Rod Blagojevich may be the cockiest man in politics. And that’s a tough one, considering he comes from the country of Ted Stevens and the state of Rahm Emanuel. The Illinois governor essentially dared U.S. attorneys to wiretap him, while knowing that he’d been under investigation for the past three years.
Just a day after declaring that anything he might be caught saying on tape would be “always lawful” while doing probably the only decent thing he’s done in months—standing up for the Republic Windows & Doors employees currently on a sit-in—Blagojevich was arrested for, among other things, trying to sell Barack Obama’s former Senate seat. Apparently the FBI took him up on his dare before he issued it—his phones had been bugged for a month.
According to the Guardian, “A seat in the Senate, he explained, is ‘a f*cking valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing’.”
Yet Blagojevich apparently STILL has the power to appoint Barack Obama’s replacement, even if he does it from jail!
Blagojevich apparently entertained the idea of sending himself to the Senate, or at least keeping that possibility alive to gain more lucrative or powerful benefits for himself. Among the things he apparently wanted: a cabinet post, possible Health & Human Services or Energy, a position as head of a foundation bankrolled by Warren Buffett or Bill Gates, a chance to rehabilitate his reputation as “America’s Least Popular Governor for a presidential run in 2016, or just $500,000 cash.
“There were too many investigations and allegations to not believe that his time in office was not going to end badly,” Joe Wolfe, Chicago resident, said of Blagojevich. “I think I speak for most Chicago and Illinois residents who have followed the governor’s story when I say that I wasn’t so much shocked at the arrest as I was STUNNED by the charges.”
Wolfe, who twice voted for the Democratic governor, continued. “No one expected that the laundry list of charges brought against him December 9, 2008 were for actions committed just since Obama was elected president! The nature of Blagojevich’s alleged crimes border on pathological.”
Dick Durbin called for a special election to fill Barack Obama’s Senate seat since any Senator nominated by Blagojevich would be tainted by association, and the state legislature appears on track to get a bill written and passed that would allow for that. But Blagojevich appears so out of touch with reality that I wonder if he might not try to make an appointment while out on bail.
The Senate could refuse to seat anyone he appointed, of course. But what do you do if you’re the person named by the indicted governor? There are already going to be questions about the possible candidates named by Blagojevich in the recordings, though their names have not been made public. At least one appeared, at least according to the governor, to be willing to pay for the seat.
That one, referred to in the indictment as Senate Candidate #5, has been identified as Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. Jackson has denied offering any sort of money or favors to Blagojevich, and said to reporters, “I thought, mistakenly, that the governor was evaluating me and other Senate hopefuls based upon our credentials and qualifications.”
Patrick Fitzgerald, famous for investigating the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame’s identity, is also the U. S. attorney responsible for putting away Blagojevich’s predecessor as governor of Illinois, George Ryan. Yes, the last governor of Illinois is actually in prison for racketeering. Blagojevich, if you can believe it, ran on a promise to clean up Illinois after Ryan’s corruption.
MSNBC host Rachel Maddow noted that in her lifetime, an average of two Illinois politicians have been indicted per year. (Maddow is 35.)
“If it isn’t the most corrupt state in the United States, it’s certainly one hell of a competitor,” the Guardian quoted FBI agent Robert Grant as saying.
Obama, though an Illinois politician, is not accused of having anything to do with the situation—Blagojevich rumbled some choice epithets in his direction as well since Obama apparently offered only “appreciation” if a candidate he favored was appointed to replace him.
Rumor even had it that Rahm Emanuel was the one who tipped off the United States attorney to Blagojevich’s blatant scam, but a source close to Rahm has denied it. Perhaps he just sent a dead fish instead.
In addition to trying to auction off a Senate seat, Blagojevich is also accused of pressuring Chicago Tribune management to fire writers critical of him, and using the Tribune’s bankruptcy and a deal with the sale of the Chicago Cubs, owned by Tribune Co., as leverage.
And if all this wasn’t enough for you, December 9 was also International Anti-Corruption Day. And December 10 was Blagojevich’s birthday.