his choice alone, could come in a matter of weeks.

Speaking to reporters Monday for the first time since the Tribune revealed federal investigators had recorded him and others as part of their corruption probe, Blagojevich said his discussions were "always lawful." He also defended close confidant John Wyma, whose cooperation with federal agents helped lead to the recordings, as "an honest person who's conducted himself in an honest way."

"I should say if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it," he said. "I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously, and those who feel like they want to sneakily, and wear taping devices, I would remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate."

Unlike the recordings that the federal government has of Blagojevich, the tapes that led to President Richard Nixon's 1974 resignation over the burglary of Democratic offices at the Watergate complex and the ensuing coverup were made by Nixon himself.

Regardless of "whether you tape me privately or publicly, I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful and the things I'm interested in are always lawful," Blagojevich said. "And if there are any things out there like that, what you'll hear is a governor who tirelessly and endlessly figures out ways to help average, ordinary working people."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rod-blagojevich-1209,0,7997804.story
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Moron. Idiot. Loser. Hack. Criminal.

Go away.

RocketMan Tex · Dec 9, 2008

Oski2005 said:

What the hell Illinois? That's back to back corrupt governors.
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One Republican, one Democrat. What the hell is in the water supply at the Illinois Governor's Mansion?

rockbox · Dec 9, 2008

Hang em.

s land balla · Dec 9, 2008

RocketMan Tex said:

One Republican, one Democrat. What the hell is in the water supply at the Illinois Governor's Mansion?
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This is the same guy that flew everyday from Chicago to Springfield for work...

Somebody count how many times Fox News will use the phrase "Chicago style politics" tonight.

juicystream · Dec 9, 2008

mc mark said:

Apparently the terrorist wiretapping laws Bush shoved down our throats was used to obtain this information on Blagojevich.

Hum…
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Court-authorized Wiretaps

u851662 · Dec 9, 2008

leroy420 said:

breaking news...
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ANY corrupt official should see jail time. Im getting tired of these rats getting off with just losing their position and a slap on the wrist. Send his arse to JAIL NOW!! Partisan politics out of it.

gifford1967 · Dec 9, 2008

Apparently Obama didn't want to play-

In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that President-elect Obama wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them.” The complaint does not mention her name, but the description makes clear that Blagojevich is referring to Valerie Jarrett.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/12/09/blagojevich-arrested/#comments
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I believe Obama appointed Jarret to a staff position soon after endorsing her to fill the Senate seat. Could be b/c Blago was trying to shake them down.

rimrocker · Dec 9, 2008

From Fitzgerald's statement:

Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.
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http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/fitzgerald_blago_thought_about.php

pirc1 · Dec 9, 2008

rockbox said:

Hang em.
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Or a bullet to the head, these type politicans really piss me off.

Zion · Dec 9, 2008

What a piece of work.

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Ill. Gov Blagojevich in Federal custody

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