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IL Starts Blagojevich Impeachment Proceedings

The Madigan family is finally adopting the right approach to removing Governor Blagojevich from office: Michael Madigan has announced the House will begin impeachment proceedings.

Speaker Michael Madigan announced Monday that he’s appointing a special committee to review the case and recommend whether Blagojevich should be impeached.

Madigan says the committee will work every day except holidays.

”We’re going to proceed with all due speed, but we’re going to make sure that what we do is done correctly,” the Chicago Democrat said.

Once the committee makes a recommendation, the full House will decide whether to file impeachment charges against the governor. The Senate ultimately would rule on them.

I say the Madigan family is making the right move, because previously Michael’s daughter Lisa has been calling for the courts to remove Blago. 

Atty. General Lisa Madigan called on the Illinois Supreme Court today to temporarily remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich from office and appoint Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn as acting governor, "so the business of the state of Illinois can go forward."

I agree with Adam B that Lisa’s move–to use the courts–is inappropriate while her father’s more to start impeachment is appropriate. 

Blagojevich hasn’t been convicted of anything.  Technically, he hasn’t even been indicted yet; it’s just a criminal complaint.  And especially in the courts, Blagojevich should be entitled to a presumption of innocence.  So, yes, we tend to be fans here of Patrick Fitzgerald’s work, but what about a less scrupulous prosecutor in a state with a malleable Supreme Court?  A criminal complaint, by itself, shouldn’t be enough to empower a court to remove someone from office.

There are, thankfully, other remedies.  First of all, as I’ve noted before, under Article V of the Illinois Constitution he can resign voluntarily, or temporarily cede power "whenever the Governor determines that he may be seriously impeded in the exercise of his powers."

Assuming he doesn’t do the right thing, then impeachment and conviction by the Illinois Legislature under Article IV, section 14 is the superior approach.  Legislators are more accountable to the people than are judges — even elected judges — and they are more sensitive to the ramifications of a bad decision here.  Some things are better left to the political branches.

What Fitz has given us with his complaint is a list of things that–at least–passed the standard of the judge to arrest the Governor. Read more

Is Rahm Still Running for Speaker of the House?

nuzzling-speaker.thumbnail.jpg

(Alex Wong/Getty Images photo)

Or is Blago delirious about that too?

I’m finally getting around to reading the collected works of Michael Sneed, the woman scribe calls "this scandal’s Judy." Sneed is the columnist whom Blago was using to launder his leaks about the Senate selection process, feeding her false information about his leading candidates, with the intention of pressuring Obama and others to respond accordingly. (Incidentally, TheraP pointed to this diary which claimed Sneed’s more embarrassing columns were getting removed from the Sun-Times archive, but they’re actually still there; it’s just that they go behind the pay firewall after one month.)

Given that we know Blago was using Sneed in that way, I’m particularly interested in her column from November 14 (which also just went behind the firewall).  In it, she has what may well be another regurgitated Blago rant.

IS IT EMIL? Sneed hears Gov. Blago, who will choose Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate, privately feels there may be only one choice that makes sense: His buddy, outgoing Senate President Emil Jones. – To wit: Jones is this/close to Blago, who may pay his pal back for being such a staunch ally. Jones would also be a strong ally in the Senate for his political godson — Obama.

– Hmmm: Isn’t it true Gov. Blago, who truly believes a federal indictment is not in his future, is hoping Jones would be a placeholder until 2010 — when Gov. Rod could opt for a Senate seat or another run at the governorship? Is someone smoking posies?

Fitz’s chronology ends on November 13–which would presumably be the day Blago would have leaked this to Sneed for her November 14 column; the complaint doesn’t confirm that the leak came from Blago. Yet the attribution seems to clearly point to Blago, and given the sheer number of leaks she was getting from him, it seems likely that he was her source for this, too. 

With that in mind, check out the news that led that column:

Incoming & outgoing: The rumor mill is going berserk!- To wit: Top Dem wags are whispering Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama’s new chief of staff, plans to exit the White House in two years in hopes of reclaiming his congressional seat — thereby enabling him to work toward becoming speaker of the House, his dream job.

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

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

Rahm Spoke to His Bleeping Bleep Twin

As Gregg posted at the mother-ship, Chicago’s Fox affiliate reported today that Rahm did speak to Blagojevich, a seeming soulmate who likes to say fuck as much as Rahm does. There’s a couple of interesting points about this report.

A source familiar with the investigation confirmed for Fox Chicago News that Rahm Emanuel did in fact have multiple conversations with Governor Rod Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris about the Senate seat. The source says there was a list of names given to the Governor’s office of candidates that would be acceptable to President-elect Barack Obama. The conversations happened after the FBI wiretaps were in place and after Emanuel was named Obama’s Chief of Staff early last month. The timing of the conversations made it likely, the source says, that the phone conversations were recorded and are in the hands of the FBI.

Note that this is the same outlet that reported on Tuesday that,

CONATY: We did receive a tip this morning that perhaps all of this came together so quickly because the Governor may have reached out to Rahm Emanuel, the president-elect’s chief of staff, in attempting to leverage filling the Senate seat. And it may have been Rahm Emanuel who tipped the scale and made this move as quickly as it did.

The reporter who reported it is different, but the outlet is the same (and Tuesday’s reporter used the first person plural, so the actual recipient of the Rahm tips may be the same). Of course, Rahm called that first report "over-zealous reporting," but since "over-zealous" is different from inaccurate, Fox may have gone back to it.

Now look at the details this source provides. Rough dates for the contacts: after October 22, when the taps were placed, and after November 6, when Rahm was named Chief of Staff, which certainly is in line with the appearance that someone spoke to Obama’s team on November 10 and that Blago was planning to speak with Rahm on November 13. But if the source’s dates are correct, then Rahm spoke to Blago only after Blago started plotting his demands on November 3. In other words, if you needed any more assurances than you already had, Blago (or JJJ’s emissary, on October 31) dreamt up selling the Senate seat, not Rahm.

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The Reason Behind the Jacksons’ Narrow Denials?

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.

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Jesse Jackson Jr’s Dad Gets a Lawyer, Too

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. 

Withdrawing Jarrett’s Candidacy as an F-U to Blagojevich

The WSJ notices something I pointed out Tuesday. There was a two-hour meeting on November 10 at which Blago’s team tried to concoct a way to get Obama’s team to give something of value in exchange for Valerie Jarrett’s appointment to replace Obama as Senator. Here’s my version:

Then, on November 10, Blago appeared to have gotten his first rebuff from the Obama team. On that day, Blago and his aides (and his wife), including Advisor B, had a two hour conference call with advisors in DC, brainstorming ways they could "monetize" the Senate seat. At one point, Blago said that he would appoint Jarrett,"but if they feel like they can do this and not fucking give me anything . . . then I’ll fucking go [Senate Candidate 5].” At that point, Blago’s already incensed at Obama, saying, "“motherfucker [Obama] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.” […] By November 11, […] Blago said, “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck them," it seems Obama has clearly already rebuffed Blago’s efforts.  And by the 12th, public reports had Jarrett announcing she didn’t want the seat.

The WSJ corrects my version, though, in one respect: it points out that CNN reported the night of the 10th that Jarrett withdrew her candidacy. Here’s CNN:

Two Democratic sources close to President-elect Barack Obama tell CNN that top adviser Valerie Jarrett will not be appointed to replace him in the U.S. Senate.

"While he (Obama) thinks she would be a good senator, he wants her in the White House," one top Obama advisor told CNN Monday.

But I think the WSJ asks the wrong question about the coincidence of these events. It asks,

But the big question today is this: Were any members of his transition team among the "Washington advisers" on the line during this marathon conference call, or did one of the participants fill them in about these wild ideas?

[snip]

At a bare minimum, the timing of Team Obama’s decision to remove Ms. Jarrett’s name from contention, or at least to remove her name from the public speculation about the post, seems extraordinarily lucky. It came on the very same day the FBI secretly recorded Mr. Blagojevich telling a huge conference call loaded with politicos, in Illinois and Washington, that he wasn’t about to give the Senate spot away for nothing.

Read more

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

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

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. 

Blagojevich’s SEIU Contact NOT Andy Stern

Not This Man

Not This Man

My NPR station reported earlier today that the SEIU contact that Blagojevich spoke with–referenced in the complaint–was not Andy Stern. NPR said it was Tom Balanoff, President of SEIU Local 1.

A senior advisor to the SEIU has confirmed to me that the contact in the complaint is not Stern, though he could not confirm that it was Balanoff.

The SEIU advisor also told me that SEIU proactively contacted Fitzgerald’s office. I guess that was the same conversation when, according to SEIU’s earlier statement, Fitz asked SEIU not to share any information at that time.

I guess all those nutters trying to take down Obama and Stern are going to have to work harder to make a mountain out of a molehill.