Emanuel closer to Blago than originally thought; new bombshell from Blago scandal

Yeah, consider this a two-parter in one. Unlike certain TV shows you won't be waiting for next week for the other shoe to drop. First, there's the little matter of Rahm Emanuel's lie about how much contact he and Blagojevich had. According to the Sun-Times, it was direct, and much closer than he admitted to:

President-elect Barack Obama's incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a deeper involvement in pressing for a U.S. Senate seat appointment than previously reported, the Sun-Times has learned. Emanuel had direct discussions about the seat with Gov. Blagojevich, who is is accused of trying to auction it to the highest bidder.

Emanuel talked with the governor in the days following the Nov. 4 election and pressed early on for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett to the post, sources with knowledge of the conversations told the Sun-Times. There was no indication from sources that Emanuel brokered a deal, however.

A source with the Obama camp strongly denied Emanuel spoke with the governor directly about the seat, saying Emanuel only spoke with Blagojevich once recently to say he was taking the chief of staff post.

But sources with knowledge of the investigation said Blagojevich told his aides about the calls with Emanuel and sometimes gave them directions afterward. Sources said that early on, Emanuel pushed for the appointment of Jarrett to the governor and his staff and asked that it be done by a certain date.

At least some of the conversations between Emanuel and Blagojevich were likely caught on tape, sources said.

So, what does this mean for Emanuel? That remains to be seen. Technically, he didn't do anything illegal, and he hasn't lied under oath. He's lied to the people, but we've seen how ignorant they can be when it comes to Obama and crew. They don't care. They just want "hope" and "change.

It's disgusting that Emanuel would lie about this. Why not just come out and say "Yes, I met ad spoke wit the governor over the Senate vacancy. We had ideas for whom he could appoint to replace Barack Obama. We had several meetings and/or phone calls." Say something like that, and this goes away. Be quiet about it, and the press will keep digging. That's pretty evident right now given the fact that the press wants to know what involvement Obama had with Blagojevich, and the fact that Obama is refusing to answer any questions.

The press would really like to have a word or two with Emanuel without him hiding behind his kids (he did that last Thursday when confronted by reporters). Mr. Tough-Guy of the Obama administration doesn't seem to be so tough right now with him ducking the questions and avoiding reporters. Sooner or later he's going to have to answer for his role in this mess. He'd better hope that the time comes soon before he ends up under the Obama bus.

Of course the Rham/Blago relationship is nothing compared to the blatantly illegal action that Blagojevich was going to take. See, pay-to-play is the Chicago Way of politics, and he wanted his pound of flesh for that Senate seat. See, Blago was working out a way to launder the campaign cash that wold have been paid for the seat:

It should come as no surprise to Gov. Rod Blagojevich that authorities are reportedly moving to freeze his campaign fund - and not just because the same thing happened to George Ryan.

According to the criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich, the governor and three of his aides contemplated that prosecutors might do just such a thing – and discussed ways to secure the millions of dollars in the fund by moving the money elsewhere.

“Also on December 5, 2008,” the complaint says, “Rod Blagojevich and three others discussed whether to move money out of the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund to avoid having the money frozen and also considered the possibility of prepaying money to Rod Blagojevich’s criminal defense attorney with an understanding that the attorney would donate the money back at a later time if it was not needed. They also discussed opening a new fund raising account named Citizens for Blagojevich with new contributions received.”

The discussion appears to have been prompted by the Tribune’s story that day that an ally of the governor’s was cooperating in the federal probe.

One individual in the complaint is described as Fundraiser A and chairman of Friends of Blagojevich. "Blagojevich's brother Robert is his campaign chairman," Newsday (and others) has reported. "Fundraiser A is listed several times in the affidavit as helping the governor pressure contributors.

"At one point when the governor remarks that he is not involved in any illegal activity, his brother responds by saying 'unless prospectively somebody gets you on a wire'."

You have to love that. His own brother knew he was doing something illegal, and all he can do is make a wisecrack about it. Let's face facts here: It's pretty obvious that both brothers are the lowest form of scum in politics, and we're not surprised by this, But if his brother had knowledge of this, why hasn't Fitz stepped in on him too as a partner of sorts in the money laundering scheme? Aiding and abetting much?

No one knows what Fitz is going to end up charging Blagojevich with, but it's clear that this goes beyond Blago. We believe that is why the state legislature is moving as quickly as possible on the impeachment proceedings. The quicker they get Blago out of office, the quicker the press can go back to covering for Obama and crew instead of hounding him.

Publius II