Blagojevich Arrested
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been arrested. Here’s what they’re reporting:
A three-year federal corruption investigation of pay-to-play politics in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration has expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, the Tribune has learned.
Federal authorities got approval from a judge before the November general election to secretly record the governor, sources told the Tribune, and among their concerns was whether the selection process might be tainted. That possibility has become a focus in an intensifying investigation that has included recordings of the governor and the cooperation of one of his closest friends.
Rod Blagojevich is innocent until proven guilty but the FBI doesn’t get involved without a reason. Here’s an update:
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.
Play-for-pay politics isn’t something new in politics. It’s status quo Chicago politics. It’s what’s expected. It’s as surprising as finding out that presidential candidates give Philadelphia residents walking around money. Let’s remember that this is where Dan Rostenkowski practiced politics.
Updated at 8:57 a.m.: “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.”
If Fitzgerald is as enthusiastic in his prosecution of Blagojevich as he was with Scooter Libby, then Blagojevich has alot to be worried about.
It’s time for this corruption machine to be put in prison. He’s the epitome of corruption.
UPDATE: Here’s the pdf outlining the charges filed against Gov. Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris.
Technorati Tags: Scandal, Corruption, Rod Blagojevich, Patrick Fitzgerald, FBI, Investigation, Prosecution
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog