This is a man who has been under federal investigation for years. Here is a man who knew he was being watched by the Feds, but apparently had such an ego that he thought he was above it all. Chicago is and has long been a sesspool for crooked politicians. The sad fact is that Governor Blagojevich will not be the first Illinois Governor to go to prison should he be convicted. In fact, if he is convicted, he could share a prison cell with another former Governor of Illinois, George Ryan.
The issue about this case that I find even more interesting is the response from those surrounding President-elect Obama. Initially Barack Obama would not make a statement on the situation. Yet, later in the day he came out and made a strong statement concerning his dealing with Blagojevich:
"I had no contact with the governor or his office, and so I was not aware of
what was happening"
According to the Associated Press his statement that he didn't have contact with Blagojevich about the Senate seat seems to conflict with that of top adviser David Axelrod, who told Fox News Chicago on Nov. 23: "I know he's talked to the governor, and there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them."
Conveniently, later in the day, Axelrod made a statement saying that he was "mistaken" about any discussion Obama had with Blagojevich regarding the Senate seat. One last tidbit of information, if Obama had no knowledge of what was going on, why is there now information creeping out that Rahm Emanuel may have been the one that tipped the Feds of about the corruption.
While there is no evidence of wrong doing on Obama's part in this case or the Rezko case, it still smells bad for the new President-elect. He hasn't been sworn in to office yet and there are two cases with his name attached in one way or another. With all of the corruption surrounding this man, President Clinton is starting to look like a saint. Maybe Hillary still has a shot at 2012 after all.
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