Rod Blagojevich Gets 14 Years For Trying To Sell President Obama's Old Senate Seat

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich got 14 years for trying to leverage President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat to raise campaign cash or land a high-paying job. That followed convictions through 2 trials on 18 charges (the first trial ended in mistrial on all but one charge), including bribery, attempted extortion, and lying to the FBI.

Blagojevich's legal team came up with a rather curious strategy in seeking leniency during the sentencing hearings. He had his lawyers admit he's guilty of the charges, but are seeking mercy from the court.

Judge James Zagel signaled Tuesday he may be prepared to impose a stiff prison sentence, saying he thinks Blagojevich lied when he told jurors he never tried to sell or trade an appointment to President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat for campaign cash or a top job.

Throughout the first day of his two-day sentencing hearing, the impeached executive-turned-reality TV star known for his jocular personality was somber and ill-at-ease, staring down at the floor. His wife sobbed as a letter from their daughter was read begging Zagel not to send Blagojevich to prison.

The hearing was a stark contrast to the circus atmosphere around Blagojevich's trials on multiple counts of corruption.

The conciliatory tone came as something of a surprise — just days after defense filings that, as many times before, stridently declared Blagojevich's innocence and said he had been duped by aides but never intended to cross any lines into illegality.

Attorney Sheldon Sorosky told Zagel it was illegal for Blagojevich to ask for a job for himself in exchange for naming Obama's replacement in the Senate.

"There's no doubt this is a crime to do this in relation to the Senate seat, we accept that," he said. "I am just saying that does not call for a 15- to 20-year jail" term as prosecutors have requested.

He got a pretty harsh sentence all things considered. There was no reason to give him any leniency whatsoever. His only remorse was in being caught.

Blagojevich will be able to spend the holidays with his family; he wont be taken into custody until February 16, 2012.

Blagojevich Found Guilty On Multiple Counts of Corruption

All that fabulously coiffed hair did nothing to save former Illinois Governor Ron Blagojevich from a jury finding him guilty on multiple counts of corruption from trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's US Senate seat.

Mr. Blagojevich, a Democrat whose former aides say once saw himself as a presidential contender some day, was found guilty of 17 counts of wire fraud, attempted extortion, bribery, extortion conspiracy and bribery conspiracy. He was acquitted on one charge of bribery, and the jury deadlocked on two counts of attempted extortion.

The verdict appeared to be the conclusion, at last, to the spectacle of Mr. Blagojevich’s political career, which began its spiraling descent shortly after Mr. Obama was elected president in November 2008. A month after Election Day, Mr. Blagojevich, who under state law was required to pick a new senator to replace Mr. Obama, was arrested, and federal agents revealed that they had secretly recorded hundreds of hours of damaging phone calls by him and his advisers.

Mr. Blagojevich, a lawyer and former state and federal lawmaker, was accused of trying to secure campaign contributions, a cabinet post or a high-paying job in exchange for his official acts as governor — whether that was picking a new senator, supporting particular legislation or deciding how to spend state money.

The outcome came as a victory for federal prosecutors, whose earlier trial of Mr. Blagojevich resulted in a deadlocked jury on most counts and led people to wonder whether Mr. Blagojevich’s behavior would ultimately be deemed crass political deal-making but not a crime.

Good riddance to bad hair.

How To Retry Rod Blagojevich

Prosecutors are going to have to rethink how they retry Rod Blagojevich after the jury couldn't agree on all but one of the charges against him. How juries respond to cases is an important aspect of figuring out what to do next.



What should they do differently?

I think that prosecutors should narrow down the number of charges and focus on fewer but more serious claims. Some think that prosecutors shouldn't do that since they were so close to convicting him because of 11-1 verdicts (you need unanimous to convict).

"I think the government will take its time and re-think the presentation of its evidence. I'm not as sure as other commentators that they have to do it a whole lot differently than they did," said former federal prosecutor James E. Barz, now a trial lawyer with the Mayer Brown law firm. "They convicted him on one count, and they had jurors willing to convict him on every other count ... particularly on the Senate counts if they were 11 to 1," Barz said. "There's still an awful lot of evidence. I don't know that you have to do it a lot differently."

While some jurors said prosecutors presented a confusing case that lacked a timeline, others cautioned against a major streamlining of the allegations.

"Take a charge out here and there, to me, would have been counterproductive in that you lose the -- what's the word I'm looking for? -- the totality of everything together," juror Ralph Schindler told the Chicago Sun-Times.

"The lack of a smoking gun, for lack of a better phrase, probably made it more difficult. But the evidence we had, it led me to where I should have gone," said Schindler, who said he thought Blagojevich was guilty of trying to sell the Senate seat.

Prosecutors made a deliberate effort to keep Rezko and Levine off the witness stand. After his conviction, Rezko wrote a letter to a federal judge accusing Blagojevich investigators of encouraging him to lie, while Levine's drug use became a distraction during his testimony in the Rezko trial.

"I have two words of advice: Rezko and Levine. They should be all over the case. They should be all over the proof," said Leonard Cavise, a law professor at the DePaul University College of Law. "If you're looking for the quid pro quo, follow the money; those two guys know where the bodies are buried."

Prosecutors have a tough call to make with Rezko and Levine, precisely because those could be major distractions and take the spotlight off Blagojevich and put it on to Rezko. Then again, the fact that Blagojevich was surrounded by shady characters who are all out there trying to save their own hides shows that there is no honor among thieves.

Blagojevich's Gift Keeps On Giving

Pass the popcorn. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn (D) says Sen. Roland Burris (D-Blagojevich) should resign from the US Senate after continued revelations about Burris and his relationship with disgraced, impeached, and removed former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Quinn is calling for a special election to fill the seat.

Good luck with that.

Roland Burris: The Blagojevich Gift That Keeps Giving

The fun in Illinois politics hasn't ended now that Rod Blagojevich was impeached and removed from the governorship. Nope. Not by a longshot.

The effects of his stint in office will be felt for a long time to come.

Right now, his choice to replace Barack Obama in the Senate looks like he's going to go down in flames of his own after lying about whether he had contacts with Blagojevich's office over who would replace Obama. He's also lied about whether he raised money for Blagojevich; he did. He's got multiple versions of stories, and each one calls into question his credibility.

It's to the point that even the Chicago Tribune is calling for Burris to resign.

Let’s see if we have it right: Burris had zero contact with any of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s cronies about his interest in the Senate seat being vacated by President Barack Obama— unless you count that conversation with former chief of staff Lon Monk, and, on further reflection, the ones with insiders John Harris, Doug Scofield and John Wyma and, oh yeah, the governor’s brother and fund-raising chief, Robert Blagojevich. But Burris didn’t raise a single dollar for the now ex-governor as a result of those contacts because that could be construed as a quid pro quo and besides, everyone he asked refused to donate.

The story gets worse with every telling.

Enough. Roland Burris must resign.

His protests that he had nothing to hide just don’t square with his obvious attempts to hide something, as evidenced by the evolving truths in three sworn statements to the House impeachment panel. His Jan. 8 testimony before that panel contradicted the affidavit he’d filed three days earlier. On Feb. 5 he submitted a “clarification” detailing the contacts he’d failed to mention on the stand.

Now he has admitted that the governor’s brother hit him up to raise campaign cash, and in at least one conversation, Burris raised his prospects for being appointed to the Senate.

Rob Blagojevich’s attorney has acknowledged that the feds likely have at least one of those conversations on tape. Burris told reporters Monday night that he “talked to some people about trying to see if we could put a fund-raiser on,” but “they said ‘We aren’t giving money to the governor.’”

The hole just gets deeper and deeper, and Burris keeps digging. He has no credibility.

That's not a good way to start your career in the US Senate. Yet, this is completely par for the course in Illinois politics where being governor goes hand in hand with an indictment and conviction in Club Fed. His backers have no credibility either as they sat on evidence of Burris' wrongdoing themselves. That includes Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)

Perjury and obstruction of justice charges are just the beginning for Burris, who may have to have the stone masons carve in another line on his gaudy mausoleum - criminal. And while he would like to think of himself as a trailblazer, his current actions are little different than Blagojevich's - lying and obstructing justice and the investigations into whether there was wrongdoing in who would get Obama's seat.

Questions are being raised on how to solve the Burris problem. The concern is that even a successful perjury case against Burris might not be enough to unseat Burris.

More to the point, the problem with Illinois politics, and indeed politics across the country is that the corruption we see is pervasive and systemic. A starter might be to clean up the corruption at the local level and work all the way up through the ranks. The corruption is so pervasive that everyone thinks that this is the way politics gets done. Of course, the reality is that none of this will change because the voters keep sending back the same people who are responsible for the mess they're in. In fact, they're already making excuses and offering up a ready tolerance for such actions.

For now, we're left with knowing that the US Senate has opened an ethics investigation into Burris' actions. If it's anything like a House investigation, Burris has nothing to worry about; they're still not quite sure whether Charles Rangel broke the law and/or multiple ethics violations by cheating on his taxes, violating House ethics rules and disclosure rules, and breaking NYC housing rent control/stabilization guidelines for years on end.

Clean Sweep: Illinois Senate Votes 59-0 To Remove Blagojevich

It isn't the end of the Blagojevich affair by any stretch, contrary to CBS News headlines, but it is the end the road for disgraced former Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was removed as Illinois Governor by the Illinois Senate 59-0.

Blagojevich spoke before the Senate yesterday and rambled on about how he had done so much good for the state and that if he had committed a crime, others should go down as well, including President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and various members of the Illinois political establishment.

I'm sure that sat well with all those folks.

In the end, it didn't affect the outcome, especially since Blagojevich hinted at his culpability when he stated that he had not knowingly committed criminal acts.

Once the State House impeached him earlier this month for abuse of power, the Senate did what was expected and voted to throw Blagojevich out of office. And on an identical 59-0 roll call, it barred the two-term Democrat from ever again holding public office in the state.

"He failed the test of character. He is beneath the dignity of the state of Illinois. He is no longer worthy to be our governor," said Sen. Matt Murphy, a Republican from suburban Chicago.

The state's Democratic Lieutenant Governor (and one of Blagojevich's strongest critics), 60-year-old Quinn, was promptly sworn in as governor.

Blagojevich, 52, had boycotted the first three days of the impeachment trial, calling the proceedings a kangaroo court. But on Thursday, he went before the Senate to fight for his job, delivering a 47-minute plea that was, by turns, defiant, humble and sentimental.

He offered familiar lines: He was innocent. The trial rules were unfair. His goal always was to help people.

"You haven't proved a crime, and you can't because it didn't happen," Blagojevich told lawmakers. "How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?"

"I think what's been very disappointing and very frustrating to everyone involved in the process … is that the governor could have brought forward information and evidence and witnesses, and he refused at every turn to do so," Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan said on CBS' The Early Show. "He didn't participate when the House was considering impeachment. He obviously refused to participate in the actual trial in front of the Senate.

Blagojevich had gone on a media blitz this week, appearing on major network morning programs and taking the plea to the people, claiming that he had never intended to carry out criminal acts and that he had done much good for the people of Illinois.

Still, Blagojevich does have a point about the impeachment process; it wasn't exactly about due process and the ability to rebut charges with the presentation of evidence. That was due, in part, to the criminal charges and the case pending in federal court on corruption charges. The prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, didn't want to undermine his criminal case and so limited the amount of evidence provided for impeachment purposes.

Blagojevich To Appear At Impeachment Hearing?

That's right folks. It's going to be epic. Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), who is under criminal investigation for a variety of corrupt activities and is currently being impeached by the Illinois Legislature, wants to make a closing statement at the close of the testimony tomorrow despite refusing to participate in the proceedings to date because he believed them to be unfair.

Given his penchant for reciting poems, referring to the likes of Martin Luther King, Jr., Jimmy Stewart, and other famous folks, his appearance will definitely be noteworthy.

Grab the popcorn, because it's going to be fun.

Photo Caption of the Day

This is courtesy than none other than Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), who is currently making the rounds to all the media outlets while the Illinois Legislature considers his impeachment.

Show me your jazz hands!



Leave your best captions in the comments below.

Pass the Popcorn: Rod Blagojevich Is Impeached

Pass the popcorn, because this is going to get quite entertaining. Welcome to the Chicago way boys and girls.

Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was accused of attempting to sell Barack Obama's US Senate seat to the highest bidder has been impeached, the first time in Illinois state history. The Chicago Democrat was impeached by an overwhelming majority.

In a historic vote, the Illinois House has impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, directing the Senate to put the state’s 40th chief executive on trial with the goal of removing him from office.

The vote by the House was 114-1 and marks the first time in the state's 190-year history that a governor has been impeached, despite Illinois' longstanding reputation for political corruption.

Rep. Milt Patterson (D-Chicago) was the lone vote against impeaching the governor. Patterson, from Chicago's Southwest Side, said after the roll call that he didn't feel it was his job to vote to impeach the governor. He declined comment on whether he approved of the job Blagojevich is doing.

UPDATE:
And for the record, the Chicago story doesn't mention Blagojevich's political affiliation. He's a Democrat, not that it matters to most of the press, who would only find reason to include party affiliation when a Republican is involved - and include that detail in every available headline.

Blagojevich Names Former Attorney General To Replace Obama In US Senate

Democrat Rod Blagojevich has upped the ante; he's naming former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace Barack Obama in the US Senate:

Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is expected to name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, according to a report by the Chicago Tribune.

The governor has scheduled a 3 p.m. ET news conference Tuesday, but his spokesman Lucio Guerrero declined to tell the Associated Press what the governor plans to discuss.

Blagojevich has been under pressure to step aside or resign since his arrest earlier this month on federal corruption charges. He's accused of trying to sell Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Obama's top officials, including Rahm Emanuel have become embroiled in the scandal and Obama's media flacks have repeatedly fallen short of fully disclosing the contacts, instead offering up claims that are ludicrous on their face.

UPDATE:
At least some Democrats are apparently using functioning neurons. Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid disapproves of Blagojevich making any such decisions.

UPDATE:
Who is Burris? Well, apparently, he likes to speak his mind, calling two of his opponents in an election in 1998 "non-qualified white boys". Reid may attempt to try and not seat Burris, but it's not up to him. The Warren Court decided as much when his court ruled that Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., must be seated (coincidentally, he was replaced by the corrupt and detestable Charles Rangel who continues to operate above the law).

Lego My Blago!

Embattled Illinois Governor Ron Blagojevich has professed he's done nothing wrong and will fight the claims that he's engaged in rampant corrupt activities to his final breath.

“I’m here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing,” Mr. Blagojevich said, during his quick public statement at the James R. Thompson Center in downtown Chicago.

“I will fight this thing every step of the way. I will fight. I will fight. I will fight,” he said.

Mr. Blagojevich is accused of, among other things, trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder.

On Wednesday, Mr. Blagojevich told reporters that the day “will soon be here” when he’ll tell his side of the story.

The Chicago Democrat is following a path tread by many other politicians in similar circumstances. They'll deny and avoid responsibility for any and all illegal and corrupt activities up until the moment they get what they or their lawyers believe is a reasonable deal from prosecutors and he'll admit to some form of wrongdoing.

The other alternative is to fight the claims and end up being convicted. You can ask Republican Sen. Larry Craig how his fight against his toe tapping in a restroom stall turned out.

How exactly will Blagojevich show that he's not guilty of the crimes alleged? Expect him to claim that everything was taken out of context, and that this is the Chicago way.

His proof?

It's the way things have always been done in Illinois and Chicago politics. If you want anything done, you have to play along. He was just better at it than everyone else. No one likes a sore winner, so they're on him. That's why he's innocent.

Hey, I didn't say it was rational, made sense, or even reasonable. I'm just saying that Blagojevich probably believes that he's done nothing wrong because this is how Chicago politics has always operated and had no reason to doubt the tactics used and the pay to play for Obama's seat.

Yet Another Reason Why McCain Lost the 2008 Election

Sen. John McCain remains a US Senator and will not become the next President of the United States in part because he alienated far too many Republicans with all of his "mavericky" statements. Republicans who turned out in record numbers in 2004 for President Bush's reelection stayed at home and on the sidelines as Obama's people turned out in record numbers.

That trend continues today, when he's far more likely to criticize Republicans for going after Obama's connections with corrupt Democrat Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich than to go after Obama and his connections with shady characters, corrupt politicians and the Chicago machine.

In a surprising rebuke to the warriors who fought for him through tough times, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Sunday sided with President-elect Barack Obama and scolded the Republican National Committee for fanning the Illinois corruption scandal.

On ABC’s “This Week,” host George Stephanopoulos asked: “The chairman of the Republican National Committee, Mike Duncan, has been highly critical of the way President- elect Obama has dealt with this.
"He's had a statement every single day, saying that the Obama team should reveal all contacts they've had with Governor [Rod] Blagojevich. He says that Obama's promise of transparency to the American people is now being tested. Do you agree with that?”

McCain replied: “I think that the Obama campaign should and will give all information necessary. You know, in all due respect to the Republican National Committee and anybody — right now, I think we should try to be working constructively together, not only on an issue such as this, but on the economy stimulus package, reforms that are necessary. And so, I don't know all the details of the relationship between President-elect Obama's campaign or his people and the governor of Illinois, but I have some confidence that all the information will come out. It always does, it seems to me.”

It's absolutely infuriating that McCain continues to think that the Republicans are in the wrong whenever there is a scandal involving Democrats for simply pointing out the Democrats scandals.

After all, the media has done an awful job of sorting through all of Obama's past dealings in Illinois politics and even now are busy trying to erect a barrier between Blagojevich and Obama, despite the fact that there's no way that the two camps didn't talk about what would happen to Obama's seat once he was elected President. If the GOP isn't out there highlighting the connections between Obama and Blagojevich and the possibility of further criminal conduct among Obama's staffers (hey, I'm talking about Axelrod and Emanuel who have made multiple contradictory statements regarding their conversations with the Blagojevich staff on Obama's seat situation), who will?

That isn't to say that Obama engaged in criminal acts relating to Blagojevich's attempt to sell Obama's seat to the highest bidder and profit personally from the transaction, but Obama did work with Blagojevich on his 2002 campaign for governor, and has been close to Blagojevich - who has been under a cloud of suspicion for corrupt activities ever since 2002.

No one who knows anything about Chicago and Illinois politics should be surprised by any of the revelations about Blagojevich, despite the stunning audacity of his demands for profit from Obama's seat. What is surprising is how Obama has seemingly risen above all the corruption and emerged without even a whiff of taint from decades of corrupt politicians surrounding him on all sides - at least that's how it is portrayed by a media that did all it could to push Obama to win in November.

Never mind that Tony Rezko's conviction still may provide some troubling questions for what Obama knew and did and how he came to own his Chicago home. Rezko is also a close personal friend of Blagojevich and helped Blagojevich win the election in 2002.

Talking Points

After days of claiming that people from the Obama camp had no discussions with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, all of a sudden we get a report where Rahm Emanuel admits he talked with staffers from his fellow Democrat about what would happen to Obama's Illinois Senate seat.

Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Chicago Tribune has learned.

The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat?

Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill.

It makes absolutely no sense that Obama and the Illinois governor's staffers wouldn't be having conversations about what would happen to the seat and who both sides would like to see replace Obama. It's simply farfetched that there were no conversations as Obama and his press flacks had been maintaining all week since the news of Blagojevich's indictments hit the airwaves.

Indeed, it looks like there were contacts beginning even before the November election. That too should have been expected since it was highly possible that the governor would be picking Obama's replacement.

Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be "acceptable" to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.

Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.

So, what took so long? Was it that difficult to realize that telling the truth was the best and only course of action to take and that stonewalling would lead to the appearance of impropriety? Did Emanuel and Obama not realize that they're dealing with a prosecutor in the form of Patrick Fitzgerald who'd already secured convictions for obstruction of justice and perjury against "Scooter" Libby because he couldn't keep his story straight with investigators? The inability to come up with a coherent story could land Obama's top staffers, including Emanuel and David Axelrod in hot water.

I also find it hard to believe that we'll get a full investigation from Obama's own people into whether anyone had conversations or engaged in unethical or illegal activities; there's simply too much self interest involved to get a true and impartial investigation. The federal prosecutors are going to have to investigate and let the matter take them where the evidence leads.

Right now, I really don't think Obama himself is implicated in any of the direct corruption alleged against Blagojevich attempting to sell Obama's seat. That's not to say that Obama couldn't later be implicated in other schemes Blagojevich was running - and there's apparently plenty of corruption to go around.

It also raises questions as to Madigan's suddenly active role in seeking Blagojevich's ouster through the courts. She's ignored the corruption in Illinois all along, and yet now finds her voice even as she's been mentioned as a possible replacement for Obama. That doesn't suggest that she's involved in the corruption, but it certainly should raise questions as to her motivations.

For his part, Blagojevich continues to carry on state business even as calls for his resignation continue to pour in. There are also reports that he's consulting with his lawyers about possibly resigning this coming week, but as I've stated previously, Blagojevich would not resign unless he's got a deal in place with prosecutors.

Illinois Attorney General Seeks Court Declaration That Blagojevich Unfit For Office

Someone had to act, and apparently it starts with the Illinois Attorney General, Lisa Madigan.

In an unprecedented move, the Illinois attorney general filed a motion with the state's highest court Friday asking justices to strip scandal-plagued Gov. Rod Blagojevich of his powers.

Lisa Madigan took the action as pressure on the governor intensified to step down and lawmakers considered impeachment.

"I recognize that this is an extraordinary request, but these are extraordinary circumstances," Madigan said at a news conference.

It was not immediately clear when the Supreme Court might take up the matter. The justices also have the discretion to deny the attorney general's request.

The move came as the governor prayed with several ministers in his home before heading to his office, telling them he is innocent and will be vindicated "when you hear each chapter completely written," according to one of the pastors.

Of course, one has to wonder just how closely Madigan was looking at corruption in the Governor office for the years prior to this moment. Blagojevich's corruption started before the news broke of Blagojevich's attempts to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat for personal profit. There are years worth of corruption and scandal involving Blagojevich; this didn't come out of the blue. Where was law enforcement until now?

Still, the Illinois Supreme Court isn't likely to intervene, and will likely let the Illinois Legislature deal with the mess. The feds could spur things along with additional indictments and plea deals among others likely involved in the corruption alongside Blagojevich including Tony Rezko. If they start naming names, everyone may seek cover and refuge by cutting deals themselves.

That said, Blagojevich isn't going to resign on his own or under pressure now. The only way he's resign is as a part of a plea deal to reduce his prison sentence. His office is the one great playing card he has left, and he's going to milk it for what it's worth - a shorter stay in Club Fed. If he resigned now, he'd lose that playing card, and with it a chance at a shorter prison sentence.

UPDATE:
Madigan is also mentioned in the wiretap transcripts, but no wrongdoing is alleged. Meanwhile, John Harris, Blagojevich's Chief of Staff, has resigned. Harris was indicted alongside Blagojevich, so this likely means that Harris got his golden parachute - trading his resignation for cooperation and a recommendations for a lighter sentence from the feds.

The rats are fleeing the sinking ship, and I have to believe many are talking with the feds and hoping to cut deals on their own.

UPDATE:
Let's further recall that Illinois Deputy Gov. Bob Greenlee resigned as well.

Is Blagojevich Nuts?

It's a question that was asked by Powerline earlier this week (and again today), and CBS News is also raising the question. Why would he knowingly say such things even while he was under investigation for rampant corruption.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich knew for months he was under investigation, so why was he caught on tape making so many incriminating statements? Some are wondering if there's something wrong with his mental acuity.

As CBS 2's Jim Williams reports, right after the feds announced the charges against Blagojevich, there were angry shouts across the country. Many called him "disgusting, arrogant."

However, after some reflection, there is the serious question people like Marian Cassler of Chicago are asking: "When you know you're being watched, why would you do something like that? You have to have something wrong."

"Well, we think he's nuts, that he has some kind mental problem that he would have the audacity to do such a thing," said Chicago resident Meg Olsen.

Could it be that Blagojevich has a mental illness that has impaired his judgment?

Dr. Daniela Schreirer is a forensic psychologist at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and she does not see any sign of mental illness in the public Blagojevich, but believes he does have sociopathic traits.

"We're just talking about traits. We're not talking about full-blown diagnosis. But certainly, there's the same sense of entitlement, the same sense of thinking I am superior. I can do whatever I want. I am not going to be caught," Schreirer said.

For starters, I don't think he's nuts. I don't think there's anything clinically wrong with him, although all this talk will surely inspire his defense team to consider putting experts on the stand to claim that he was insane or suffering from some form of mental illness that couldn't tell right from wrong.

Blagojavich appears to see everything in terms of how he can profit from them. A Senate seat has worth to him beyond mere political power (which has value in and of itself). It has a dollar value. Everything can be reduced to a dollar figure or tangible use of political power. The affidavits and transcripts from the wiretaps all point to his insatiable need to profit from the situation.

So, when the opportunity presented itself to find a successor to Barack Obama, he opened the door to see what he could get for the seat. This isn't merely horsetrading, but flat out corruption. He's looking for pay to play. That may be politics as usual in Chicago, but it's criminal.

Further, the fact that he wanted the Tribune Company to choose between keeping certain reporters on the payroll or losing tax benefits should the company sell the Cubs, suggests that he was acutely aware of image and how to maintain power. It goes to the fungible nature of power, image, and profit. If the reporters broke news on his corruption, he'd lose power, image, and profit. He was doing what he could to protect all three. What is so breathtaking is just how starkly bold he was in doing all this.

He apparently believed he was above the law, even by Chicago standards.

Pressure Mounts On Blagojevich To Resign

Pressure is mounting on Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich to step down. Well, it's the least he can do right now to spare Illinois of a real mess as the state heads into legislative session and has to deal with a faltering economy.

Since current law gives Blagojevich the right to select Barack Obama's replacement in the Senate, the legislature will have to act swiftly to strip the governor of that right and to call for a special election in its stead. That raises a question as to whether Blagojevich would veto such a bill, but I can't see him taking any actions at this point since he's pretty much secured himself a long term stay in Club Fed.

The Illinois legislature, which is currently adjourned, plans to reconvene on Monday to address the political fallout from the arrest of Mr. Blagojevich on Tuesday on charges of conspiracy and soliciting bribes. The state House is expected to draft a bill that would call for a special election to fill Mr. Obama’s Senate seat, which he resigned last month; state law authorizes the governor to appoint the President-elect’s successor. More than 50 lawmakers have already signed a draft bill to create a committee to investigate whether the governor should be impeached.

Cindy Davidsmeyer, a spokeswoman for Emil Jones, the president of the state Senate, said lawmakers could pass a bill on the special election as soon as next Tuesday. It is unclear whether Mr. Blagojevich would sign such legislation; he could veto it or delay it by returning it to the legislature with requests for changes or by taking no action at all for as long as 60 days.

Steve Brown, a spokesman for the state House speaker, Michael Madigan, said the legislature would act quickly “to try and send yet another signal that there is not confidence in the governor’s ability to make this appointment.”

Since Blagojevich isn't ready to resign, impeachment could be an option, but it's complicated, especially since if impeachment were to begin with the current legislature, no one quite knows for sure how the process would carry over if the impeachment isn't concluded by January 14 when the new legislature is sworn into office or whether the process would have to start anew. Much could be saved simply by Blagojevich resigning, but he's not going to go down without a fight.

Meanwhile, people are still trying to figure out who the other candidates mentioned on the wiretaps were, since they were identified only as numbers. It now appears that Candidate Number 5 was none other than Jesse Jackson Jr.

Oh, and Iowahawk was up to his usual self, identifying Blagojevich's eBay account (humor).

UPDATE:
Barack Obama has weighed in and is calling on Blagojevich to resign as well. That could be out of self-preservation of avoiding juicy details from leaking out that might harm Obama and his own advisers.

What Did They Know and When Did They Know It

The circus that surrounds Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is only going to get worse, and the questions are going to get a whole lot more uncomfortable for far more people in a hurry. That includes Barack Obama's expected Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. In fact, Emanuel may have tipped off the feds as to Blagojevich's antics.

David Axelrod stepped in it as well, claiming that Blagojevich and Obama talked about who would replace Obama in the Senate, but the Obama campaign now says that Axelrod misspoke. Where did Axelrod get the idea that the two talked? That's going to require subpoenas and phone records to see who talked to whom and what was said.

There's also questions about just how close Obama and Blagojevich are. I'd say that the two Democrats are pretty close, and to believe that the two men didn't discuss who would be appointed to Obama's seat even in passing must believe in pixie dust and unicorns. Something must have gotten Blagojevich's dander up by claiming that Obama wasn't going to give him anything in exchange for the Senate seat. Who passed that along, and why was nothing said to the authorities about a quid pro quo for the seat.

Some in the media are trying to increase the distance between Obama and Blagojevich. Blagojevich supported Obama's presidential campaign, but even at that time the Obama campaign may have been trying to distance him from the swirling corruption talk, particularly in regards to Tony Rezko.

Still, there is one thing that catches my attention though through all the analysis and reports today.

Patrick Fitzgerald serves at the pleasure of the President. He may be asked to resign when Barack Obama becomes President in January although the Senior Senator from Illinois Richard Durbin, a Democrat, has suggested keeping him on.

Should he send Fitzgerald packing, it would pose a real thorny issue for Obama. If he does anything that potentially derails the ongoing investigation into his friend Blagojevich, it's going to cause serious political problems for him down the line. If Fitzgerald is allowed to serve out and complete his investigation and prosecution, it could mean plenty of convictions and opportunities for Obama to grant pardons down the road.

From a legal perspective, Obama of course has an absolute right to send Fitzgerald packing (but it might be entertaining to see how the Left contorts itself on the legal grounds that they claim cost Bush Attorney General Alberto Gonzales when he fired a bunch of federal attorneys).

Still, that wouldn't necessarily mark the end of the investigation. It could just slow it down. Obama would more likely wait and let the criminal justice system run its course and find Blagojevich guilty of multiple crimes relating to the ongoing corruption investigation, and pardon or commute his sentence.

That too is within Obama's absolute legal right as President. Obama would have to wait until a criminal sentence is passed before considering commutation. Obama cannot act before that point, if he wanted to. If Blagojevich is indicted on state crimes, those would have to be acted upon by whoever succeeds him as Governor.

However, the political fallout from such actions could be extreme. It could seriously affect Democrats chances in 2010 and Obama's reelection efforts for 2012. This situation puts Obama on the defensive right off the bat since so many of his closest political allies are involved, associated, or implicated in the growing scandal. It's a huge distraction for the Obama campaign at a time when they need to be focusing on transitioning to the White House and getting up to speed on the economy, foreign policy, and all the other daily issues that the President must address.

Instead, the Obama team has to deal with damage control from before day one. That's not a good place to be in, and it's only going to get worse.

Of course, Blagojevich may have cost himself a pardon by cursing out Obama in the wiretaps, but Obama may be the kind of guy who pays back those who help him get to the top, even if he's had to run them under the bus from time to time.

Here's a primer to those suggested as candidates to replace Obama.

The crimes alleged or alluded to also includes shaking down Warren Buffet and putting the screws to the Chicago Tribune for posting unflattering stories about Blagojevich.

There's still the unfinished business relating to Tony Rezko.

For his part, Blagojevich has no intention of resigning.

UPDATE:
So, how close were Obama and Blagojavich? Well, Obama and Emanuel seemingly ran Blagojavich's run for governor. Of course, now that the mess has hit the fan, everyone is running for the exits, including Emanuel, who's now clarifying his prior statements. Figures. Either he exaggerated his position in Blagojavich's inner circle, or he's lying about just how close he was to Blagojavich. I'm leaning towards the latter, but Emanuel's lying no matter how you dice it.

UPDATE:
Jesse Jackson Jr is wise to be lawyering up. It looks like he's the one who allegedly offered Blagojavich money for the Senate seat. Dumb. Real dumb.

UPDATE:
Look, just because Obama and Blagojavich were meeting to discuss who would replace Obama doesn't mean that Obama's in on the criminality. It does make Obama look stupid for claiming that the two men didn't talk, or didn't talk about the seat when it has been reported by multiple outlets and multiple sources indicate that they spoke.

It's not the crime, it's the coverup, and in his attempt to distance himself from Blagojavich, Obama's going to run afoul of the law. It will be interesting to see all the subpoenas flying at everyone involved - including Obama to get to the heart of who was involved and what was being discussed. Obama better get his story straight, or he too will find out what it means to enter a perjury trap or obstruct justice. From what I can tell, Obama really wanted nothing to do with Blago's heavy handed tactics and demands for quid pro quo, but that too indicates that the two men talked or had their underlings talking - all of which goes against what Obama has been saying.

This mess is about to get a whole lot messier, and it also will be entertaining watching all those folks who thought that Scooter Libby should fry now facing a situaiton where The One and his flacks, including Axelrod, Emanuel, and a whole host of Chicago cronies is about to engage the same guy who nailed Libby for the perjury trap.

UPDATE:
This might be the most damning and dangerous part of Blagojavich's schemes. He wanted pay to play with the Tribune Company and demanded firing journalists who were not to his liking in order for the Tribune Company to get tax breaks on a possible sale:

While the selling of the senate seat and pay to play complaints got the most headlines, perhaps the most incredible of all the charges alleged against Blagojevich is his attempted shakedown of the Chicago Tribune.

The Trib not only owns the Chicago Tribune but also the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Owner Sam Zell (who has just filed for bankruptcy) is trying to sell the team and, more importantly, one of the most valuable pieces of real estate in Chicago: Wrigley Field, home of the Cubs.

But the sale of Wrigley field will involve massive taxes -- something on the order of $100 million dollars in capital gains. Zell had a approached the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) in order to strike a deal where, according to the criminal complaint, the IFA would take title to Wrigley Field thus saving Zell a lot of cash.

Enter Blagojevich, who told his chief of staff John Harris (also arrested today) to make it clear to Zell that no help from the IFA would be forthcoming unless some members of the Chicago Tribune editorial board were fired.

In a November 4 phone call with Harris, Blagojevich told his aide ""our recommendation is fire all those [expletive] people, get ‘em the [expletive] out of there and get us some editorial support."

Harris reported back on November 11 that Zell "got the message and is very sensitive to the issue." Later, Harris told Blagojevich that there were "certain corporate reorganizations and budget cuts coming and, reading between the lines, he's (Zell) going after that section."

No firings have taken place yet and it is doubtful that Zell will make a move now that this deal is in the open. I suppose he saw it as a cost of doing business and $100 million is a lot of cash. But the thought that he would buckle to the whims of this strutting peacock of a politician who wanted journalists, who were only doing the job they were being paid to do, axed because they were telling the truth about his corruption stinks of rank cowardice.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Arrested On Corruption Charges

Go figure. Rod Blagojevich sought to profit from choosing the successor to Sen. Barack Obama, who becomes President in January.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested by FBI agents Tuesday morning on federal corruption charges, officials said.

His chief of staff John Harris was also charged, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed in a statement.

Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, both of Chicago, were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

It also figures that curiously left out of the report is the fact that he's a Democrat. Funny how that works.

UPDATE:
According to Bruce in the comments, the MSNBC story now includes Blagojevich's political affiliation. Gee, it wasn't that hard to include. Meanwhile, here's a timeline into the Blagojevich investigation. It remains to be seen whether Obama gets dragged into this mess directly. Right now, there's no indication that Obama is involved, but the number of people involved or who have already rolled on Blagojevich is staggering:

he investigation’s been active for three years and his cronies have been rolling over on him for months, culminating in a former aide named John Wyma having somehow cooperated with the feds to obtain recordings of Blagojevich yakking about graft. (The Tribune, which broke the news, won’t say if he wore a wire.) Another top crony was convicted six months ago of mail fraud, among other things, but his sentencing was postponed from October to January amid rumors that he was singing to the U.S. Attorney about the Chicago machine in hopes of a better deal. You might have heard of him.

That last person? Tony Rezko.

Stay tuned. Chicago politics is in play, and it's guaranteed to get messy.

UPDATE:
That's not the Fitzmas that the left was looking for. Patrick Fitzgerald, who had headed up the investigation into who leaked Valerie Plame's name to the media, is the prosecutor involved and he's knocked over a hornet's nest here.

UPDATE:
The Chicago Tribune (currently seeking bankruptcy protection) also omits Blagojevich's political affiliation. Well, when you miss the small details, things happen. Like bankruptcy.

UPDATE:
Mere Rhetoric also plays name that party!

UPDATE:
Whoa nelly. Thanks to Michelle Malkin, Powerline, and Instapundit for the links. Much appreciated.

For those new to A Blog For All, name that party is a regular feature here, given the media's propensity to omit that detail in their reporting or to mysteriously insert and remove party affiliations from release version to version. It's no wonder so many people got questions wrong about who really controls Congress and other political questions these days. The media has done an awful job of informing their customers of basic news. It's no wonder that the bottom line at so many media outlets is suffering.

It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to include the political affiliations. In fact, it's an extra three keystrokes (D) would do it. It should be part of the mandatory style guides at the AP and other news outlets. Familiarity should not be an excuse either - local papers often get their reports picked up by national outlets and if the affiliations are omitted at the first level, that error is carried forward.

Is it so hard for the media to be consistent on how it reports political scandals? When Republicans get caught, that political affiliation is often included in the headline, while Democrats often get their affiliation buried deep in the article, if they're mentioned at all.

The media makes a big deal about claiming to be objective, but consistency would be a starting place on objective reporting, and I've repeatedly found inconsistencies on how such corruption is reported across the board.

UPDATE:
CNN now leads their lede on their front page mentioning Blagojevich's Democratic party ties. Good for them.

President Elect Obama To Resign Senate Seat Sunday

It is rare for a sitting Senator to become President, and it makes for some unusual occurrences. President-elect Barack Obama will be stepping down from his Senate seat on Sunday to devote his full time to preparing for assuming the White House on January 20.

This also means that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich gets to choose who will replace Obama in the Senate.

All political eyes in Illinois are on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to see who he will select to replace Obama for the two years remaining in his term. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) has been the most overt in positioning himself, but other frontrunners include Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Illinois Veterans Affairs Chief Tammy Duckworth, who Obama appeared with on Veterans Day.

Blagojevich is under no legal deadline to select an Obama replacement. It's been a long time since an Illinois governor had this juicy a plum to give away: the last Senate vacancy was in 1969 when Ralph Tyler Smith was selected by then Gov. Richard Ogilvie to fill the slot left vacant by the death of Sen. Everett Dirksen.

Obama needs to spend all the time he can preparing for his new office and is going to need all the luck he can possibly muster.