G’morning, Christy!

On this weeks episode of Prison Break starring George Ryan, Rod Blagojevich, John Rowland and Edwin Edwards…..

-G

hehe. Redstate just appropriated ‘Fitzmas’: “It’s beginning to look a lot like Fitzmas: Gov, CoS both arrested” the sleazebags proclaim.

where is Judy Miller in our hour of need?

Digg is open, ladies and gentlemen…let’s give it the Digg!!

Great post, Christy!

Fitz presser coming up.

Dang, FDL should have ™’d it.

Fitzgerald presser to begin momentarily.

They should pay us a royalty fee. *G* I don’t remember them being so keen when it was Cheney, Libby and Rove in the mix. Funny how the rule of law is so malleable for some, eh?

It’s part of the conservatives’ adoption of “traditional” values. We create the value, they adopt it.

Hey! where can I watch the presser online? CSPAN doesn’t have it?

The Fox Chicago station is speculating that something happened late last week that cause Fitz to get the indictment. They said that Fitz got the indictment Sunday.

While I hope there’s a special hell for politicians, I’d still like a law, Federal and State, that mandates maximum sentencing for these gits. Never happen of course.

I might add that now we know why it was taking so long for Blago to name the successor. A bidding war takes time.

Try CNN or MSNBC. Still filling in; hasn’t quite started.

I suggest a change of venue, for sentencing purposes.. to Utah, for Blago. like the Blackwater thugs are seeking.

This FOX feed, perhaps? http://www.myfoxchicagolive.com/

Anywhere else?

cnn.com

Live stream out of Chicago www.myfoxchicagolive.com/

just wait until the bidding war someone in Chicagoland will inevitably administer for the auctioning of Blago’s office, once he’s forced out.

quick scan for obama / emanuel looks good for team obama:

from page 6:

Defendants ROD BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS, together with
others, attempted to use ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s authority to appoint a United States Senator
for the purpose of obtaining personal benefits for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, including, among
other things, appointment as Secretary of Health & Human Services in the President-elect’s
administration…

from page 56:

90. Later on November 3, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke with Advisor A.
By this time, media reports indicated that Senate Candidate 1, an advisor to the President-
elect, was interested in the Senate seat if it became vacant, and was likely to be supported by
the President-elect. During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated, “unless I get something
real good for [Senate Candidate 1], shit, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying.”
ROD BLAGOJEVICH later stated, “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.” Later, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that the Senate seat “is a fucking valuable
thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing.”

from page 59:

96. On November 5, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH talked with Advisor A about
the Senate seat. During the phone call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that the President-elect
can remove somebody from a foundation and give the spot to ROD BLAGOJEVICH. In
regards to the Senate seat, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated “I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking
golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And,
and I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”

from pages 63 & 64:

c. ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another
consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it
up” for two years and do nothing and give this “motherfucker [the President-elect] his
senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH states that he will put
“[Senate Candidate 4]” in the Senate “before I just give fucking [Senate Candidate 1] a
fucking Senate seat and I don’t get anything.” (Senate Candidate 4 is a Deputy Governor of
the State of Illinois).

from page 66:

Later in the conversation, ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that if he appoints Senate
Candidate 4 to the Senate seat and, thereafter, it appears that ROD BLAGOJEVICH might
get impeached, he could “count on [Senate Candidate 4], if things got hot, to give [the Senate
seat] up and let me parachute over there.” HARRIS said, “you can count on [Senate
Candidate 4] to do that.” Later in the conversation, ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he knows
that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat but “they’re not willing
to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck them.”

from pages 72 & 73:

111. Later on November 12, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH talked with JOHN
HARRIS. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated that his decision about the open Senate seat will be
based on three criteria in the following order of importance: “our legal situation, our personal
situation, my political situation. This decision, like every other one, needs to be based upon
on that. Legal. Personal. Political.” HARRIS said, “legal is the hardest one to satisfy.”
ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that his legal problems could be solved by naming himself to the
Senate seat.

112. On November 13, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH talked with JOHN HARRIS.
ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he wanted to be able to call “[President-elect Advisor]” and tell
President-elect Advisor that “this has nothing to do with anything else we’re working on but
the Governor wants to put together a 501(c)(4)” and “can you guys help him. . . raise 10, 15
million.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he wanted “[President-elect Advisor] to get the word
today,” and that when “he asks me for the Fifth CD thing I want it to be in his head.” (The
reference to the “Fifth CD thing” is believed to relate to a seat in the United States House of
Representatives from Illinois’ Fifth Congressional District. Prior intercepted phone
conversations indicate that ROD BLAGOJEVICH and others were determining whether
ROD BLAGOJEVICH has the power to appoint an interim replacement until a special
election for the seat can be held.).

113. Also on November 13, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH talked with Advisor A.
ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he wants the idea of the 501(c)(4) in President-elect Advisor’s
head, but not in connection with the Senate appointment or the congressional seat. Advisor
A asked whether the conversation about the 501(c)(4) with President-elect Advisor is
connected with anything else. ROD BLAGOJEVICH replied that “it’s unsaid. It’s unsaid.”
114. Later on November 13, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke with Advisor A.
ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked Advisor A to call Individual A and have Individual A pitch the
idea of the 501(c)(4) to “[President-elect Advisor].” Advisor A said that, “while it’s not said
this is a play to put in play other things.” ROD BLAGOJEVICH responded, “correct.”
Advisor A asked if this is “because we think there’s still some life in [Senate Candidate 1]
potentially?” ROD BLAGOJEVICH said, “not so much her, but possibly her. But others.”

President-elect Advisor?

f’in amazing. i take three days away from the toobz and Obama’s Senate seat is for sale.

Wow.

He should have outsourced it to an M and A firm..

CNN has it on live — and Marcy’s going to liveblog once it gets going as well.

One can also draw from the reading that Rod was completly off the reservation. He is from the Chicago machine, and not a call involving Richard.

Blub @ 21
See govt so much less efficient than private enterprise. Latter would just hold a public auction. /s

Just reading those transcripts, Selise, gives me the willies. Blago sounds like someone out of the Sopranos - a real thug.

Of significant interest is the timing.

They were running the perfect sting and stopped short of allowing the process to play itself out - with a payoff for an appointment to be announced.

Why stop now?

Did Treasury Secretary Paulson pressure Justice/Fitz on behalf of the Bank Of America to get the Governor off their case on the local credit issue that the Governor was grandstanding about just yesterday?

He could claim that he knew he was being wiretapped, just play-acting, but never did receive any money from anyone for anything.

Why would you not wait for an actual quid pro quo funds transfer prior to dropping the hammer?

My monitor stared back at me after I accessed Fox, and screamed, “What are you THINKING???”

CNN.com - thanks, they started streaming it now:

http://www.cnn.com/video/flash.....am=stream2

the made in china version of it. then when it breaks, they can buy a new one.

blu-goy-a-vitch — got it!

patfitz presser also avail via streaming (from the start) at wbez chicago public radio.

didn’t work, going to be in washington, dc.

Me too but I got hooked. They seem to be big Obama supporters thogh!

That children’s hospital shakedown is gonna sting.

Any chance he was fencing artificial limbs from disabled vets too?

Jeebus.

-G

Feds: Obama refused to play ball with Blago.

or shoot it. Which would be Blago’s prospective fate in that country.

that’s clear from the affidavit. see my long comment above.

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that Faux and Redstate aren’t gonna spin it that way.

((( selise )))

Thanks for doing the leg work !

Thanks for the quotes.

Power continues to corrupt. Whether they be dem or rep, the corruption continues. Will more congressmen(reps) be going to jail in the Abramoff scandal now that the DOJ will be run based on law not on politics
I remember Abscam. I remember the house bank scandal. I remember that 40+ years in power corrupted the dem party. But it only took the reps 12 years for hubris and corruption to equal what took the dems 40 years.
I remember watching the senate hearings on Watergate while stationed in DC, that was the greatest education on govt that I have ever seen.
I remember my political education started with JFK and how Mayor Daly voted the graveyards and how Nixon refused to challange the election.
LBJ was corrupt in many ways
Nixon did great things, but was a fatally flawed person.
Ford. pardoned Nixon which helped cause the Clinton impeachment
Carter has been a much better leader as a former president than he ever was as president
Ronald Reagan. An actor reading lines. Possibly had alzheimers 2nd term
GHWB. Over all I give him great marks for his ability in world affairs. GWI was his legacy, but poor at handling the new republician party of antitax and evangelical conservatives
Clinton was his own worst enemy. The rep congress had wanted to get a dem president ever since Nixon was forced from office and Clinton gave them the chance. The most investigated president by the worst rep congress. Impeachment by the reps(their hubris and moral corruption) helped bring down the rep congress in 2006
gwb-possibly the worst president ever. Threw away the principles that our country has had for for 200 years. Became the biggest bully in the world. All because he was afraid. I remember his presser at the La AFB on Sep 11. He looked like he was scared to death. He removed, at the behest of the multinationals, most of the regulations put in place after the depression to prevent another. Capitalism without regulation=anarchy.
Now we have Obama. Will he be good or bad. The last really good president that we had was Ike. He was spot on when he warned about the military industrial complex.
Now we are entering a period of uncertainty. Recession, possibly depression. We do not need the constant carping and threat of filibuster from the reps. But at the very least, if they threaten filibuster, make them carry it out. Let the people see who is against doing what is necessary to end the current recession/depression

What’s the difference between a “complaint” and an “indictment”? Both words are being tossed around today.

IANAL,
Bob in HI

Bob,

This was a complaint, not an indictment. To get an indictment, the US Attorney has to present evidence to the grand jury. Fitz has not done this yet. Federal prosecutors can arrest defendants with a complaint (as he did in this case), and now has 40 days (I think) to present the case to a grand jury and get an indictment.

Usually in a case like this, the prosecutor would get the indictment first, before any arrests are made. Arrests on complaints are more comment in cases where there isn’t a lot of advance notice (drug busts, etc.) The fact that Fitz arrested on a complaint rather than getting the indictment first tells me that he recently made the decision that a quick arrest was imperative (to keep Blogo from appointing Obama’s successor, perhaps).

Addie

damn fine synopsis timr