A prominent figure in the federal probe of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants immunity in the case in exchange for his cooperation, the Los Angeles Times reports. Chicago-area businessman Raghuveer Nayak, known as “Individual D,” was squeezed by the governor for campaign cash in return for naming Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., a friend of Nayak’s, to Barack Obama’s open Senate seat.
Nayak hosted an October lunch where he talked about raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help secure the seat for Jackson, the Chicago Tribune earlier reported; Jackson says he didn’t know about it. Nayak hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing, but if his “cooperation relates to my client, then (Nayak) is trying to save his own skin,” said a lawyer for Jackson. (More Rod Blagojevich stories.)