[BITList] Fwd: [From: Mike Feltham] Governor of Illinois faces 'staggering' charges of corruption

[Michael Feltham]

STATE  OF  THE  AMERICAN  NATION !!

Begin forwarded message:

From: "guardian.co.uk" <noreply at guardian.co.uk>
Date: 9 December 2008 22:48:57 GMT
To: mj.feltham at madasafish.com
Subject: [From: Mike Feltham] Governor of Illinois faces 'staggering'  
charges of corruption

Mike Feltham spotted this on the guardian.co.uk site and thought you  
should see it.

To see this story with its related links on the guardian.co.uk site,  
go to http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/09/rod-blagojevich-illinois-governor-senate-seat

Governor of Illinois faces 'staggering' charges of corruption
Suzanne Goldenberg Washington
Tuesday December 9 2008
guardian.co.uk


The day before the historic November day that would hand Barack Obama  
the keys to the White House, the Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich,  
had a conversation with one of the candidate's advisers about who  
might replace him in the US Senate if he won the presidential vote.

Under Illinois law the governor of Obama's home state can appoint the  
president-elect's successor but he apparently left the aide in no  
doubt that his blessing would come at a price. A seat in the Senate,  
he explained, is "a fucking valuable thing, you just don't give it  
away for nothing".

The remarkable conversation was one of several prosecutors said had  
been recorded by the FBI before the governor was arrested today,  
charged with effectively attempting to sell Obama's seat. Such brazen  
and profanity-laced exchanges were typical for Blagojevich, who,  
according to a lengthy FBI affadavit, held multiple conversations  
about the seat with several advisers, consultants and fundraisers for  
Obama as well as five contenders for the job, reviewing his options  
like a market trader.

He weighed up various prospects: an ambassadorship or a cabinet post -  
possibly health secretary - a lucrative private sector job, an  
appointment to a corporate board for his wife, immediate cash payment,  
or even the establishment of a non-profit foundation in his name with  
$15m (?10m) in seed money from billionaire Warren Buffet and other  
donors.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, also thought about making his own run for the  
White House in 2016.

There is no suggestion that Obama or members of his transition team  
did anything wrong. Indeed, at one point Blagojevich is furious at the  
Obama camp's unwillingness to meet his demands.

In a two-hour conference call with Obama advisers in Washington and  
Chicago on November 10, Blagojevich apparently erupts in frustration  
at their refusal to pay him for appointing the president-elect's  
preferred candidate. "Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him," Blagojevich  
says. He calls Obama a "motherfucker".

Obama reacted to Blagojevich's arrest saying: "Obviously, like the  
rest of the people of Illinois, I am saddened and sobered by the news  
that came out of the US attorney's office today. But as this is an  
ongoing investigation involving the governor, I don't think it would  
be appropriate for me to comment on the issue at this time."

But news organisations today began identifying prospective Senate  
candidates and members of the presidential team who had had  
conversations with the governor, and who are identified in the  
affidavit only by initials. Those contacts could be politically  
damaging to Obama.

In one conversation, deputy governor A tells Blagojevich his coal  
background might make him a possible candidate for energy secretary.

In the wiretaps, Blagojevich is overheard apparently discussing an  
offer of $500,000 from a potential candidate for the seat. The  
governor also spoke of keeping alive the prospect he might appoint  
himself - in order to get a higher price.

The day after the election, Blagojevich allegedly told an Obama  
adviser that he was adamant about getting paid for choosing Obama's  
preferred candidate. "I've got this thing and it's fucking golden,  
and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for fuckin' nothing. I'm not  
gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there."  
Blagojevich, 51, was first elected in 2002 on a promise to clean up  
after a Republican governor, George Ryan, who is now serving a six- 
year sentence for fraud, extortion, racketeering, and money laundering.

He, and his chief of staff, John Harris, were charged with soliciting  
bribes and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud after their  
arrests today.

Blagojevich was under investigation well before Obama's election  
opened up the possibility of appointing a successor to his Senate  
seat. "The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is  
staggering," the US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said. "Blagojevich put  
a 'for sale' sign on the naming of a United States senator."

He told a press conference Blagojevich had brought politics in  
Illinois to a new low. "The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in  
his grave," Fitzgerald said.

The authorities set out a raft of other allegations against  
Blagojevich, accusing him of demanding $500,000 in campaign funds from  
a cement contractor for the state's $1.8bn highway toll system.

The governor is also accused of making demands on a children's  
hospital which got $8m state funds. When its chief executive did not  
give Blagojevich $50,000 he tried to cut off funds. He also allegedly  
threatened to withhold state funds from a stadium owned by the  
publishing company of the Chicago Tribune, which went into bankruptcy  
this week, unless the newspapers sacked members of the editorial board  
who had criticised him.

The Illinois state legislature plans to convene next week to discuss  
removing Blagojevich's power to appoint Obama's replacement, instead  
convening a special election, according to local media reports. It is  
unclear how quickly that special election would be held, but Democrats  
are likely to need all their congressional seats filled by next month.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008

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