Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been arrested by FBI agents today following a three-year investigation into Blagojevich's alleged pay-to-play politics, including who Blagojevich is looking at to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate:
A three-year federal corruption investigation of pay-to-play politics in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration has expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, the Tribune has learned.
Federal authorities got approval from a judge before the November general election to secretly record the governor, sources told the Tribune, and among their concerns was whether the selection process might be tainted. That possibility has become a focus in an intensifying investigation that has included recordings of the governor and the cooperation of one of his closest friends.
The governor has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The specific contents of the recent recordings have not been disclosed. Blagojevich has said the appointment of a Senate successor, which is his choice alone, could come in a matter of weeks.
Blagojevich was arrested along with his chief of staff.
UPDATE: This just in from Politico: "FBI: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich conspired to sell or trade Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat for benefits."
UPDATE II: Amherst Guy asked a very good question in the comments to see if anyone else noticed who the federal prosecutor is. This press release tells the whole story: The prosecutor on this case is Patrick Fitzgerald, who was the U.S. Attorney in charge of prosecuting the CIA leak case. He has also made quite a name for himself prosecuting corruption cases in Illinois featuring former Gov. George Ryan and aides to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.
UPDATE III: This from MSNBC:
He noted becoming a U.S. senator might remake his image for a possible presidential run in 2016, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit quotes Blagojevich telling an adviser later that day that a Senate seat "is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."
In a conversation with Harris on November 4, the day of the election, Blagojevich is alleged to have compared his situation to that of a sports agent shopping a potential free agent to the highest bidder.
On November 5, Blagojevich allegedly told an adviser, "I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I'm not gonna do it."
We know all about scandals here in New York. Remember Eliot Spitzer's? That pales in comparison to this scandal. Essentially what it says is that Blagojevich wasn't interesting in governing. He was interested in using his power and influence to make money. Not exactly what the people of Illinois elected him to do.
Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but this is a mess. |
