Thread: IL Governor Blagojevich Arrested On Federal Charges

IL Governor Blagojevich Arrested On Federal Charges

Last Edited: Tuesday, 09 Dec 2008, 9:05 AM CST
Created: Tuesday, 09 Dec 2008, 8:36 AM CST


CHICAGO (AP) -- Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been arrested on charges that accuse him of conspiring to get financial benefits through his ability to appoint the person to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate.

Blagojevich is also accused of illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to the owner of the Chicago Tribune in the sale of Wrigley Field. The charges contend that -- in return for state assistance -- Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

Blagojevich is also charged with using his authority as governor in an attempt to squeeze out campaign contributions.

Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris, also was arrested today.

The governor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.


http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/New ... geId=3.2.1

I wonder if he is related to Spitzer????? Another one bites the dust.......Blagoijevitch has been arrested along with his chief of staff....This not only is the dirty corrupt Chicago political machine but the dirty corrupt Illinois political machine. Doesn't it give you the warm fuzzies that the next POTUS attributes his ascendancy to the Chicago political machine? We are in such deep !@#$. The Federal Prosecutor said a 76 page affidavit states the Guv, his chief of staff and his wife tried to sell Obama's senate seat. The breath of corruption the document says is breathtaking.......... he has been accused of serial influence peddling. The charges against Blagoijevitch are significant and very serious. I also heard that he while knowing he was under investigation he still was involved in influence peddling. One man questioned on the street said enough is enough.......he was angry....
So this is where our bailouts are going.....racketeering, influence buying and illegal immigration...............I also heard the feds are now actively investigating Fannie and Freddie and the present and former CEO's (are you worried Franklin and Raines...maybe you will spill the beans and this will end at Dodd's, Frank's, Pelosi's, Reid's and Schumer's desks as they are complicit in this through the CRA.

Dixie

I also suggested we make the earlier post a sticky....as I am watching Fox news and posting the latest transpirations

The governor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Thats what they all say. SO WHO IS IN CHARGE OF ILLINOIS NOW?

I am sure this is only the tip of the ice berg.

Hey retired, I just let W. know about this so he will decide about what to do with it.

Pretty messed up. I don't know what the rules are or who this responisbility falls back to, now that the governor has been removed. It may be the Senate, who will decide Obama's replacement.

Dixie

To those of us who have vehemently opposed Obama, is this any surprise?

Which agency arrested Blagojevich?

They probably moved on him for doing things most corrupt politicians do because he came out against Bank of America yesterday.

W

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Which agency arrested Blagojevich?

They probably moved on him for doing things most corrupt politicians do because he came out against Bank of America yesterday.

W

FBI

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich arrested
Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.
Tribune staff report
9:16 AM CST, December 9, 2008

Updated at 9:17 a.m.: Blagojevich also was alleged to be using a favors list, made up largely of individuals and firms that have state contracts or received taxpayer benefits, from which to conduct a $2.5 million fundraising drive before year's end.

Even Blagojevich's recently announced $1.8 billion plan for new interchanges and "green lanes" on the Illinois Tollway was subject to corruption, prosecutors alleged.

The complaint repeatedly references conversations secretly recorded by federal authorities.

The criminal complaint alleges Blagojevich expected an unnamed highway concrete contractor to raise a half-million dollars for his campaign fund in exchange for state money for the tollway project. "If they don't perform, (expletive) 'em," Blagojevich said, according to the complaint.

Updated at 9:08 a.m.: Blagojevich and Harris were arrested simultaneously at their homes at about 6:15 a.m., according to the FBI. They were transported to FBI headquarters in Chicago, where they remained at 9 a.m.

Updated at 9 a.m.: Blagojevich is slated to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan today at a time that has not yet been scheduled, according to Randall Samborn of the U.S. attorney's office.

Updated at 8:57 a.m.: On the issue of the U.S. Senate selection, federal prosecutors alleged Blagojevich sought appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate.

Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of Blagojevich in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co.

Blagojevich and Harris, along with others, obtained and sought to gain financial benefits for the governor, members of his family and his campaign fund in exchange for appointments to state boards and commissions, state jobs and state contracts.

"The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement. "They allege that 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."

Updated at 8:48 a.m.: Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges.

Blagojevich and Harris were accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that included Blagojevich conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. The governor was also accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.

Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning.

A Blagojevich spokesman said he was unaware of the development. "Haven't heard anything -- you are first to call," Lucio Guerrero said in an e-mail.

The stunning, early morning visit by authorities to the governor's North Side home came amid revelations that federal investigators had recorded the governor with the cooperation of a longtime confidant and had begun to focus on the possibility that the process of choosing a Senate successor to President-elect Barack Obama could be tainted by pay-to-play politics.

Blagojevich was taken into custody hours after the Tribune reported that the investigation into allegations of pay-to-play politics within his administration had been expanded to include his pending choice of a Senate replacement for Obama. The Democratic governor has said he expects to make a decision on the state's next senator in weeks.

Sources told the Tribune that investigators intensified their investigation into Blagojevich amid concerns that the process of choosing a new senator could be tainted. The actions by federal authorities came a day before Blagojevich's 52nd birthday.

The Tribune previously disclosed that federal investigators had recordings of Blagojevich. Those recordings were aided by the cooperation of longtime Blagojevich confidant and former congressional chief of staff John Wyma.

On Monday, Blagojevich said he has done nothing wrong in his stewardship of the state and challenged critics to record him because his discussions were "always lawful."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-rod-b ... 3259.story