Illinois Governor arrested!

[03_SHOOTER]

Oh no, there's no corruption among DimocRATS!

Illinois Governor Arrested on Corruption Charges

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested in Chicago Tuesday on two counts each of corruption charges relating to trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested Tuesday morning in Chicago on two counts each of federal corruption charges stemming from allegations Blagojevich was trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat to the highest bidder.

The arrest is part of a three-year probe of "pay-to-play politics" in the governor's administration. The criminal complaint by the FBI says each man was arrested on two charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

The charges also relate to allegations that Blagojevich and Harris schemed with previously convicted defendants and Obama associates Antonin Rezko, Stuart Levine, Ali Ata and others to arrange financial benefits in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state employment, state contracts and access to state funds.

In addition, the case alleges that Blagojevich tried to influence the composition of The Chicago Tribune editorial board in exchange for state aid to the Tribune Company, which owns the newspaper.

Blagojevich and Harris will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court Tuesday.

A statement by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Robert Grant said Blagojevich and Harris "allegedly conspired to sell U.S. Senate appointment, engaged in pay-to-play schemes and threatened to withhold state assistance to Tribune Company for Wrigley Field to induce (the) purge of newspaper editorial writers."

"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," Fitzgerald said in a statement.

"Blagojevich put a for sale sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism," he added.

Grant noted that Blagojevich was elected in 2002 after Illinois Gov. George Ryan retired in the face of looming federal corruption charges. Ryan was convicted and sentenced in 2006 to six and a half years in prison.

"Many, including myself, thought that the recent conviction of a former governor would usher in a new era of honesty and reform in Illinois politics. Clearly, the charges announced today reveal that the office of the Governor has become nothing more than a vehicle for self-enrichment, unrestricted by party affiliation and taking Illinois politics to a new low," Grant said.

Federal authorities were permitted by a judge to record the governor secretly before the November election after raising concerns that a replacement for Obama would be tainted.

Fitzgerald's office said the 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was taped conspiring to sell or trade Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife, including an annual salary of $250,000-$300,000 at a nonprofit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions.

They also allege Blagojevich is heard on tape demanding a corporate board seat for his wife worth as much as $150,000 a year; promises of campaign funds, including cash up front; and the post of secretary of health and human services or an ambassadorship for himself in the Obama administration.

Informed Monday of the wiretap, Blagojevich told reporters that his discussions were "always lawful" and said taping him was akin to Watergate and President Nixon.

"I should say if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it," he said.

The Chicago Tribune was first to report the arrests. The Tribune was named in the affidavit because tapes allegedly recorded Blagojevich directing Harris to inform the newspaper's owners and advisers that "state financial assistance would be withheld unless members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board were fired, primarily because Blagojevich viewed them as driving discussion of his possible impeachment."

The Tribune Company, which declared bankruptcy on Monday, owns The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs, and had explored the possibility of obtaining assistance from the Illinois Finance Authority as part of the effort to sell the Cubs and finance the sale of Wrigley Field.

Conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Solicitation of bribery carries a maximum of 10 years in prison. Both carry a maximum fine of $250,000.

This would almost be funny if it weren't so pathetic.

[SlightlyCatholic]

Not to be overly ignorant, but what does this have to do with party politics? I'm just glad corruption has been stopped, regardless of the individual or their political affiliation.

[03_SHOOTER]

Originally Posted by Seminarian_Tim

Not to be overly ignorant, but what does this have to do with party politics? I'm just glad corruption has been stopped, regardless of the individual or their political affiliation.

Pattern of misconduct Tim, pattern of misconduct.

[03_SHOOTER]

It gets even better! It seems that his wife was involved too. OOPS!

This could be even more fun than the Clinton administration, and they're starting a lot earlier too.

Illinois First Lady Prominent in FBI Affidavit Charging Governor

Illinois First Lady Patricia Blagojevich is mentioned a number of times in the FBI affidavit accusing her husband and his chief of staff of corruption.

Illinois first lady Patricia Blagojevich's official Web site says she's "committed to spreading the governor's message."

That's putting it mildly, according to the 76-page FBI affidavit released Tuesday accusing her husband, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, and his chief of staff of corruption.

The first lady was not arrested Tuesday, but federal prosecutors nevertheless allege that she was engaged in the governor's attempts to sell Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder and to intimidate The Chicago Tribune. The court document mentions the first lady, though not by name, 19 times in six graphic sections.

Much of the information authorities collected came from bugs in the governor's campaign office and his home phone, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said at a press conference Tuesday. The prosecutor said Mrs. Blagojevich was referenced in the complaint, but he would not describe her involvement further.

"I'm not going to comment on anyone not charged," Fitzgerald said.

According to the affidavit, in one profanity-laced account, Patricia Blagojevich was allegedly heard in the background of a call between her husband and someone identified as "Deputy Governor A" advising the governor on how to handle The Chicago Tribune, which had published an editorial critical of the governor.

"F--- them," Patricia Blagojevich is quoted as saying, according to the affidavit. In an apparent reference to the Tribune Company's attempts to sell Wrigley Field and the Chicago Cubs, she urges the two engaged in the phone call to "hold up that f---ing Cubs s---."

The affidavit also says Mrs. Blagojevich then got on the phone and said the Tribune owner could "just fire" the editorial's writers. Gov. Blagojevich then got back on the phone and adopted that same position, the affidavit claims.

The affidavit alleges that the governor and his chief of staff, John Harris, threatened to withhold financial assistance to the Tribune Company, which declared bankruptcy Monday, in connection with the sale of the Cubs and the storied ballpark in which they play.

Blagojevich is responsible for appointing Obama's successor to fill out the remaining two years on the president-elect's Senate term. The affidavit claims that the governor conspired to trade Obama's Senate seat in exchange for his wife's placement on paid corporate boards or some other compensation.

The FBI complaint repeatedly mentions Blagojevich's attempts to win a plum assignment for his wife. On one Nov. 8, 2008, phone call, he discussed the possibility of getting his wife a high-paying job at a Washington or New York firm, or with a union.

On a Nov. 10 call, both Rod and Patricia Blagojevich -- in a two-hour phone call with Harris and other advisers -- allegedly discussed what they could obtain in exchange for appointing certain candidates to Obama's seat. The first lady allegedly suggested that she is qualified to sit on corporate boards. The governor discussed on a phone call later in the day whether Obama could get his wife a job on a corporate board immediately, according to the document.

Patricia Blagojevich has a personal history of friction with The Chicago Tribune. The newspaper has published a series of critical articles on her real estate dealings with politically connected clients.

In an Oct. 19 article, the Tribune reported that since Rod Blagojevich began raising money in 2000 for his first run for governor, the first lady's home-based River Realty, Inc. earned more than $700,000 in commissions -- and that "more than three-quarters came from clients with connections."

One such deal, reported on last year, involved the $650,000 sale of a condo from a businessman who later won $10 million in no-bid state contracts.

The Tribune reported that the first lady earned a likely commission of between $26,000 and $39,000 in the sale.

The newspaper also reported that Mrs. Blagojevich also had a long business relationship with Antonin "Tony" Rezko, the Chicago developer and former Obama fundraiser who was convicted on fraud charges earlier this year. The Blagojeviches reportedly refuse to disclose how much the real estate company made off Rezko.

The governor and his supporters have called the reports "Neanderthal" and "sexist."

Asked if anyone else would be charged in connection with this case, FBI spokesman Frank Bochte told FOX News, "This investigation certainly is not over. It's ongoing."

Patricia Blagojevich is a licensed real estate broker and appraiser, and has an economics degree from the University of Illinois. As Illinois' first lady, she championed early childhood literacy as well as health care programs to children.

[HairyEyeball]

Anyone offering odds on a full Presidential pardon in 90 days?

[PaulR]

You think that it would take 90 days??

As a side note, someone in prison would quickly adopt him. I am sure that his hair would be an immediate turn on for an inmate on his 20th year!

[C.A.P. Flight Officer]

The Governor should have known that most of the nation would be watching who would get that Senate seat. This has put a bad reflection on his party and the voters that voted him into office. Why do politicians have to be currupt and stupid? It is like they are stabbing their own voters in the back when things like this occur.

[Skylark]

Originally Posted by HairyEyeball

Anyone offering odds on a full Presidential pardon in 90 days?

I'd say a billion to one. He's not going to get a pardon. Obama and Blago are from different wings of the Illinois party that hate each other, and some of the wiretapped phone convos has Blago spewing expletives about him, so they're def. but best friends. Besides, the system's not that crooked. It's not like somebody's aide leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent for revenge against the agent's spouse's political criticism, then after lying and obfuscation was convicted of four counts of perjury and obstruction of justice, only to get his sentence commuted with a likely pardon.


The funny thing, to me, about it all is the cojones of the guy. One of the candidates he had in mind was himself. This guy, with a 4% approval rating before the scandal, figured if he became the Senator, if he could just get past the scandal and impeachment, he's totally springboard for 2016 President. Good grief.

[HairyEyeball]

Shall we just ignore the aparatchik who walked out with classified information stuffed in his shorts and 'walked' on any accountability while we're fantasizing, or shall we beg our distortion of fact be blamed on an unfamiliarity with the English language?

[03_SHOOTER]

Originally Posted by Skylark

It's not like somebody's aide leaked the identity of an undercover CIA agent for revenge against the agent's spouse's political criticism, then after lying and obfuscation was convicted of four counts of perjury and obstruction of justice, only to get his sentence commuted with a likely pardon.

Wait a minute, when did Robert Novak get convicted of four counts of perjury and obstruction of justice? And what makes you think that Novak leaked the story as revenge?

I must have been asleep that year.