1 Boring Old Man

Officials Say Jackson Was ‘Candidate 5’ in Case
By DAVID JOHNSTON
December 10, 2008

Federal authorities on Wednesday identified Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois as the potential United States Senate candidate who was portrayed in court papers made public Tuesday as being the most deeply enmeshed in the alleged scheme by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to benefit from his appointment of a new senator to the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Mr. Jackson said in an interview with ABC News that he did not know whether he was the anonymous Candidate 5 mentioned by federal prosecutors in the affidavit supporting their criminal complaint against Mr. Blagojevich. He said that the prosecutors in Chicago told him he was not a target of the criminal inquiry. But he said they had asked him to answer questions about the selection process by Mr. Blagojevich to fill the seat.

Mr. Jackson, who has publicly sought the appointment, said he met with Mr. Blagojevich to discuss the job for the first time earlier this week, after not having spoken to him for more than four years. Mr. Jackson said he never authorized anyone to offer anything in return for the appointment. Mr. Jackson, the son of the civil rights leader, was first named by ABC News as the person identified in the criminal complaint as Candidate 5.

“It is impossible for someone on my behalf to have a conversation that would suggest any type of quid pro quo or any payments or offers,” Mr. Jackson said in comments broadcast by ABC News. “An impossibility to an absolute certainty”…

It sounds like Candidate 1, probably Obama’s friend and advisor Valerie Jarrett, may have seen what Blagojevich was up to and pulled out of the game early, responding that all Blagojevich would get was "appreciation." Candidate 5, maybe State Senate President Emil Jones, may have agreed to "play ball" [last post] and is in potential hot water. But it’s hard to believe that anyone within a mile of Blagojevich couldn’t smell this level of corruption, and maybe Candidate 5 wasn’t on board as he implies, but rather a figment of the Governor’s projective imagination.