Blagojevich: Senate seat a '******* valuable thing'
Feds: Blagojevich 'has taken us to a truly new low' - Jonathan Martin and Carrie Budoff Brown - Politico.com
Federal authorities arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Tuesday on charges that he brazenly conspired to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder.
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, according to a federal criminal complaint. 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 tapes reveal a two-term governor who no longer wants his job, badly wants cash and is determined to leverage a financial benefit out of his appointment powers.
He also appears to think little of the president-elect, whom he calls a "motherf***er" at one point.
“F**k him,” Blagjoveich says of Obama during a lengthy call with top aides and his wife recorded on November 10th, "For nothing? F**k him."
The Blagojevich arrest is a problem for Barack Obama for two reasons. First, Blagojevich’s bagman Tony Rezko was Obama’s political sponsor.
Second, Blagojevich’s intercepted comments speak volumes about the way political business is conducted in Illinois. Blagojevich certainly expected Obama to be a willing participant in the dealings over Obama’s Senate seat. Of course, Obama is pleading ignorance, but he is either part of the political culture that produced Blagojevich or he is not. I doubt Rezko had one set of ethical standards when Obama was in the room, and another when he was with Blagojevich.
Obama already caught lying about his contact with Blagojevich. When asked what contact he'd had with the governor's office about his replacement in the Senate, President-elect Obama today said "I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening."
On November 23, Obama senior adviser David Axelrod said on Fox News that Obama had indeed spoken with Gov. Blagojevich about his successor:
"I know he has talked to the governor and there are a whole range of names many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them." (video)
In another section of the complaint, Blagojevich expresses exasperation that Obama and his team aren't willing to offer him an inducement in exchange for appointing an aide, apparently Valerie Jarrett, to the Senate.
Obama wanted his long-time associate, Valerie Jarrett, appointed to his vacant senate seat. Jarrett, in 1991, put Obama's then wife-to-be squarely in the offices of the man whose father had perfected the Democratic machine, Mayor Daly. After leaving City Hall, Jarrett went on to lead the Chicago Transit Authority. She recruited Michelle Obama to the transit agency's citizen advisory committee.
One piece of speculation: Jarrett's abrupt withdrawal from consideration for the Senate seat suggests Obama's circle aware of the investigation.
It is clear from the complaint that Obama refused to offer Blagojevich anything for appointing Jarrett:
"Rod Blagojevich said he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 (Jarrett) for the Senate seat but 'they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F*** them,'" says the complaint.
So, Obama wanted Jarrett. Blagojevich wanted money.
Is this investigation Obama's way to pay back Blagojevich? He does have a history of throwing people under his political bus.
Obama and Blagojevich should both be in jail for this, but watch for Blagjoveich to spill the beans on the Obama/Rezko deals. This is just the beginning.
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