Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate seat

[rufian]

Re: Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate se

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tuff Gong</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sukuna</div><div class="ubbcode-body">As I never speculated on who he could have bought it from, the speculation remains. </div></div>So who do you think he bought it from? </div></div>
We only know what they want us to know. Who expects to see direct connections. There was this Rezko person ...

[Dyoll_73]

Re: Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate se

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tuff Gong</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Jesse Jackson Jr. Allies Held Blagojevich Fundraiser Last Week</span>

CHICAGO — Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report.

Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reports in a story for Friday's editions that businessman Raghuveer Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi told attendees at an Oct. 31 meeting that they needed to raise the money for the governor to ensure Jackson's appointment.

&quot;Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse got the seat,&quot; an unidentified source who attended the meeting told the Tribune. Blagojevich also attended the meeting, which was sponsored by Nayak, an Oak Brook businessman.

A message left at a listing for Raghuveer Nayak in Oak Brook was not immediately returned early Friday. No published listing for Bedi could be found.

Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges that allege, among other things, a brazen scheme to put Obama's vacant Senate seat up for sale.

According to the FBI complaint, the Oct. 31 meeting took place the same day federal prosecutors intercepted a conversation in which Blagojevich claims he'd been approached by a representative for an unnamed &quot;Senate Candidate 5&quot; who offered cash in exchange for the Senate seat.

On Wednesday, it was revealed that Jackson was the candidate.

&quot;We were approached 'pay to play,'&quot; Blagojevich said in the call. The candidate would raise $500,000 for Blagojevich, and an emissary would raise an additional $1 million, according to the conversation.

Jackson spokesman Rick Bryant told the Tribune that while Jackson discussed the Senate seat with Nayak, he never asked him to do anything.

Nayak, 54, has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Blagojevich and is also close to the Jackson family. Bedi has also been a Blagojevich fundraiser.

The Oct. 31 meeting led to a Blagojevich fundraiser held Saturday that was co-sponsored by Nayak. The governor attended, as did Jackson's brother Jonathan, who went into business with Nayak several years ago, according to the newspaper report.

Two days later, Jackson met with Blagojevich to discuss the Senate seat.

___

Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/12/jesse-jackson-jr-allies-h_n_150493.html

</div></div>

This is shoddy journalism. Nothing of substance here. &quot;Unnamed sources?&quot; Newspapers can claim to be protecting their 'sources' and at the same time they can pull 'sources' out of their posteriors, so... this 'unnamed source' thing doesn't say anything.

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate se

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sukuna</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tuff Gong</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sukuna</div><div class="ubbcode-body">As I never speculated on who he could have bought it from, the speculation remains. </div></div>So who do you think he bought it from? </div></div>
We only know what they want us to know. Who expects to see direct connections. There was this Rezko person ... </div></div>Rezko stuff has been in Court...Rezko did not finance PEBO Presidential Campaign.

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate se


<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/12/rahm-emanuel-gave-blagoje_n_150517.html
" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Rahm Emanuel Gave Blagojevich List Of 'Acceptable' Senate Candidates: Report</span>

<span style="font-style: italic">The Huffington Post | December 12, 2008 09:55 AM </span>

President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had direct conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich about Obama's replacement in the US Senate, FOX News Chicago reports.

Citing &quot;a source familiar with the investigation,&quot; Fox says that Emanuel had &quot;multiple conversations&quot; with Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris, who was also arrested Tuesday on federal corruption charges, about the seat and that they we're &quot;likely recorded and in FBI possession.&quot;

Fox's source said that Emanuel gave the governor's office a list of &quot;candidates that would be acceptable to President-elect Barack Obama&quot; but no &quot;quid pro quo&quot; or &quot;dealmaking&quot; is suspected.

Meanwhile, an angry Emanuel says he won't go to work because of the media stakeout. He told an ABC News cameraman that has received death threats:

The President-elect's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, said today he won't go to the Chicago Presidential transition offices in order to avoid reporters seeking to ask him whether he had contact with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich about the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama's election.

Emanuel appeared &quot;beet-red,&quot; according to an ABC News cameraman who was invited inside by Emmanuel to use his bathroom this morning.

&quot;I'm getting regular death threats. You've put my home address on national television. I'm [censored] at the networks. You've intruded too much, &quot; Emanuel said, according to the cameraman.

Emanuel has refused to comment as to whether he is the un-named Presidential advisor cited in the FBI affidavit filed in the Blagojevich case. &quot;You're wasting your time,&quot; Emanuel told a Chicago Sun-Times reporter yesterday. &quot;I'm not going to say a word to you. I'm going to do this with my children. Don't do that. I'm a father. I have two kids. I'm not going to do it.&quot;</a>

[Sinco01]

Re: Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate se


Rahm works for Barak ..
Not George W ..

So come he is a &quot;Presidential adviser&quot; ..

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate se

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sinco01</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Rahm works for Barak ..
Not George W ..

So come he is a &quot;Presidential adviser&quot; .. </div></div>

He also has three (3) kids not two (2) as he said.

Frayed nerves all around......

New Blogo Rap:

<span style="font-size: 14pt">&quot;Dey Know (Blago)&quot; by Attackerman f/ Vitamin</span>

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[Tuff Gong]

Re: Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate se


Mini-Blogo:



Image:1984-Big-Boy-Hamburger107.jpg

[Tuff Gong]

Re: Caught on tape trying to sell Barak Obama open Senate se

<span style="font-style: italic">December 14, 2008, 7:06 pm</span>
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">The Real Story Behind the Rushed Blagojevich Bust: How the Feds Are Frustrated by Losing (Maybe) Half of Their Case</span>
<span style="font-style: italic">Cam Simpson reports on the Rod Blagojevich case in Chicago.</span>

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Conventional wisdom holds that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald ordered the FBI to arrest Rod Blagojevich before sunrise Tuesday in order to stop a crime from being committed. That would have been the sale of the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

But the opposite is true: Members of Fitzgerald’s team are livid the scheme didn’t advance, at least for a little longer, according to some people close to Fitzgerald’s office. Why? Because had the plot unfolded, they might have had an opportunity most feds can only dream of: A chance to catch the sale of a Senate seat on tape, including the sellers and the buyers.

The precise timing of Tuesday’s dramatic, pre-dawn arrest was not dictated by Fitzgerald, nor was it dictated by the pace of Blagojevich’s alleged “crime spree.” It was dictated by the Chicago Tribune, according to people close to the investigation and a careful reading of the FBI’s affidavit in the case.

At Fitzgerald’s request, the paper had been holding back a story since October detailing how a confidante of Blagojevich was cooperating with his office.

Gerould Kern, the Tribune’s editor, said in a statement last week that these requests are granted in what he called isolated instances. “In each case, we strive to make the right decision as reporters and as citizens,” he said.

But editors decided to publish the story on Friday, Dec. 5, ending the Tribune’s own cooperation deal with the prosecutor.

Consider what had been dangling in front of FBI agents and federal prosecutors one day earlier.

Since at least late October, agents had been listening through their headphones to Blagojevich allegedly dream and scheme about a host of potential prizes he could win for the Senate seat, including everything from an ambassadorship to a corporate board slot for his wife. But on Thursday, Dec. 4, he was talking about cash. And a politician talking about trading an official act for cash is a very welcome sound to the ears of an eavesdropping fed. In addition, the Dec. 4 conversation appears to have been the first substantive chat about allegedly selling the seat since Nov. 13.

But on Dec. 4, according to the feds, here’s what they heard: Blagojevich told an adviser he was giving “greater consideration” to one pick for the Senate seat, named “Senate Candidate 5&amp;#8243; by the feds, because of that politician’s willingness to raise money. That man has since been identified as U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., the Chicago Democrat affectionately known in his hometown as Triple J.

Jackson has denied any involvement in such schemes and says he never authorized anyone to deal in such a manner on his behalf. He also said Fitzgerald’s office informed him that he’s not a target in the investigation.

Perhaps even more encouraging to the feds listening in on Dec. 4 was what they knew about the first time such a deal was discussed. About a month earlier, Blagojevich was caught on tape describing an approach by an alleged associate of Jackson. Blagojevich’s now-infamous quote about that meeting had been tantalizing. “We were approached ‘pay to play.’ That, you know, he’d raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.”

On Dec. 4, with the feds listening in, Blagojevich was allegedly putting this deal back into play.

The conversation resumed later that same day, as Blagojevich allegedly told his brother, a man identified in the affidavit as “Fundraiser A,” that he was “elevating” Mr. Jackson on the list of candidates, because the governor might be able to get something “tangible up front” for the pick.

He told his brother to meet with someone (unidentified by the feds) whom the pair believed to be close to Jackson. He urged his brother to tell this alleged supporter of Jackson that “some of this stuffs gotta start happening now… right now…and we gotta see it. You understand?” He was talking about campaign cash, the feds allege.

Then he allegedly offered his brother one final proviso: “I would do it in person. I would not do it on the phone.”

The next morning, on Friday, Dec. 5, it all came crashing down for the FBI agents underneath the headphones.

The Tribune’s front page screamed: “Feds taped Blagojevich; TRIBUNE EXCLUSIVE: Adviser cooperated with corruption probe, sources say.”

Blagojevich read the same headline. “Undo” that “thing,” the governor allegedly told his brother, according to the FBI. And just like that, the meeting was off, only one day after it had been put back into play.

There appear to have been fears in Fitzgerald’s office that those caught on tape might now seek to “undo” other “things.” Hours were logged over the weekend. Paperwork was pounded out. And before sunrise Tuesday, Blagojevich and his chief of staff were arrested simultaneously. At that same moment, FBI agents also knocked on the doors of witnesses. These were just a few of the people agents wanted to interview before cellphones started ringing across the city and others who had been caught on tape had a chance to get their stories straight.

Had it not been for the Tribune’s Dec. 5 story, the meeting Blagojevich’s brother was arranging might have proceeded. Mr. Blagojevich is quoted as citing the story, in the affidavit, then calling off the meeting. At a minimum, the FBI’s recorders would have been rolling when he reported back. The feds also probably would have tried to bug the session live, or at least to tail the participants and secretly film or photograph them. That’s what feds do. Jurors love video.

The Real Story Behind the Rushed Blagojevich Bust: How the Feds Are Frustrated by Losing (Maybe) Half of Their Case

[Tuff Gong]

THE INFORMER

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/17/jesse-jackson-jr-went-to-_n_151678.html" title="THE INFORMERJackson Jr Went To Feds About Blagojevich In 2006 Spokesperson Jackson Jr Rejects quotInformantquot Label" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">THE INFORMER

Jackson Jr. Went To Feds...ant&quot; Label</a>

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Jesse Jackson Jr. Went To Authorities About Governor Blagojevich</span>
<span style="font-style: italic">December 17, 2008 09:11 AM </span>

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'">Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who was cited in a criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich, went to the U.S. Attorney's office about alleged wrongdoers, including the Illinois governor, a Jackson spokesman said Tuesday.
Jesse Jackson Jr. reported in 2006 what he believed was a shakedown by the Illinois governor.

Jesse Jackson Jr. reported in 2006 what he believed was a shakedown by the Illinois governor.

Jackson rejected being labeled with the term &quot;informant&quot; in a message to CNN contributor Roland Martin.</span>

[Tuff Gong]

BLAGOJEVICH IMPEACHED

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/09/blagojevich-impeachment-h_n_156515.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">
<span style="font-size: 11pt">BLAGOJEVICH IMPEACHED: House Votes Against Governor 114-1
</span>
<span style="font-style: italic">CHRISTOPHER WILLS
January 9, 2009 11:46 AM EST</span></a>

[Tuff Gong]

Re: BLAGOJEVICH IMPEACHED

<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/02/blagojevich-indicted-for_n_182555.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'">Blagojevich Indicted For Corruption</span>
Along With Brother
And Top Aides (READ THE CHARGES)</a>

<span style="font-style: italic">AP/The Huffington Post
April 2, 2009 at 06:49 PM </span>

Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been indicted on charges he engaged in a &quot;wide-ranging scheme to deprive the people of Illinois of honest government.&quot; A federal grand jury handed down the 19-count indictment against Blagojevich, his brother, two former aides and two businessmen on Thursday. It accuses Blagojevich of corruption involving billions of dollars in state pension bonds.

Blagojevich's brother, Robert, former chief fundraiser Christopher Kelly, Blagojevich's former chief of staff, Alonzo Monk, John Harris, his most recent chief of staff, and longtime Springfield insider William F. Cellini were charged as co-defendents.

FBI agents arrested the Chicago Democrat in December on allegations that also include trying to auction off President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat.

Illinois lawmakers impeached him and threw him out of office in January.

Blagojevich has repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

The former governor is not in Chicago. He's with his family at Walt Disney World in Florida.

Read the full release, with details of the charges, from the U.S. Attorney's office:

[kia027]

Re: BLAGOJEVICH IMPEACHED

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
The former governor is not in Chicago. He's with his family at Walt Disney World in Florida.</div></div>

Heard he is in saratoga springs.. mi can imagine the security

[britisha]

Re: BLAGOJEVICH IMPEACHED

Yep; cannot wait to see how this goes &quot;down&quot;