The corruption trial of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich — for allegedly trying to sell President Barack Obama’s own Senate seat — is a distant but unwelcome headache for the White House.
While Obama hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing, nor have his allies, top administration aides have now been subpoenaed to testify. After court adjourned Wednesday, Blagojevich’s attorneys filed a motion asking to see the FBI’s summaries of interviews agents conducted with Obama.
And Obama already has many other problems — from the Gulf oil spill to the economy — in what is also a tough congressional election year.
Rod R. Blagojevich was elected governor of Illinois in 2002 and was removed from office in January 2009 after an impeachment trial that topped off one of the nation’s biggest political scandals in years.
Mr. Blagojevich’s removal for abuse of office, by a 59 to 0 vote in the state senate, came a little more than six weeks after his sudden arrest on federal corruption charges. He was the eighth governor in United States history to be removed after impeachment and the first ever in Illinois.
Outside a courthouse in Chicago today, chatty ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich couldn’t resist his admirers. But inside, he faced a tougher crowd: federal prosecutors playing FBI wiretaps that they said show that he schemed to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat in 2008.
On the tapes, Blagojevich is heard floating another idea — to ask the president-elect to ask Warren Buffett or Bill Gates to throw $15 million into a health-care related charity account that Blago could manage and live off. In exchange, of course, he’d appoint Valerie Jarrett to Obama’s Senate seat.
Blagojevich had just seen on the news that Obama didn’t want Jarrett in the Senate anymore; instead, he was considering her for a cabinet post. But Blago’s not convinced, and he floats this new fund-raising idea.
Rod: This is one of those things where you’re the president-elect of the United States. His people, they go get the money.
Harris: I think that’s a lot easier for them than an appointment, sure…
Rod: You go to these big Democratic multi-billionaires … and you ask them all to give 2, … a couple million each … That’s all they got to do for Valerie Jarrett… that’s not hard for them.
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Tags: Chicago, Democrat, Illinois, Media, News Item, Rod Blagojevich
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