Æmeric
12-09-2008, 03:42 PM
The Governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich (Serbian-American) was arrested this morning on charges that he conspired to sell the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. Illinois, which is dominated by Chicago & the Cook County political machine, is notorious for it's corrupt politics. Blagojevich's predecessor, Republican George Ryan, is corrently serving a sentence in Federal prison for corruption that accured during his administration.:rolleyes2:
Barack Obama is still 6-weeks away from taking the oath of office & he already has the first major political scandal of the Obama administration. Obama is a creature of the same machine that created Blagojevich. Obama will be in the position of granted Blagojevich a pardon, having the Obama Justice Department drop the case or grant Blagojevich an easy pleas deal. Yes the Obama era will be an entertaining one that will make people long for the high standards (:D) of the Bush era. If nothing else the next 4-years should provide us with some firstclass reality entertainment.:pop2:
Governor Is Held in Inquiry Into Filling Obama’s Seat
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with corruption, including an allegation that he conspired to profit from his authority to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s successor in the United States Senate, prosecutors said.
As Mr. Blagojevich mulled the Senate appointment, prosecutors say, he discussed gaining “a substantial salary” at a nonprofit foundation or organization connected to labor unions, placing his wife on corporate boards where she might earn as much as $150,000 a year and trying to gain promises of campaign money, or even a cabinet post or ambassadorship, for himself.
A 76-page affidavit from the United States Attorney’s office in Northern Illinois says Mr. Blagojevich was heard on wiretaps over the last month planning to “sell or trade Illinois’ United States Senate seat vacated by Pres-elect Barack Obama for financial and personal benefits for himself and his wife.”
Federal authorities said Mr. Blagojevich’s chief of staff, John Harris, was also indicted on Tuesday. Both men are expected to appear in federal court for the first time later Tuesday.
Under Illinois law, Mr. Blagojevich has sole authority to fill the seat being vacated by Mr. Obama, who was elected to the Senate in 2004.
According to the statement from prosecutors, Mr. Blagojevich told an adviser last week that he might “get some (money) upfront, maybe” from one of the candidates hoping to replace Mr. Obama. That person was identified only as “Candidate 5.”
In an earlier recorded conversation, prosecutors say, Mr. Blagojevich said he was approached by an associate of “Candidate 5” with an offer of $500,000 in exchange for the Senate seat.
The authorities also say Mr. Blagojevich threatened to withhold state assistance from the Tribune Company, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday. According to the authorities, Mr. Blagojevich wanted members of the Tribune’s editorial board, who had criticized him, to be fired before he extended any state assistance.
An official at the governor’s office had no immediate comment on Tuesday. A telephone message left at Mr. Obama’s transition office was not immediately returned.
Source (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/politics/10Illinois.html?hp)
There has also been some anticipation over who gets the seat being vacated by Senator Hillary Clinton. The Kenndy clan have a sense of entitlement to the seat have been lobbying for Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg to be appointed to serve until the special election in November 2010 for the remainder of the 2-years of the term. Schlossberg has no experince in politics or in public life other then being a member of a well-connected family. So much for democracy, I think the US Congress has more hereditary seats then the British House of Lords.
Barack Obama is still 6-weeks away from taking the oath of office & he already has the first major political scandal of the Obama administration. Obama is a creature of the same machine that created Blagojevich. Obama will be in the position of granted Blagojevich a pardon, having the Obama Justice Department drop the case or grant Blagojevich an easy pleas deal. Yes the Obama era will be an entertaining one that will make people long for the high standards (:D) of the Bush era. If nothing else the next 4-years should provide us with some firstclass reality entertainment.:pop2:
Governor Is Held in Inquiry Into Filling Obama’s Seat
Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested on Tuesday morning and charged with corruption, including an allegation that he conspired to profit from his authority to appoint President-elect Barack Obama’s successor in the United States Senate, prosecutors said.
As Mr. Blagojevich mulled the Senate appointment, prosecutors say, he discussed gaining “a substantial salary” at a nonprofit foundation or organization connected to labor unions, placing his wife on corporate boards where she might earn as much as $150,000 a year and trying to gain promises of campaign money, or even a cabinet post or ambassadorship, for himself.
A 76-page affidavit from the United States Attorney’s office in Northern Illinois says Mr. Blagojevich was heard on wiretaps over the last month planning to “sell or trade Illinois’ United States Senate seat vacated by Pres-elect Barack Obama for financial and personal benefits for himself and his wife.”
Federal authorities said Mr. Blagojevich’s chief of staff, John Harris, was also indicted on Tuesday. Both men are expected to appear in federal court for the first time later Tuesday.
Under Illinois law, Mr. Blagojevich has sole authority to fill the seat being vacated by Mr. Obama, who was elected to the Senate in 2004.
According to the statement from prosecutors, Mr. Blagojevich told an adviser last week that he might “get some (money) upfront, maybe” from one of the candidates hoping to replace Mr. Obama. That person was identified only as “Candidate 5.”
In an earlier recorded conversation, prosecutors say, Mr. Blagojevich said he was approached by an associate of “Candidate 5” with an offer of $500,000 in exchange for the Senate seat.
The authorities also say Mr. Blagojevich threatened to withhold state assistance from the Tribune Company, the publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday. According to the authorities, Mr. Blagojevich wanted members of the Tribune’s editorial board, who had criticized him, to be fired before he extended any state assistance.
An official at the governor’s office had no immediate comment on Tuesday. A telephone message left at Mr. Obama’s transition office was not immediately returned.
Source (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/us/politics/10Illinois.html?hp)
There has also been some anticipation over who gets the seat being vacated by Senator Hillary Clinton. The Kenndy clan have a sense of entitlement to the seat have been lobbying for Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg to be appointed to serve until the special election in November 2010 for the remainder of the 2-years of the term. Schlossberg has no experince in politics or in public life other then being a member of a well-connected family. So much for democracy, I think the US Congress has more hereditary seats then the British House of Lords.