political scandal

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'Individual D' Wants Immunity for Blago Help

Political fundraiser, Jackson pal Nayak offers cooperation

(Newser) - 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....

Blagojevich Can't Not Look Guilty
Blagojevich Can't Not
Look Guilty 
OPINION
Dec 21, 2008 8:19 PM CST

Blagojevich Can't Not Look Guilty

Illinois guv's hair and clothes all point to one thing: crime

(Newser) - When it comes to Rod Blagojevich, it’s a little too easy to judge a book by its cover, writes the Washington Post’s Robin Givhan. When he wears black business suits, “he evokes the image of a goodfella engaged in ‘waste management.’” And when he...

Cold Fish Blago Made Few Allies in Home State

Disgraced governor's failure to return phone calls contributes to current isolation

(Newser) - Rod Blagejovich made little effort to forge bonds with Illinois lawmakers, and that cold shoulder is helping them go untainted by his scandal, Politico reports. "It makes it plausible for people to say, ‘I really didn’t have much contact with him,’” one analyst said. Still,...

Obama Has Nothing to Hide, Plenty to Lose With Blago

Reflexively distancing himself from Illinois mess has made him look needlessly sketchy

(Newser) - Barack Obama looks to have done nothing wrong in his (however limited) dealings with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, but the president-elect seemed bent on proving otherwise, Joe Conason writes on Salon. Obama’s “unnecessary mistakes” in handling the scandal “risked creating public suspicion where there need be none,...

Blago: I Won't Step Down
 Blago: I Won't 
 Step Down 
UPDATED
Dec 19, 2008 2:26 PM CST

Blago: I Won't Step Down

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich proclaimed his innocence at a jam-packed press conference this afternoon, vowing to "fight until I take my last breath," the Chicago Tribune reports. "I'm not going to quit a job that people hired me to do because of false accusations and a political lynch mob,...

Blagojevich Lawyer: Feds' Wiretaps 'Illegally Obtained'

Ill. AG says state won't pay for governor's impeachment defense

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich’s lawyer said today federal wiretaps of the Illinois governor’s phones had been “illegally obtained,” and should be excluded from his impeachment proceedings, the AP reports. Furthermore, Ed Genson told the panel of state lawmakers considering the action, the criminal case against Blagojevich shouldn’t...

Feds to Freeze Blago Campaign Funds
Feds to Freeze Blago Campaign Funds
Dec 18, 2008 2:34 AM CST

Feds to Freeze Blago Campaign Funds

Move would block governor from using campaign war chest to pay legal bills

(Newser) - Federal authorities have informed embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich they intend to freeze the money in his campaign fund, preventing him from using the resources to pay his legal bills, sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times. The Friends of Blagojevich fund reported having $3.6 million when officials last filed a...

Ill. Court Nixes Motion to Declare Blagojevich Unfit

Meanwhile, lawyer complains of a lack of 'standard of proof' in impeachment proceedings

(Newser) - Illinois’ top court today rejected the state attorney general’s motion to have Rod Blagojevich declared unfit to be governor due to corruption charges against him, the Chicago Tribune reports, even as his lawyer charged that members of a state House committee looking into impeachment wouldn’t give Blagojevich a...

Blago Hangs On to Job as Bargaining Chip
 Blago Hangs 
 On to Job as 
 Bargaining Chip

ANALYSIS
Dec 16, 2008 11:55 AM CST

Blago Hangs On to Job as Bargaining Chip

Blagojevich holding onto job as bargaining chip

(Newser) - For Rod Blagojevich, everything is a shakedown. For now, writes Carrie Budoff Brown in Politico, he’s staying in office because it gives him some leverage over his own fate. Though he’s facing near-certain impeachment, that’s a long process. In the meantime, he could trade his resignation for...

Blago's Impeachment Begins
 Blago's Impeachment Begins 
Dec 16, 2008 8:17 AM CST

Blago's Impeachment Begins

Governor no stranger to this, lawyer says

(Newser) - The Illinois House voted 113-0 yesterday to authorize a committee to look into Rod Blagojevich’s misdeeds, the first step towards impeaching the disgraced governor, the Chicago Tribune reports, in an unprecedented Democratic-led attempt to oust Illinois’ first Democratic governor in a quarter-century. But Democrats brushed off calls to strip...

Ill. House Speaker Launches Blago Impeachment

Madigan asks feds to help make case against governor

(Newser) - The speaker of the Illinois House is starting impeachment proceedings against Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Tribune reports. “We plan to proceed without delay,” said Mike Madigan, a longtime foe of the disgraced governor. Madigan has been considering proceedings against Blagojevich since before his recent corruption arrest, and says...

Obama's Halo Undimmed by Blago: Poll

Voters want more info about prez-elect's involvement in scandal

(Newser) - The Rod Blagojevich scandal has done little to dent Barack Obama’s approval ratings, according to ABC’s polling guru: More than three-quarters of those surveyed give his handling of the transition a thumbs-up. But just 51% say Obama has done enough to explain his team’s discussions with the...

Special Election Gains Ground With Blago

Guv unlikely to quit, but would give up naming Obama successor

(Newser) - Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, under indictment for trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat, would likely now approve a bill authorizing a special election to fill the post, sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times. Blagojevich—who insiders now say has decided not to resign—wants the measure to apply to...

All-Smiles Governor Was Sinking Fast

Colleagues describe Blagojevich as panicked, delusional

(Newser) - In public, Rod Blagojevich appeared a political natural, charming voters and reeling off anecdotes. In private, colleagues tell the New York Times, the Illinois governor is another man: petulant, foul-mouthed, and prone to bouts of fury if an aide misplaces his beloved hairbrush. As Blagojevich clings to office, insiders say...

Tribune Story Forced Feds to Arrest Blago Early

Story broke up meeting

(Newser) - US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald must have been grinding his teeth as he arrested Rod Blagojevich Tuesday morning, reports the Wall Street Journal. Fitzgerald’s team had been salivating over the prospect of catching the sale of Barack Obama’s Senate seat on tape, but those hopes were dashed when the...

GOP Video Spotlights Obama-Blago Ties

(Newser) - Republicans posted a video today that questions Barack Obama’s old links to Rod Blagojevich, Politico reports. Titled "Questions Remain," it urges Obama to reveal contacts between his team and the scandal-plagued governor. The video shows that Obama advised Blago in his 2002 campaign, and endorsed Blago's...

Blago the Only Rat Paying the Piper

'Chicago punk,' sure, but ever heard of Bush, Rumsfeld, Lay, Rubin?

(Newser) - Poor Rod Blagojevich: He merely tried to auction off the president-elect’s Senate seat and could be imprisoned for it. But the men who bungled Iraq and crashed our economy can anticipate vacations and White House jobs, Frank Rich writes in the New York Times. Luckily for us, Blagojevich “...

Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick New Senator
Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick
New Senator
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP
Dec 14, 2008 11:21 AM CST

Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick New Senator

McCain scolds GOP for Blago flap; Granholm, Romney clash on autos

(Newser) - Blago and bailouts were the talk of today's talk shows. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told Meet the Press that voters should elect Barack Obama’s Senate replacement in a special election, while the state’s lieutenant governor said legislation would allow him to appoint a caretaker until a special...

FBI Circled Around Blago's Wife for a Year

She dropped real estate work amid questions about clients paying for influence

(Newser) - She's known for ranting on an FBI tape—but that wasn’t the first time Patricia Blagojevich’s name has surfaced in the corruption probe of her governor husband, the Chicago Tribune reports. A federal investigation that began a year ago prompted Mrs. Blago to quit real estate work amid...

Emanuel Talked Senate Seat With Blago Aide

No sign Chief of Staff pick tried to wheel and/or deal

(Newser) - Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s pick for White House chief of staff, had multiple conversations with Rod Blagojevich's chief of staff about Obama’s Senate seat, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. There’s no evidence that Emanuel engaged in any dealmaking for the seat, or that he knew of Blagojevich’...

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