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December 09, 2008
Illinois Governor arrested for attempted sale of Obama's Senate seat
Thomas Lifson
The political cesspool which gave birth to Barack Obama's political career has served up yet another scandal , this time involving the alleged attempted sale of the Senate seat President-elect Obama will soon vacate. The Chicago Tribune reports:
Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested by FBI agents on federal corruption charges Tuesday morning.
Blagojevich and Harris were arrested simultaneously at their homes at about 6:15 a.m., according to Frank Bochte of the FBI. Both were awakened in their residences and transported to FBI headquarters in Chicago.
In one charge related to the appointment of a senator to replace Barack Obama, prosecutors allege that Blagojevich sought appointment for himseld as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama administration, or a lucrative job with a union, in exchange for appointing a union-preferred candidate.
Another charge alleges Blagojevich and Harris conspired to demand the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members responsible for editorials critical of him in exchange for state help with the sale of Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs baseball stadium owned by Tribune Co.
Details of the complaint against the two men here.
As this is being posted, the two men are being indicted.
We will be following this story closely. Of course PE Obama is not implicated in the alleged crimes. But he made his way upward through this political environment.
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