Rahm and Blag's staff discussed the seat, on tape [rquoter]The Swamp Rahm Emanuel, Blagojevich staff talked by Bob Secter Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Chicago Tribune has learned. The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat? Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill. Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and was "confident that no representatives" of his had engaged in any dealmaking over the seat with the governor or his team. He also pledged Thursday that in the "next few days" he would explain what contacts his staff may have had with the governor's office about the Senate vacancy. Emanuel, who has long been close to both Blagojevich and Obama, has refused to respond to questions about any involvement he may have had with the Blagojevich camp over the Senate pick. A spokeswoman for Emanuel also declined to comment Friday. One source confirmed that communications between Emanuel and the Blagojevich administration were captured on court-approved wiretaps. Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor's administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win. Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be "acceptable" to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats. (Photo of White House Chief of Staff-designate Rahm Emanuel at a news conference in Chicago last week by Charles Dharapak / AP) Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said. Blagojevich and Harris, who resigned his state post Friday, are charged with plotting to sell the selection of Obama's replacement in exchange for lucrative jobs or campaign cash for the governor. Among other things, a government affidavit filed with the charges claimed that Blagojevich had kicked around the idea of using his Senate selection to leverage an appointment to an ambassadorship or Cabinet post in the Obama administration. Federal authorities have not suggested Obama or his team knew about Blagojevich's alleged schemes. In an interview, Schakowsky said she spoke to Emanuel on Thursday and he seemed unfazed by the controversy. Schakowsky also spoke of a conversation she had with Emanuel shortly after he was named chief of staff. She said she called Emanuel "to get some intelligence" on whether Obama might approve of her selection as senator. "He indicated that the president-elect would be fine with certain people and I was one of them," Schakowsky said, adding that he did not share the identities of others on the list. Schakowsky said it was natural for Obama to take an interest in the selection process for his Senate seat. "It makes perfect sense for the president-elect or his people to have some interaction about filling the seat he was vacating," she said. Though now working full-time on Obama's transition, Emanuel has yet to resign his congressional seat. Illinois law has a different process for filling vacant House seats than Senate seats. When Emanuel resigns, a special election will be held for his replacement. One alleged scheme outlined in the charges against Blagojevich involves the special election for Emanuel's seat. The government affidavit said Blagojevich and others were recorded talking about an unnamed "president-elect adviser" concerned about the election for Emanuel's congressional seat who might help the governor land a new job at a non-profit organization.[/rquoter]
This is valuable information, if only because Emanuel wasn't willing to discuss this with the reporters who camped outside his home or accosted him while he was with kids. But all it confirms at this point is that he spoke to Blagojevich, which I think alot of people already assumed. It doesn't yet invalidate Obama's assertion that there was no dealmaking. It's probably worth noting that the FBI hasn't charged and doesn't yet appear to have targeted Emanuel in this probe.
a well known dodger, indeed. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/r2M1zMaZPmI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/r2M1zMaZPmI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Wow, how irrelevant. When will you post something that actually implicates Obama in something unethical, or illegal? We're all waiting. Instead you post this stuff which is neither unethical or illegal, even if there was contact. One of the rumors is that it was Emmanuel who actually turned Blago in. Of course that's just a rumor so I won't post 20 youtube videos about it. But you keep posting videos that show nothing untoward at all.
Maybe Obama is a liar? I know it seems a faint chance that a politician would lie about something, but it could be possible. Maybe Rahm is hiding something from everyone including Obama. I guess that would never happen. Anything is possible and we may never know. Blago was being investigated way before the selling of the Senate seat. His corruption has lasted for 6 years in the governor's house, and I doubt Obama and Rahm didn't know about it.
^basso I'm still waiting breathlessly for your evidence of Obama's long conversation with Blago on November 6th. Oh wait, I successfully scrubbed the record of it.....good luck finding it, chumpzilla.
And that means what? Is there any evidence of anything unethical or illegal that you could point to, please? If not, then why are you wasting your time?
For a week now I have been waiting for the facts to come out and I have drawn a few conclusions from what has been made public so far. There was leak at the US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office about the wiretap on Rod Blagojevich. Valerie Jarrett was Obama's clear choice for replacement which he made known to the press. However, a day later she withdrew her name for consideration and got a position within Obama's adminisatration. That makes you wonder why the swift change? A US senate seat vs White House Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison? Conclusion 1: Either Obama's team knew about the "pay to play" and decided not to pay up for the shakedown. In which case that still is a crime not reporting it to the proper authority about corruption at the Governor's office. Conclusion 2: Someone at Fitzgerald's office made it know to team Obama that Blogojevich was under wiretap and they should stay away.
Actually Obama told Fitzgerald and rest of the media, he had no idea this was going on at Blagojevich's office. That in itself could be considered Misprision of felony. By not participating in in the corruption schemes, Obama saves himself from any criminal charges but he has a duty as a elected public official and Senator of the State to report the crime.
Hmm, not sure about that. Unless Blago uttered in clear terms to Obama that he wanted the vacated senate seat in return for monetary compensation, Obama can't be charged of the crime of your description. I am no Obama fan boy, but lets face it, quid pro quo is in many ways how the politics function and the government operate, whether you like it or not.
