Rod Blagojevich

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Obama: I Had No Contact With Blago

(Newser) - Barack Obama went before reporters to introduce Tom Daschle as his pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services today, but the real attention was on his reaction to the Rod Blagojevich scandal. “I was as appalled and disappointed as anyone,” he said, sayinghe's still gathering...

Timing of Blago Call, Jarrett's Senate Retreat Questioned

Obama aide reported out of consideration Nov. 10, same day as marathon bull session

(Newser) - The timing of reports that Valerie Jarrett, a top aide to Barack Obama, was out of the running to succeed him in the Senate, and the Nov. 10 conference call on which Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich discussed selling that seat is raising questions, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FBI...

Questions Obama Should Answer About Blago
 Questions Obama Should 
 Answer About Blago 

ANALYSIS
Dec 11, 2008 8:26 AM CST

Questions Obama Should Answer About Blago

(Newser) - Barack Obama says he hasn't spoken with Rod Blagojevich about his successor, but that's not all we need to know, writes Politico. Some suggested ice-breakers for today's Obama press conference:
  • "Did you communicate directly or indirectly with Blagojevich about picking your replacement in the US Senate?” Blago's wiretapped conversations
...

This Dude Is Late-Night Comedy Gold
This Dude Is Late-Night Comedy Gold
Dec 11, 2008 7:00 AM CST

This Dude Is Late-Night Comedy Gold

Letterman, Stewart, et al, pounce on Blago name, hair, idiocy

(Newser) - America's comics have rushed to mine the vein of comedy gold opened by Rod Blagejovich's arrest on corruption charges, the Chicago Tribune reports. "It's one count of bribery, one count of fraud, and one count of Blagojeviching," David Letterman said. Jon Stewart quipped that the governor "has...

Obama Loyalists Block Questions About Blago From Website

Fans flag mentions of ties as 'inappropriate'

(Newser) - Supporters of Barack Obama appear to be doing their best to wipe questions about indicted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich from the president-elect's new "Open for Questions" website, Politico reports. The site, designed to allow citizens to submit questions for Obama and vote on one another's questions, allows users...

Sit Tight: Blago Isn't Going Anywhere Yet

Dismissing calls for resignation, guv says it's 'business as usual'

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich is innocent—or so says his attorney, as the Illinois governor returned to work for what his office called "business as usual." In the face of unanimous disgust and calls to resign from across the Democratic party, Blagojevich has no plans to step down. According...

Jackson Rejects Blago Allegations

(Newser) - Jesse Jackson Jr. vigorously denounced Gov. Rod Blagojevich today and insisted he did nothing unethical to try to win appointment to Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. "I reject and denounce pay-to-play politics," said Jackson, who was identified earlier today as the so-called "Senate Candidate No. 5" in...

Feds to Question Jackson Jr in Blago Case

Senate candidate's emissaries reportedly offered $1M for post

(Newser) - Jesse Jackson Jr is "Senate Candidate No. 5" in the feds' case against Rod Blagojevich, the one whose emissary reportedly offered to raise up to $1 million for the busted governor in exchange for the seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Illinois rep says he'll comply with prosecutors' request...

Obama to Blago: Resign Already

NOTE: Headline is intentional callback to the Tribune editorial earlier

(Newser) - President-elect Barack Obama is calling for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to resign. An Obama spokesman says the president-elect agrees with other prominent politicians that "under the current circumstances, it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois."

What the Heck Is the Matter With Corrupt Illinois?
What the Heck Is the Matter With Corrupt Illinois?
ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2008 12:00 PM CST

What the Heck Is the Matter With Corrupt Illinois?

Still, it's hardly the only state with a long, sordid history of politicians on the take

(Newser) - Everyone knows Illinois pols are the dirtiest … except for maybe those in New Jersey and Louisiana. Though Illinois is notorious, with four modern governors convicted, a study of public corruption actually ranks it as the sixth-worst state. But no single factor explains a crooked culture, Eamon Javers and Fred...

Blago Dialogue Worthy of Mamet
 Blago Dialogue 
 Worthy of Mamet 
OPINION
Dec 10, 2008 11:42 AM CST

Blago Dialogue Worthy of Mamet

(Newser) - An astute reader of the criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich will notice that, with shockingly little tweaking, the wiretapped conversations between the Illinois governor and his co-conspirators could be dialogue from a David Mamet play. Choire Sicha demonstrates in Salon, turning it into a quick one-acter. From the trash-talking femme...

Complaint Shows Blago's Wife Plotted With Him

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich's wife was deeply involved in his alleged scheming, the Chicago Tribune reports, based on details in the federal complaint against the Illinois governor. Though Patricia Blagojevich has not been charged with a crime, she was a vocal party to wiretapped conversations. In one recording, she can be heard...

Tribune to Blago: Resign Already
 Tribune to Blago: 
 Resign Already 
OPINION
Dec 10, 2008 10:17 AM CST

Tribune to Blago: Resign Already

Governor really can't govern after indictment

(Newser) - It's not news that Rod Blagojevich has been a “governor who cannot govern,” writes the Chicago Tribune in a furious editorial, but any ability he did have to serve Illinois has been swept away by this indictment. “The governor must resign immediately,” the paper declares, or...

Obama: I Never Discussed My Seat With Blago

Prez-elect talks policy priorities, scandal in wide-ranging interview

(Newser) - The president-elect opined on a variety of issues with the Los Angeles Times yesterday, including how his name will be announced at inauguration (Barack Hussein Obama, as per tradition):
  • Priorities: He'll start with "a serious investment" in infrastructure for "a green-energy economy."
  • Centrist Cabinet: He's not
...

Blago Scandal Will Test Obama's Cred
Blago Scandal Will Test
Obama's Cred
ANALYSIS
Dec 10, 2008 9:50 AM CST

Blago Scandal Will Test Obama's Cred

How fast, and how bluntly, will he move to censure corrupt pols?

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s first test was supposed to come from somewhere like Iran. Instead, write Charles Mahtesian and Jonathan Martin at Politico, it sneaked up from his home turf in the form of Rod Blagojevich—not to mention blossoming charges against Rep. Charlie Rangel. If Obama wants his change message...

Tribune Bankrupt One Day, Engulfed by News the Next

Chicago institution breaks Blagojevich news, and is a player in corruption allegations

(Newser) - What a difference a day makes for the Chicago Tribune, which yesterday broke the story of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest, and was itself an object of his alleged corrupting intentions—just a day after its parent company declared bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal notes. “It’s pretty...

Illinois' New Eliot Ness Bags Another Scalp

From twin towers to Valerie Plame, Fitzgerald is relentless

(Newser) - With the arrest of Rod Blagojevich, federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald notched up his second indictment against an Illinois governor in five years. But it's just another scalp for the US attorney who's brought down everyone from World Trade Center bomber Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman to media mogul Conrad Black, not...

A 'Shady' Guv Is Brought Down by Vanity
A 'Shady' Guv Is Brought Down by Vanity
OPINION
Dec 10, 2008 6:54 AM CST

A 'Shady' Guv Is Brought Down by Vanity

Blagojevich always seemed sketchy, but never 'Nixonian'

(Newser) - Of the six Illinois governors who preceded Rod Blagojevich, three have gone to prison—a 50% conviction rate that makes dealing crack on Chicago’s West Side look safe. Still, writes Edward McClelland in Salon, nobody was prepared for the breathtaking scale of Blagojevich's corruption. "Illinoisans have always had...

Obama's 'Pull' on Ethics Bill Helped Spark Gov. Case

But past ties also reveal Obama's ascendency through machine politics

(Newser) - Barack Obama isn't as distant from the scandal surrounding the indicted governor of Illinois as he has let on. The president-elect used his pull in the Illinois senate to get an ethics bill passed that contributed to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's indictment on corruption charges, reports the New York Times. While...

Even for Chicago, Blago Scandal 'Jaw-Dropping'

(Newser) - Even in the context of Illinois' sleazy political standards, it's hard to find the right words to describe the Blagojevich allegations, writes Eric Zorn in the Chicago Tribune. He tries "eyepopping, gobsmacking, jaw-dropping, appalling," and "unprecedented in their alleged brazenness." He also notes that a Chicago...

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