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Blagojevich Report Timeline

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Here are the Obama related dates pertaining to Rod Blagojevich–taken from the report on contacts with Blago and the complaint.

October 31: Blago approached by "emissary" from Jesse Jackson Jr about Senate seat

November 3: Blago spoke with Deputy Governor A and Advisor A about Senate seat; mentions Jarrett

November 4: Obama elected President; Deputy Governor A suggests Blago put a list of things he might ask for in exchange for the Senate seat; Blago also speaks with John Harris about the seat

November 5: Blago and Deputy Governor A talk about possibility of HHS appointment for Senate seat; Blago and Harris talk about a foundation appointment; (approximately) Blago talks to Tom Balanoff (SEIU) and "understood that [Balanoff] was an emissary to discuss [Jarrett]’s interest in the Senate seat"

November 6: Rahm Emanuel accepts Chief of Staff position; Blago gives a leak to Michael Sneed designed "to send a message to the [Obama] people" that Madigan might get the Senate seat over Jarrett

November 6-8: Louanner Peters called Eric Whitaker to ask who spoke for Obama regarding his preferences for his replacement; Obama told Whitaker no one had that authority, which Whitaker "relayed" this to Peters

November 6-8: Rahm has "one or two" conversations with Blago, about his own seat, as well as Senate seat; Rahm has four conversations with John Harris about the Senate seat

November 7: Blago tells Advisor A he’s willing to "trade" the Senate seat for Secretary of HHS; Blago discusses HHS with Harris and Advisor B and talks about 3-way deal with SEIU; Tom Balanoff (local SEIU head) tells Valerie Jarrett that Blago asked whether he might be named HHS; in the same conversation, Balanoff told Jarrett he had talked to Blago about Jarrett for the Senate seat; Balanoff mentioned that Blago had also mentioned Madigan

November 9: Valerie Jarrett withdraws from consideration; Obama talks about Senate candidates with Rahm, with the understanding he would pass on those candidates

November 10: Long conference call about the seat, including discussions about a non-profit in exchange for the seat; Blago admits he’s not going to get HHS; Blago plants leak with Sneed about Jesse Jackson Jr.

November 11: Blago complains that, "they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation"

November 12: Blago notes that CNN has reported Jarrett is uninterested in Senate seat; Blago talks to Balanoff, probes about whether Jarrett is interested in Senate seat and proposes 401c4; Balanoff says he will "“put that flag up and see where it goes"

November 13: Blago says he wants to be able to call Rahm and say, "this has nothing to do with anything else we’re working on but the Governor wants to put together a 501(c)(4)" and that when Rahm "asks me for the Fifth CD thing I want it to be in his head"; Blago then asks Advisor A to have Individual A (believed to be John Wyma, who is cooperating with Fitzgerald) propose the 501c4 to Rahm; Advisor A says, "while it’s not said this is a play to put in play other things" and Blago agrees

[November 13 is the last reference to negotiations with Obama’s team in the complaint]

December 4: Blago talks about reaching out to JJJ’s people about him rising in consideration, partly because they would raise funds

December 5:  Trib reveals Blago has been wiretapped; Blago tries to pull back discussions related to JJJ

December 6: Fundraiser for JJJ hosted by JJJ’s emissary; some participants believe the fundraiser pertains to the Senate seat

December 7: Fitz gets arrest warrant for Blago

December 8: JJJ and Blago meet about the Senate seat

December 9: Blago arrested; Obama team learns of it from public reports

December 11: Obama team begins to conduct inquiry into contacts with Blago; Read more →

Jesse Jackson Jr’s Fundraiser Wants Immunity

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The most interesting tidbit from the Trib’s report that Raghuveer Nayak, one of JJJ’s fundraisers mentioned in the Blagojevich criminal complaint, wants immunity in exchange for testimony is the reaction from JJJ’s lawyer.

Jackson’s lawyer, James Montgomery Sr., reacted to the news of Nayak’s bid for immunity by saying, "If that is indeed the case, and if that cooperation relates to my client, then [Nayak] is trying to save his own skin. That’s all I have to say."

Montgomery hedges his statement carefully: he doesn’t admit that Nayak’s cooperation would necessarily pertain solely to JJJ. But he insinuates that, if Nayak’s cooperation does relate to JJJ, Nayak’s just trying to save himself. 

Given how closely Nayak’s actions match up with the complaint (that is, he appears to be a good candidate to be both JJJ’s "emissary" and–as the Trib points out–the Indidvidual D whom Blago was preparing to hit up on December 4, not long before Blago was arrested) that’s an interesting admission. It also suggests that JJJ and Nayak may be trying to damage each other, which given the way things are shaping up in Chicago, wouldn’t surprise me. Most of all, it surprised me that Montgomery didn’t immediately suggest that Nayak might be cooperating to make the case against Blago; there’s no reason to assume any more than that, after all.

Meanwhile, here’s a summary of Nayak’s ties to the Jackson family:

Nayak’s connections to the Jackson family go back years. Not only has he been a longtime political supporter of Rep. Jackson, he’s traveled with the congressman’s father, Rev. Jesse Jackson, to India and he’s partnered with the congressman’s brother, Jonathan, on a failed land deal. Records also show Jonathan Jackson’s former cellular phone business used office space at a Gold Coast facility owned by Nayak.

His ties to the world of medical industry that ties so closely to many of Blago’s pay-to-play are much stronger. But I do find the ties to other Jacksons–aside from JJJ–notable.

Criminalizing Politics? Or Reading a Complaint?

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The cries that Fitz is criminalizing politics are getting almost as shrill as the insinuations that Obama must be hiding something because he agreed to hold off on releasing the summary of communications with Blago’s folks. There’s the NYT, relying on "some lawyers" that just happen to be just two lawyers that have scrapped with Fitz in the past (Bob Bennett, who represented Judy, and Michael Monico, who represented one of Blago’s fundraisers).

But now some lawyers are beginning to suggest that the juiciest part of the case against Mr. Blagojevich, the part involving the Senate seat, may be less than airtight. There is no evidence, at least none that has been disclosed, that the governor actually received anything of value — and the Senate appointment has yet to be made.

And then there’s that legendary dealmaker, Willie Brown.

But if his bargaining over the Senate seat was for political gain, not financial benefit, then he ought to hold tight.

That said, I can’t help but take stories like this personally. Any politician’s downfall reflects on every other politician. It demeans your history, your record. People look at you and figure, yeah, you just didn’t get caught.

Yet these cries rely on two things: an exclusive focus on the Senate seat allegations at the expense of the other allegations, and a neglect of the actual details of the complaint  (to be fair, the NYT’s Johnston admits he’s focusing on just the "juiciest part" of the complaint, though even there, he doesn’t consider how that "juiciest part" plays into the two charges in the complaint). 

So here’s what the actual complaint says, to a non-lawyer.

First, there are two charges. Neither relies entirely on the Senate seat part of the complaint. I’ll deal with the charges in reverse order.

Charge Two: The Wrigley Field Deal

The second charge, which relies entirely on the Wrigley Field part of the complaint, charges:

Beginning no later than November 2008 to the present, in Cook County, in the Northern District of Illinois, defendants ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS, being agents of the State of Illinois, a State government which during a one-year period, beginning January 1, 2008 and continuing to the present, received federal benefits in excess of $10,000, corruptly solicited and demanded a thing of value, namely, the firing of certain Chicago Tribune editorial members responsible for widely-circulated editorials critical of ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Read more →

Jesse Jackson Jr’s Cooperation with Fitz

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Multiple stories–explicitly sourced to Jesse Jackson Jr’s allies–report that Jesse Jackson started cooperating with Fitz as least as early as earlier this year. Here are some data points on JJJ’s cooperation and other involvement.

He apparently told Fitz earlier this year that in 2003, Blago conditioned a position for JJJ’s wife on a $25,000 donation.

Jackson has been in regular contact with the feds and has told the government that in 2003 Blagojevich denied the congressman’s wife Sandi an appointment as Illinois lottery director because Jackson would not donate $25,000 to the governor’s campaign fund.

Also earlier this year, JJJ told Fitz that he refused to accept Tony Rezko’s condition that the state would support a third airport only if JJJ agreed to let Blago approve the airport board.

The meeting in June of 2006 at a Gold Coast hotel included Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko.

The topic was a proposed third airport at Peotone, Jackson’s pet project which needed more state money. Rezko allegedly demanded that the governor be given control of the airport’s board. Jackson refused and state support for the project stopped.

Fitz’s folks called JJJ last Monday night to give him a head’s up that they were arresting Blago and that a reference to him would show up in the complaint. 

Reportedly, last week, both JJJ and his father (who appears not to have been mentioned in the complaint) both retained lawyers.

Also last week, JJJ issued a narrow denial: denying any involvement in pay-to-play, while not denying someone may have made an offer to Blago in his name without his knowledge or support.

I want to make this fact plain: I reject and denounce pay-to- play politics and have no involvement whatsoever in any wrongdoing. I did not initiate or authorize anyone, at any time, to promise anything to Governor Blagojevich on my behalf.

I never sent a message or an emissary to the governor to make an offer, to plead my case, or to propose a deal about a U.S. Senate seat, period.

Also in his denial, JJJ described his sister’s support for what he has done. And in an previously unremarked reference, he described being proud of Illinois in the last 2.5 years.

This morning, I got a text message from my little sister, who told me that she was proud of me. She was proud of what I’ve done for this nation.

Read more →

Why Wasn’t the Guy Whose Daddy Wanted to “Cut His Nuts Off” Acceptable to Obama?

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There was a significant detail in the Trib’s Rahm-talking-to-Blago story. The story lists who Obama considered acceptable candidates to replace him in the Senate.

Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor’s administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win.

Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be "acceptable" to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.

Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.

Note who is missing from this list?

Obama national campaign co-chair, Jesse Jackson Jr. 

There are a lot of reasons why Obama may not have favored JJJ replacing him in the Senate–including JJJ’s own statements that broke Obama’s "no drama Obama" campaign rule. 

A contributing factor, though, may be that JJJ’s father was publicly taped threatening to cut Obama’s nuts off.

I raise this not to talk about the President-elect’s nuts, but to point to an underlying (and potentially explicit) tension in Blago’s efforts to sell Obama’s senate seat. JJJ’s fundraiser Raghuveer Nayak may have approached Blago about the seat on October 31. Then, just one day later, Rahm apparently called John Harris and told him that Obama did not want JJJ to replace him in the Senate.

Recall, too, the reference to Obama that JJJ made in his press conference on the Senate seat.

But watching the president-elect carry himself in such an extraordinary way across this country to build bridges that had never been built in this country, even I had become inspired.

And so somewhere along the way, over the last two and a half years, I got the idea that if a skinny kid with a funny name could be president of the United States, that a short kid with a somewhat controversial but certainly a high profile name could be a senator from Illinois.

JJJ delivered that "even I" with pointed emphasis, almost bitterness.

Read more →

The Reason Behind the Jacksons’ Narrow Denials?

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I noted the other day that Jesse Jackson Jr’s denial of involvement in Blago’s pay-to-play games was very narrow: he denied being personally involved, and said that he had not authorized others to make offers to Blago for him.

I want to make this fact plain: I reject and denounce pay-to- play politics and have no involvement whatsoever in any wrongdoing. I did not initiate or authorize anyone, at any time, to promise anything to Governor Blagojevich on my behalf.

I never sent a message or an emissary to the governor to make an offer, to plead my case, or to propose a deal about a U.S. Senate seat, period.

Maybe this explains why those denials are so narrow. The Trib reports that Blago and Jackson-family fundraiser Raghuveer Nayak met on October 31–the day when Blago was recorded as talking about having been approached by an emissary from JJJ.

Blagojevich made an appearance at an Oct. 31 luncheon meeting at the India House restaurant in Schaumburg sponsored by Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayak, a major Blagojevich supporter who also has fundraising and business ties to the Jackson family, according to several attendees and public records.

And Saturday, Nayak co-sponsored a fund-raiser for JJJ which was understood by some attendees to be tied to JJJ’s bid to be appointed Senator.

That meeting led to a Blagojevich fundraiser Saturday in Elmhurst, co-sponsored by Nayak and attended by Jesse Jackson Jr.’s brother, Jonathan, as well as Blagojevich, according to several people who were there. Nayak and Jonathan Jackson go back years and the two even went into business together years ago as part of a land purchase on the South Side.

Perhaps not surprisingly, those close to JJJ are now repeating his narrow denials.

Jackson’s congressional spokesman Rick Bryant said Thursday that Nayak is a "family friend and supporter" of the congressman as well as his well-known father, Rev. Jesse Jackson. The congressman and Nayak have spoken about Jackson’s desire to succeed Obama.

"He has talked to [Nayak] about the Senate seat and he has mentioned his interest," Bryant said of his boss. "But he never asked him to do anything."

Jackson’s newly retained attorney, James Montgomery, said Wednesday he could not rule out that such possibilities were discussed with Blagojevich by people who did not have his client’s blessing.

Read more →

Jesse Jackson Jr’s Dad Gets a Lawyer, Too

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In news that is very ominous for Candidate 5 and his family, Jesse Jackson Jr is not the only one who has lawyered up since Blago’s arrest on Tuesday. Jesse Jackson Sr has done so too (h/t nextstopchicago and choochmac).

Also, the congressman’s father, Jesse Jackson Sr., has retained legal council following the Blagojevich arrest. 

Given the fact that Blago claimed last week that he was first approached by an emissary of JJJ with a monetary deal for the senate seat before the election, and given the high likelihood that the Feds taped the meeting between JJJ and Blago on Monday, I’d say the Reverend’s lawyering up is very ominous indeed.

Update: There are three (maybe just two, given Blago’s ramblings) people named in the complaint with ties to JJJ:

Associate of SC 5: Approached Blago with a “pay to play” offer
Emissary: The one who delivered the Associate’s message (may be Associate, may not be)
Individual D: Blago tried to get campaign donations from him in the last several days, Blago believes D is close to JJJ

Obviously, Jesse Jackson Sr couldn’t be Individual D (since there’s no question they’re close). Which suggests if he’s named in the complaint, he’s Associate or Emissary. Of course, it’s perfectly likely that JJ Sr had contacts with Blago not mentioned on the tapes–which may well be perfectly innocent–but that he has retained counsel as a precautionary measure before he goes to Fitz to reveal those contacts.

Update: I’ve changed the title of this. A couple of readers suggested I was using the term improperly. I think the usage in the blogosphere is somewhat different, but I recognize that their point about general usage is fair. So I’m changing it to make sure I make it clear that we have every reason to believe that Jesse Sr. is willing to cooperate with federal investigators. 

Jesse Jackson Jr. Met Blagojevich in the Latter’s Office: Were They Taped?

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Keep in mind, as you’re reading Jesse Jackson Jr’s statement from yesterday, that they met in Blagojevich’s office on Monday.

The media saw me enter the governor’s office. And after a 90-day [sic] meeting about my record, my qualifications, the media saw me exit Governor Blagojevich’s office. 

Jackson doesn’t say in which office he met with Blago. That is, he doesn’t say (and the coverage of the meeting doesn’t say) whether or not he met with Blago in his campaign office–which we know with certainty is bugged.

But regardless of which office they met in, what do you think the odds are that the FBI listened in on that meeting?

The complaint makes no mention of Monday’s meeting between Jackson and Blago–aside from describing Blago, before the fact, explaining to aides that it was going to happen. It couldn’t have! The complaint is dated December 7–Sunday, the day before the Blago-Jackson meeting, and two days before they actually used it.

We do know, however, that the FBI had been able to get bugging devices approved and installed in a few days earlier in this case, because that’s how long it took them to install the bug in Blago’s campaign office in time for a long meeting with John Wyma. 

Now, Jackson should have at least suspected that their meeting Monday might be taped, since the Trib broke the story that the governor was being taped on Friday. Though that story suggested that John Wyma was wearing a wire (which is what Blago seemed to think was occurring, as he referred to people "wearing taping devices")–it never revealed that Blago’s campaign office was bugged.

Federal investigators recently made covert tape recordings of Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the most dramatic step yet in their corruption investigation of him and his administration, the Tribune has learned.

As part of this undercover effort, one of the governor’s closest confidants and former aides cooperated with investigators, and that assistance helped lead to recordings of the governor and others, sources said.

The cooperation of John Wyma, 42, one of the state’s most influential lobbyists, is the most stunning evidence yet that Blagojevich’s once-tight inner circle appears to be collapsing under the pressure of myriad pay-to-play inquiries.

That’s what Jackson would have known when he walked into his meeting on Monday; he knows far more now. 

So consider the possibility that Jackson now believes (or knows for certain) their meeting was taped on Monday when he spoke yesterday, but may not have on Monday. That raises the possibility that Jackson was trying to set expectations about what occurred in that meeting (though the only thing that Jackson describes that might be ambiguous is his discussion of service). 

I did not know that the process had been corrupted. Read more →

The First Jesse Jackson Jr-Related Blagojevich Contact Was Before October 31

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Here’s a detail I just noticed. Earlier, I said the first date in Fitz’s Senate Seat Sale timeline was on November 3.

But that’s not right. In his discussion of a December 4 conversation Blago had, Fitz wrote:

On December 4, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke to Advisor B and informed Advisor B that he was giving Senate Candidate 5 greater consideration for the Senate seat because, among other reasons, if ROD BLAGOJEVICH ran for re-election Senate Candidate 5 would “raise[] money” for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, although ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he might “get some (money) up front, maybe” from Senate Candidate 5 to insure Senate Candidate 5 kept his promise about raising money for ROD BLAGOJEVICH. (In a recorded conversation on October 31, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH described an earlier approach by an associate of Senate Candidate Five as follows: “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.”)

In other words, Fitz’s Senate Seat Sale chronology actually starts four days earlier than it appears to, on October 31.

The sentence is convoluted, but what I think it says is: On October 31, Blago was recorded saying that he had already been approached by a Jesse Jackson Jr. associate saying that (and here’s where I get lost) the associate would raise half a million–and possibly that someone else would raise a million–if JJJ were named Senator.

This detail is important for several reasons. First, it shows that the chronology that Fitz appears to show us, starting on November 3, leaves out earlier known discussion(s) about selling the seat (which reiterates my point that Fitz is showing us primarily the attempts to deal to Obama–and not any other potential conversations about the seat. It suggests Fitz may have more relating to JJJ’s emissaries (certainly, JJJ remained an active candidate to replace Obama between October 31 and today).

This looks even worse for JJJ than the appearance that someone approached Blago more recently–in the last week or so.

But remember–this still does not directly implicate JJJ. It is Blago’s representation of what someone associated with JJJ had said. Given JJJ’s narrow denial today (that he hadn’t authorized anyone to make deals with Blago), it suggests that JJJ insists he did not know of this offer. 

Jesse Jackson Jr. Press Conference

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Short version: Jackson uses this as a campaign commercial, he makes a narrow denial about the conversations of his supporters with Blago, makes a categorical statement saying he (personally) hadn’t met with Blago for four years, and he refuses to take questions. 

[Starts by expressing outrage at the pay to play schemes.]

The people of IL deserve better. 

The governor should resign and forfeit his authority to make the appointment. Anyone would be too tainted.

Meanwhile the governor’s fate is in the hand of the justice system.

I want to address rumors about me. I reject and denounce pay to play politics. I did not initiate or authorize anyone at any time to promise anything to Blagojevich on my behalf. I never sent an emissary to make a deal. I thought, mistakenly, that the process was fair. 

I have more seniority than all those–except Luis Gutierrez–considered for the position.

I thought the governor was considering me based on my 13 years of hard work on the part of IL.

I did not know that the process had been corrupted. I did not know that qualifications meant nothing to the governor. I wanted to be considered for the appointment because I believe in public service. That’s what I shared with Blago on Monday, when I had the opportunity to meet with him for the first time in four years.  The media saw me enter his office, the media saw me exit his office. Despite what he may have expected, that’s all I had to offer.

[Thanks all those who have endorsed him for the position.]

Know this. I spoke to the US Attorney’s office on Tuesday. I am not a target of this investigation and I am not accused of any misconduct. In the days ahead, law enforcement officers want to meet to discuss what I know about this process. I look forward to cooperating completely. I retain the advice of James Montgomery Sr. 

On his advice, I will not be taking any questions.

I do want to add one point before I leave. This morning I got text messages from my little sister, who said she was proud of what I’ve done. This morning she told me, Jesse Jr, I’m proud of you.