FBI agents this morning arrested Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich (D) and his chief of staff on conspiracy and bribery charges, including allegations that the governor was seeking to benefit financially from his appointment of a successor to the U.S. Senate seat that was vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. The arrest of Blagojevich, 51, and his top aide, John Harris, 46, capped a lengthy investigation into public corruption at the highest levels of state government.
The two men will appear in a federal courthouse in Chicago at 1:30 p.m. Central time before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Grant held a news conference at 11 a.m. in Chicago to provide details on the case. "This is a sad day for government. It’s a very sad day for Illinois government," Fitzgerald said at the news conference. "Governor Blagojevich has taken us to a new low … he attempted to sell the Senate seat, the Senate seat he had the sole right to appoint to replace President-elect Obama … The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave."
The arrests, which authorities say occurred "without incident," follow news reports that a well-connected lobbyist turned FBI informant had taped the governor saying that he might "get some [money] up front, maybe" from an unnamed candidate to fill the Senate seat Obama had held since 2004…
This story wouldn’t even sell in a summer beach novel. It’s too bizarre.
Blagojevich, a member of Congress from Chicago, was elected governor in 2002 on an anti-corruption platform. He followed
Republican George Ryan, who now sits in federal prison,
convicted by Fitzgerald’s office on influence peddling charges.
"Many, including myself, thought that the recent conviction of a former governor would usher in a new era of honesty and reform in Illinois politics," FBI special agent in charge Grant said. "Clearly the charges announced today reveal that the office of the Governor has become nothing more than a vehicle for self enrichment … taking Illinois politics to a new low."
Recently, allies of Ryan asked President George W. Bush to commute the former governor’s prison term because of his wife’s poor health and his record of service to the state.
Once Blagojevich ascended to the governor’s mansion, political contributors moved quickly to profit from their ties to him, according to testimony in the Rezko trial. The goal was to shake down individuals and businesses seeking to do business with the state of Illinois, including hospitals and pension funds…
That Patrick Fitzgerald is a bipartisan guy – the tainted Governors are from different political patries. I wonder if any U.S. Attorney has ever gotten to convict two State Governors back to back for corruption in office. Of course we are all hoping that President-Elect Obama has stayed way away from Governor Blagojevich. But that aside, it’s "clean-up" time in America. We’ve lived with corruption that we can’t do anything about [Bush Administration]. So I expect that any target that comes along is going to get the "full Monty". Reading through the taped quotes in the
indictment,
Blagojevich deserves to be drawn and quartered. It’s really sickening…
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page 63 – ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it up” for two years and do nothing and give this “motherfucker [the President-elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states that he will put “[Senate Candidate 4]” in the Senate “before I just give fucking [Senate Candidate 1] a fucking Senate seat and I don’t get anything.”
page 66 – Later in the conversation, ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat but “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck them.”
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How do we clone Fitz? honestly, we are going to need about 20 of him once Bush leaves just to figure out what the hell happened over the last 8 years.