Illinois Democrat Blagojevich busted for selling Senate seat

Of course you've heard by now that the Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich , was arrested in a corruption sting for trying to auction off Obama's vacant Senate seat in Illinois. And, of course, we're not surprised...I mean it is Illinois.

What's funny about the AP story below is how far down you have to go before you find out that Blagojevich is a Democrat. The answer? Seven paragraphs.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on Tuesday on charges he brazenly conspired to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder in what a federal prosecutor called a "corruption crime spree."

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told a news conference prosecutors make "no allegations" Obama was aware of any alleged scheming.

Blagojevich also was charged with illegally threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field, according to a federal criminal complaint. In return for state assistance, Blagojevich allegedly wanted members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

"We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree and we wanted to stop it," Fitzgerald said Tuesday, calling the corruption charges against Blagojevich "a truly new low."

Federal investigators bugged the governor's campaign offices and placed a tap on his home phone and Chicago FBI chief Robert Grant said even seasoned investigators were "stunned" by what they heard on the tapes.

Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said the governor's office did not have immediate comment on the charges but issued a statement saying the "allegations do nothing to impact the services, duties or function of the State."

A 76-page FBI affidavit said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife, Patti.

Otherwise, Blagojevich considered appointing himself. The affidavit said that as late as Nov. 3, he told his deputy governor that if "they're not going to offer me anything of value I might as well take it."

"I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain," Blagojevich allegedly said later that day, according to the affidavit, which also quoted him as saying in a remark punctuated by profanity that the seat was "a valuable thing - you just don't give it away for nothing."

So who was being considered while the seat was up for auction?

Among those being considered for the Senate post: U.S. Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr., Danny Davis, Jan Schakowsky and Luis Gutierrez; Illinois Senate President Emil Jones and Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth.

The story also mentions a name you're sure to recognize, Tony Rezko, as a guy that both Blagojevich and Obama have had dealings with...and, I might point out, 2 out of the 3 of them are now in heap big trouble with the law. And keep in mind that this is the guy who won the office a few years ago in the wake of GOP Governor George Ryan being indicted...saying he would clean things up.

The thing that really sticks out to me is that this is just the Chicago corruption we KNOW about...and what we know about it...and what we know about who's involved.

The more interesting thing is what we DON'T know...yet. And how long into "The One's" administration we'll get before things start jumping out of the closet.

The folks over at Time already thinking that way...at least in the sense that the Justice Dept. will probably have to investigate just to make sure there was no ties to Obama..

The bit players in the indictment, like the unnamed Senate Candidate 1 and Senate Candidate 5, will have to come forward and explain their involvement. If the investigation continues into next year, which seems likely, there may even be calls for the appointment of something like an independent counsel at the Justice Department to avoid any hint of political interference. Obama's staff and political allies may be forced to get attorneys of their own.

And there are some real questions to be answered here. Like, did any of Obama's advisors know what Blago was doing...and/or "negotiate" with him? What did Barack know, and when did he know it?

Enquiring minds want to know.

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* The entire legal brief is here