Blago Update
| Sun Dec. 21, 2008 7:48 AM PST
BLAGO UPDATE....George Stephanopoulos reports that Barack Obama's internal review shows that Rahm Emanuel had only one direct phone call with Rod Blagojevich:
The contact, described as a "pro-forma" courtesy call, came as Emanuel was named Chief of Staff for Obama. Most of the discussion concerned Emanuel's Congressional seat (which had previously been held by Blagojevich), with only a "passing reference" to the Senate vacancy, according to these sources. No deal for the Senate vacancy was discussed.
....The sources add that the report will show Emanuel also had four phone calls with Blagojevich Chief of Staff John Harris....Sources [] confirm that Emanuel made the case for picking Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett during at least one of the conversations. In the course of that conversation, Harris asked if in return for picking Jarrett, "all we get is appreciation, right?" "Right," Emanuel responded.
Apparently Obama is ready to release his review just as soon as prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald lets him. Sad news for the press, which will then have to manufacture some other pseudo-scandal to fill up its air space.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Comments
Submitted by mg (not verified) on Sun Dec. 21, 2008 8:35 AM PST.
Now come the questions about coverups. And then there's, "He could have ended all this by releasing this sooner. Why didn't he?"
The bottom line here is this is a troubling development for Obama in the Blagojevich scandal. Very troubling.
I'm going to be crucified for saying this, but there should be an additional punitive measure in the law for politicians who refuse to admit their guilt in a circumstance in which their guilt was obvious before wasting time and money on a trial. Of course, "obvious" is a word with slippery legal definition, but I want Blago's unraveling to be extra painful. He should have resigned as soon as the news of the tapes went public. Same goes for Palin.
I`m sure somewhere, in the last 24 hours, a Democrat had sex with a willling partner so that should be enough for them to go on about. Cheese and wine might even have been involved.
OK, noise media, your turn.
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." - H. L. Mencken
I am actually more interested in whether it was Representative Jackson that blew the whistle on Blago. The Governor is following in the same footsteps as Mayor Killpatrick of Detroit who is currently serving time but on the minimum time served charge. Traded the mayor position for reduced charges and sentencing-Very expensive Lawyer fees but the good buddies of the Mayor served the cash up to him-Maybe Blago can get the same deal!
Here's a contrarian view. Willie Brown, former mayor of San Francisco, former speaker of the California Assembly, thinks Blago may walk.
"Illinois governor seems to be growing stronger"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/12/21/BAG314QRPO.D...
Whatever else you think about Willie he's pretty savvy politically.
I'm going to be crucified for saying this, but there should be an additional punitive measure in the law for politicians who refuse to admit their guilt in a circumstance in which their guilt was obvious before wasting time and money on a trial.Umm, well, this penalty already exists, as you should be aware - in the sense that a defendant (any defendant, not just a politician) can usually get a significant reduction in their sentence and better expectations for parole if they plead guilty and show contrition. Logically if one is rewarded for pleading guilty, one is punished to exactly the same degree for refusing to plead guilty.
Post new comment
MoJo Comments: Send Us Your Feedback
We changed our spam software to better filter comments. Should you encounter any issues, please let us know.
