Real Estate Bank Owned Distressed Properties,
Short Sales and more
Florida Foreclosures
California
Foreclosures
Nevada Foreclosures
New York Foreclosures
|
The Blagojevich Scandal is Obama’s Scandal
Says Judicial Watch
A massive scandal involving Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama exploded after the Illinois Democratic governor was arrested, handcuffed and
hauled off to jail for allegedly trying to “sell” the vacant U.S. Senate
seat once occupied by the President-elect, among numerous other corruption
charges.
The criminal complaint indicates that Obama and his team knew about
Blagojevich's efforts to sell Obama's Senate seat.
Not only was Team Obama aware of Blagojevich’s scheme but they seemingly
participated in illegal negotiations with Blagojevich and his
representatives.
There has been an air of lawlessness around Governor Blagojevich for some
time, and Judicial Watch applauds U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald for his
actions.
The key evidence in the broad corruption investigation (called Operation
Board Games) is 45 days of secretly taped conversations during which
Blagojevich brazenly (and profanely) described his various efforts to sell
favors in exchange for campaign contributions.
According to The Chicago Tribune: “The governor and his chief of staff, John
Harris, were simultaneously charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and
solicitation to commit bribery as part of what officials say was a
wide-ranging scheme to shakedown campaign donors and politicians for
high-paying posts and millions of dollars in campaign contributions.”
(In more bad news for Obama, his friend, fundraiser, and real estate partner
Antoin “Tony” Rezko’s name is further implicated in the corrupt activities,
as his name is all over the criminal complaint.)
Blagojevich corruption is no surprise. Judicial Watch has been all over the
Illinois governor’s case for years because of the very issues that led to
his arrest. But the breadth and depravity of Blagojevich’s behavior is
shocking. I don’t have the space to detail all of the incidents and charges.
(For that, you can read the complaint for yourself. I encourage you to read
it, as it is a primer on the political corruption all too prevalent in our
nation.) But clearly the most disturbing and potentially explosive incident
documented by authorities relates to Blagojevich’s appalling attempt to
“sell” Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Again, according to the Tribune:
The [arrest] affidavit quoted the governor on a telephone call the day
before Obama won his historic presidential victory talking about driving a
"hard bargain." Blagojevich called the Senate seat "a [expletive] valuable
thing. You just don't give it away for nothing."
"I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden and uh, uh, I'm not just
giving it up for [expletive] nothing," he said two days later, according to
the affidavit.
Among the prizes Blagojevich envisioned were a position in Obama's Cabinet,
an ambassadorship, a $300,000 job with a union-backed group--even a highly
paid position for his wife, Patricia.
(Blagojevich is alleged to have said that if he did not get an offer to his
liking, that he would appoint himself to the Senate seat.)
What did Barack Obama know about Blagojevich’s scheme and when did he
know it? Did Obama report Blagojevich to investigators about any efforts to
sell his Senate seat? (Concealing a felony from authorities is a crime
punishable up to 3 years of prison.)
Clearly at least one high level advisor to Obama (named “President-Elect
Advisor” in the complaint) was approached about striking a deal for the
Senate seat. Among other benefits, Blagojevich sought to be named head
of a foundation in exchange for naming Obama’s chosen successor. The
complaint also references discussions with a leader of the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU) over a three-way deal involving Obama, SEIU and
Blagojevich.
Obama, for his part, publicly denied having any conversations with
Blagojevich regarding the Senate seat, but there seems to be some confusion
on this point. US News and World Report reported Wednesday that Obama’s
denial appeared to “contradict remarks by his adviser David Axelrod in an
interview last month.
Axelrod, a former Blagojevich adviser, now conveniently says he “misspoke.”
Obama’s likely intermediary to Blagojevich, (“President-Elect Adviser”) Rahm
Emanuel, is refusing to answer questions about the scandal.
Importantly, Obama, while denying direct personal involvement, has failed to
deny that members of his team had been approached by Blagojevich. Yet, for
days now, Obama has refused to tell the American people any of the details
of his camp’s discussions with Blagojevich. Obama’s lapdog media is trying
to give Obama protection from this scandal, but don’t you believe them.
This is a burgeoning crisis for Obama that should shake his presidency to
its core.
The Obama-Blagojevich scandal is still unraveling. The person widely
believed to be the Obama’s desired selection for his Senate seat was his
political godmother (and slumlord), Valerie Jarrett. Accordingly, there is
no doubt in my mind that Obama and his top people were considering
Blagojevich’s corrupt demands. Everyone in Illinois knew what Blago was up
to! And Obama’s Chicago-based transition team wasn’t? This scandal is not
going away.
Judicial Watch will continue investigating and reporting to you for as long
as it takes. Stay tuned.
December 19, 2008
From the Desk of Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton:
Judicial Watch Testifies in Blagojevich Impeachment Hearing
On Wednesday, Judicial Watch Director of Litigation Paul Orfanedes was
invited to testify in the Illinois House of Representatives impeachment
hearing of Governor Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested last week for
attempting to "sell" Barack Obama's now vacant Senate seat, among other
corruption charges. It was a tight turn around, but Paul made the trip from
DC to Springfield, Illinois and testified yesterday before the 21-member
Special Investigative Committee that will eventually make a recommendation
to the full Illinois House as to whether or not to move forward with
impeachment proceedings against the embattled Illinois governor.
The invitation is a testament not only to Judicial Watch's reputation as the
nation's most effective government watchdog organization, but also
specifically to our work in holding Governor Blagojevich to account.
As I mentioned previously, we've been investigating Blagojevich for a while
now for the very crimes that prompted his arrest last week. In fact, on
January 16, 2007, we filed a lawsuit in the Cook County, Illinois Circuit
Court seeking all documents, including any and all grand jury subpoenas
received by the Governor's office, related to the ongoing Blagojevich
corruption investigation. (The subpoenas reportedly were issued by U.S.
Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office.)
Blagojevich's office tried to lie and stonewall their way out of releasing
these documents. First, Blagojevich's legal counsel said the documents were
exempted for release. When the state's top law enforcement officer, Illinois
State Attorney General Lisa Madigan, called the Governor to the carpet,
saying he could not legally withhold these documents, Blagojevich then tried
to go around Madigan and hire a personal attorney to represent him instead.
Judicial Watch filed a motion for default in this lawsuit last week. It
seems the impeachment committee considers Blagojevich's refusal to follow
state FOIA law as part of a pattern of abuse of power.
With specific relevance to the Obama senate seat allegations, on December
15th, we filed yet another Illinois Freedom of Information Act request with
the Office of the Governor. Here's what we're after:
Any and all communications between Governor Rod Blagojevich and
President-Elect Barack Obama;
Any and all communications between the Office of the Governor, including but
not limited to Governor Rod Blagojevich and/or Governor Blagojevich's Chief
of Staff John Harris, and representatives of the Office of the
President-Elect;
Any and all communications between the office of the Governor, including but
not limited to Governor Rod Blagojevich and/or Governor Blagojevich's Chief
of Staff John Harris, and representatives of the Obama-Biden Transition
Project; and
Any and all communications between the office of the Governor, including but
not limited to Governor Rod Blagojevich and/or Governor Blagojevich's Chief
of Staff John Harris, and representatives of the Service Employees
International Union regarding the appointment of a replacement for
President-Elect Barack Obama's now-vacant Senate seat.
Obviously, we expect a fierce battle over these documents and we are
prepared for it.
Drudge Report |
Politico
| World Net Daily | Judicial Watch
| News Max | Front Page Magazine
Media Research |
Accuracy In Media | CNS News | Town Hall |
CBN | Push
Back | Cato Institute
American Spectator |
Heritage Foundation | Roll Call | Friends of Liberty | National Review
Rush Limbaugh |
Hugh Hewitt | Bill O'Reilly |
Bob Novak
| Laura Ingraham |
Glenn Beck
John Loftus | Pat
Buchanan | Michael
Savage |
Chuck Morse
| Neal Boortz | Bill Gertz
Ann
Coulter | Cal Thomas |
Dennis
Praeger |
Rusty Humphries
|
Ann Coulter Chat Room
Video News Current Events,
Alternate Energy, Immigration, Politics
Conservative News Videos
Multi-ethnic, illegal immigration advocacy group operating to support
enforcement of the law Minutemen
Opposes efforts to use federal immigration policies to force mass U.S.
population growth and depress wages of vulnerable workers.
Numbers USA
Israeli News
Jerusalem Post |
Arab News Saudia Arabia Daily |
Free World Now
White House Press
Briefings |
New York Post
New American |
Free Republic | Citizens United
Conservative Union
| Sia News | Insight Magazine
|
Rewards For Justice | FBI Web Site
| ATF
US Dept of Defense | US Navy | US Marines | US Air Force | US Army | USA Freedom Corps
American Legion | Center For Disease Control
|
Health & Human Services
|
news.google.com |
Lasik Eye
Surgery Info
Diets, discount vitamins
Vitamins
Health Nutrition
Casinos, Discount Hotels
Las Vegas Here
Travel, Clothing, Gifts
Shopping Discounts
|
