Make my Day......GOV Blagojevich arrested.

[Theben]

Originally posted by rah
I'm not saying that he'd offer something outragous, but a simple future consideration on state support or something.
In reality ROD doesn't have to pay attention to Obama's recommendation for replacement, but since he was the only black senator he probably had interest in his replacement being black, and it would have been worth something.
Politicians trade favors all the time. Senators support someone else's bill because they promised to support his. etc. It's normal business. It's politics.

The only difference here is Rod is an idiot and thinks it's worth millions and he was dumb enough to say it on the phone after challanging the feds to wiretap him.

SO this is really about discretion and scale.
If there was some minor back scratching here I wouldn't have cared, and I think the feds wouldn't have either.

BLago was snubbed by team Obama thruout the campaign. I think they knew he was bad news and scandal only a matter of time, and kept him at a distance.

I doubt Obama will have any permanent damage from this as long as he doesn't appear to hide things. Jackson Jr OTOH is another story.

[rah]

The Jackson Family is known for pay to play.
Can we say BUDWEISER.

[Theben]

Yahoo news is saying associates of Jackson and Blag talked about raising the $1 million for the seat.

Jackson ain't getting it now.

[Naked Gents Rut]

Looks like Rahm Emanuel had multiple conversations with Blagojevich about the Senate seat and is most likely on the FBI tapes.

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=8054792&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Maybe this explains why Rahm's been ducking the press?

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.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/1326788,rahm-emanuel-blagojevich-obama-121108.article

[MrFun]

I say we let the dancing tiger in this thread have the seat.

[Naked Gents Rut]

President-elect Barack Obama is refusing to answer any questions about the internal review he has ordered into Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell his former Senate seat, saying he will do so when the examination is finished.

Obama's staff has declined to respond to even basic questions, like who is conducting the probe, how long it will take, what issues are being explored and whether they are working with federal investigators. Obama has promised transparency throughout his service and to divulge contacts his staff has had with Blagojevich's office in the coming days. But his staff has locked down on inquiries in the meantime.

The Obama transition team's refusal to talk has contributed to a maelstrom around Obama's incoming White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago congressman likely to have been in contact with the governor, who was arrested this week in a corruption scandal. But Emanuel is not a target of the probe, according to people who have been briefed on the investigation.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081212/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_illinois_governor

The Obama camp is in lockdown mode. Guess they're more worried about this than initially thought.

[Darius871]

Get ready for Bush III

[Naked Gents Rut]

I really don't get what they're scared of. Emanuel probably talked to Blagojevich, told him to **** off but never told Fitzgerald about what Blago was up to. While such behavior is neither hopey nor changey, it's also not illegal as far as I know. Why not just come clean right away instead of hiding Emanuel from the press and building up a feeding frenzy?

[Darius871]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
Why not just come clean right away instead of hiding Emanuel from the press and building up a feeding frenzy?

Because he's "allowed to be a father."

[Zkribbler]

"Emanuel is not a target of the probe"

So, Emanuel must be involved because he is not a target of the probe? Psycho Repugs claiming Obama must be involved because there's no evidence connecting him to the scandal.

Tin foil hats for everyone!!!

[Darius871]

Originally posted by Zkribbler

So, Emanuel must be involved because he is not a target of the probe? Psycho Repugs claiming Obama must be involved because there's no evidence connecting him to the scandal.

Who said that?

[Naked Gents Rut]

I guess Zkrib missed this post, located a mere two posts above the one he's so incredulous about...

http://apolyton.net/forums/showthread.php?postid=5491642#post5491642

[Lefty Scaevola]

An (already proved to be very reliable) informant say that before Blagojevich entered politics, he was an organized crime bookie.

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6559104

[Boris Godunov]

Originally posted by Naked Gents Rut
I really don't get what they're scared of. Emanuel probably talked to Blagojevich, told him to **** off but never told Fitzgerald about what Blago was up to. While such behavior is neither hopey nor changey, it's also not illegal as far as I know. Why not just come clean right away instead of hiding Emanuel from the press and building up a feeding frenzy?

Obama's office was prepared to release their information on the internal investigation of Blago contacts, but Fitz's office asked them to hold off until next week.

[Naked Gents Rut]

That doesn't explain why Emanuel is hiding from the press.