CHICAGO – AP
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested today on charges that accuse him of trying to benefit from his ability to appoint President-elect Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate.The U.S. Attorney in Chicago says federal investigators bugged Blagojevich's campaign offices and placed a tap on his home phone. At a news conference on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said the corruption charges represent "a truly new low."
An FBI affidavit says the 51-year-old Democrat was intercepted on wiretaps conspiring to sell or trade the vacant Senate seat for personal benefits for himself and his wife.
FBI chief Robert Grant says even seasoned investigators were stunned by what they heard on those tapes.
Fitzgerald described the situation by saying: "We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree and we wanted to stop it."
The governor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Did I mention the governor is a democrat? Calls are being made for (this supporter of President-elect Obama's) impeachment. It is feared that an appointment by "Blago" as a prisoner would tarnish the chances of keeping the US Senate seat vacated by Obama in democratic control. Point of fact to the legislature in Illinois, Blagojevich has yet to be tried. In any case the legislature should not worry, it appears that Illinois doesn't care who's a crook...
Recently Governor Blagojevich asked President Bush to commute the sentence of former Governor Ryan, who is currently in prison for coruption, contracts and leases and driving licenses to people, illegal aliens, and those unfit to drive legally. The corruption scandal that led to Ryan's downfall began over a decade earlier as a federal investigation into a deadly crash in Wisconsin that killed six children. The investigation revealed a scheme inside Ryan's secretary of state's office in which unqualified truck drivers obtained licenses through bribes.
de Brantigny
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