Ill. Gov. Arrested, Accused of Trying to ‘Sell or Trade’ Obama’s Senate Seat

Updated: Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been arrested on federal corruption charges at his Chicago home. He is accused of attempting to sell or trade the Senate seat held by Barack Obama and offering millions of dollars in aid to the Chicago Tribune if it fired critical editorial writers.

The Chicago Tribune was the first to report the news of the governor's arrest.

Blagojevich was caught on wiretaps discussing a variety of benefits, including a cabinet post or an ambassadorship for himself, in exchange for appointing a new senator favored by labor unions, according to a press release (PDF posted by the Chicago Tribune). Other benefits discussed included paid corporate board positions for Blagojevich's wife or a paid post for the governor with a nonprofit or labor organization, says the press release by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald.

An arrest affidavit by an FBI special agent says Blagojevich told an adviser last week that he might get some up-front money from a candidate identified as "Candidate 5" who hoped to replace Obama, the New York Times reports.

“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” Fitzgerald said in the press release. “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."

Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were both arrested. They were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

The affidavit (PDF posted by the Chicago Tribune) also claims Blagojevich:

• Demanded the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial writers in exchange for financial assistance worth $100 million in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field, a Tribune property. The Tribune filed for bankruptcy on Monday.

• Attempted to obtain financial benefits for Blagojevich in exchange for appointments to state jobs, boards and commissions.

Blagojevich’s administration has been the subject of a three-year investigation of pay-to-play politics. At a press conference Monday, Blagojevich said his discussions, tape recorded or not, were “always lawful.”

Later in the day, the state attorney general called for Blagojevich to resign, but his lawyer said he is innocent and will be vindicated, as discussed in a subsequent ABAJournal.com post.

Updated at 8:50 a.m. CT to say that Blagojevich was arrested on charges of corruption and at 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. CT to detail the charges. Updated at 7 p.m. to link to subsequent ABAJournal.com post.