More Drama Over Ill. Gov's Alleged Attempt to Barter Obama's Senate Seat
A stunning federal criminal corruption case announced yesterday against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich had a chorus of politicans, including President-elect Barack Obama, calling by the end of the day today for him to resign from office, reports the New York Times.
As discussed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts, Blagojevich allegedly sought to barter his appointment of a replacement to serve out Obama’s U.S. Senate term for personal gain, among other claimed misconduct. However, his lawyer has said he expects the governor to be vindicated and not to resign from office.
Responding to concerns that the governor could still benefit from such alleged pay-to-play politics, however, the Illinois legislature is planning to reconvene on Monday “to try to neutralize Mr. Blagojevich’s authority by stripping him of his appointment authority, or even impeaching him,” the Times writes.
Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) is now on the hot seat, too, after officials today identified him as a candidate for Obama’s former Senate seat. However, he said he has done nothing wrong and was assured that he is not a target of the investigation, the Times reports in another article.
“I never sent a message or an emissary to the governor to make offers plead my case or propose a deal about a United States Senate seat, period,” Jackson said. “I thought mistakenly that the governor was evaluating me and other Senate hopefuls based on our credentials and qualifications.”
Blagojevich allegedly was captured on FBI surveillance tapes saying that an emissary from “Candidate 5,” who has been identified as Jackson, offered to raise $500,000 for Blagojevich’s campaign treasury, reports the Washington Post.
However, attorney James Montgomery, who represents Jackson, said he had nothing to do with this situation and didn’t even know the claimed emissary, the Post recounts.
Earlier ABAJournal.com coverage:
Fed’l Case Against Ill. Gov Creates Unusual Issues for Judges & Lawmakers
