Governor’s arrest: Cars race up, footsteps, a phone rings
Chicago Tribune
Just minutes before 6 a.m. Tuesday, a pair of black sedans and an SUV raced up Richmond Street toward the personal residence of Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Sunnyside Avenue on Chicago’s Northwest Side.
About the same time, the phone inside Blagojevich’s home began to ring. On the other end was Robert Grant, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Chicago. Two agents were outside Blagojevich’s front door with a warrant for his arrest, he announced to the governor.
“Well, I woke him up,” Grant recalled later Tuesday at a news conference to announce charges of fraud and bribery against Blagojevich. “The first thing [Blagojevich said] was, ‘Was this a joke?’ “
Grant said the FBI chose to arrest the governor in this fashion because it was the best step for the ongoing federal investigation.
“We have a lot of things we learned from this wiretap, a lot of things that we learned from these microphones,” Grant said of the surveillance conducted by federal agents as part of the probe. “So it wasn’t about … tying this in a bow, waiting until spring, letting things be done that damaged the State of Illinois, damaged the United State Senate, hurt people. It was about what is good for the investigation, what is good to find out the truth about what is going on, because this goes beyond just the governor. It goes to other people who were involved in these schemes.”
Source
DECEMBER 9–The criminal complaint filed today against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich contains a remarkable section detailing the Democratic politician’s alleged attempt to cash in on his ability to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
Blagojevich was caught on wiretaps noting that the Senate seat “is a fucking valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”
He was also recorded saying that unless “I get something real good,” he would appoint himself to the vacancy. “I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain. You hear what I’m saying. And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself.”
According to surreptitiously recorded conversations, Blagojevich spoke with associates about the possibility of trading the Senate post for either an ambassadorship or a Cabinet post.
The politician, according to the affidavit sworn by FBI Agent Daniel Cain, “analogized his situation to that of a sports agent shopping a potential free agent to various teams.”
During a wiretapped November 10 call, a frustrated and financially strapped Blagojevich referred to Obama as a “motherfucker” and said that he would not appoint an ally of the President-elect to the Senate vacancy if “I don’t get anything.” Referring to Obama, Blagojevich exclaimed, “Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.”
In a November 11 conversation, Blagojevich remarked that he knew Obama wanted Valerie Jarrett, a longtime confidante, to succeed him, “but they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. “Fuck them.”
Blagojevich, 51, and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested this morning on political corruption charges.
While the affidavit does not specifically name the six prospective Senate candidates discussed by Blagojevic, Harris, and the governor’s aides, it appears that several are easily identified.
“Senate Candidate 1” is Jarrett. “Senate Candidate 2” is Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Emil Jones, an Illinois state legislator, is “Senate Candidate 5.” And “Senate Candidate 6” appears to be J.P. Pritzker, a wealthy Chicago businessman.
Additionally, Rahm Emanuel, the incoming White House chief of staff, is referred to in the affidavit as “President-elect Advisor.”
Wild Thing’s comment………
Does this all mean Obama will be going to Hawaii again. Hahahha That is his MO.
Considering the corruption in Chicago and the thug Obama and his fellow thugs, LOL this Gov. better have eyes in the back of his head or something.
I heard last night that Obama was going to vacation in Hawaii over Christmas.
“Let me explain to you, my Kennebunkport is on the South Side of Chicago,” he said. “Our friends are here. Our family is here. We are going to try to come back here as often as possible . . . at least once every six weeks or couple months.”
Wonder if he is still going to go back to Chi-Town now so he can be with his “Friends”?!?!?! I was born in Blue Island (a suburb of SW Chicago) sadly to say and you couldn’t pay me enough to go back there even if I was the correct color!!!! The South Side of Chicago has been and always will be the most corrupt area in that city!!!
Wonder if O-Bama will change our national anthem to “Bad Bad LeRoy Brown”????
“Well the south side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there you better just beware
Of a man named BHO”
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
The Obamabot’s sergeant-of-the-guard Sergeant Shultz ‘I know Nothing !!!’
Sadly, much of American politics is crooked like this. As much as I hate to amend the Constitution, one amendment I could go for would be for term limits in all Federally elected office and hope all the states followed suit.
I hope the FBI has taped evidence as good as the tapes in the recent OJ Simpson trial. It is good that they can nail Gov Blagojevich, but if they can prove a trail to some of Obama’s people that is even better.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich is just one piece of the same corrupt Democrat Chicago political machine that brought us Barack Hussein Obama. As it turns out, the purveyor of change, the Messiah himself, is once again proclaiming deniability in yet another “more of the same” Democratic political scandal and corruption. Michelle Malkin has a great article on it today.
http://michellemalkin.com/2008/12/10/boomerang-the-democrat-culture-of-corruption/
Change = No Change
Don’t tell the Kool-Aid drinkers. They will deny it.
BobF., thanks for the information. Bob I wonder if he will visit where his grandma was buried, not sure if she was buried though since I have not seen anything in the media about it at all.
So weird too, for someone that he says was important to him till he threw her under the bus.
John, LOL good one.
“Wonder if O-Bama will change our national anthem to “Bad Bad LeRoy Brown”
Thanks for sharing about Chicago John. I never lived there, I grew up in Peoria, but we went there almost one weekend a month to see a play or my Dad had business there. And then always at Christmas to see Marshall Fields store window etc. But I never saw the corruption I was a little kid.
Jack oh my gosh yes I have that at YouTbue someplace. hahaa
“I know nothing”
Tom, I would love that one too. Term limits would sure cut down on the power grab and so many things.
I read someplace that politicians may not enter politics a millionair but everyone of them becomes one from being in politics. That sure says a lot, all the money pay offs from lobbyists.
Les, yes, I wish we could say there were no corrupt republicans but alas there are and have been some. But nothing at all in comparison to the democrats, not even close. Democrats sure are the party of corruption.
Thank you for the link Les.