Rod Blagojevich – News Stories About Rod Blagojevich - Page 12

Dec 14, 2008 8:01 PM CST

GOP Video Spotlights Obama-Blago Ties

(Newser) - Republicans posted a video today that questions Barack Obama’s old links to Rod Blagojevich, Politico reports. Titled "Questions Remain," it urges Obama to reveal contacts between his team and the scandal-plagued governor. The video shows that Obama advised Blago in his 2002 campaign, and endorsed Blago's...

Blago the
Only Rat
Paying
the Piper

OPINION

Dec 14, 2008 1:18 PM CST

Blago the Only Rat Paying the Piper

'Chicago punk,' sure, but ever heard of Bush, Rumsfeld, Lay, Rubin?

(Newser) - Poor Rod Blagojevich: He merely tried to auction off the president-elect’s Senate seat and could be imprisoned for it. But the men who bungled Iraq and crashed our economy can anticipate vacations and White House jobs, Frank Rich writes in the New York Times. Luckily for us, Blagojevich “...

Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick
New Senator

TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

Dec 14, 2008 11:21 AM CST

Illinois AG: Let Voters Pick New Senator

McCain scolds GOP for Blago flap; Granholm, Romney clash on autos

(Newser) - Blago and bailouts were the talk of today's talk shows. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told Meet the Press that voters should elect Barack Obama’s Senate replacement in a special election, while the state’s lieutenant governor said legislation would allow him to appoint a caretaker until a special...

FBI Circled Around Blago's Wife for a Year

Dec 14, 2008 7:28 AM CST

FBI Circled Around Blago's Wife for a Year

She dropped real estate work amid questions about clients paying for influence

(Newser) - She's known for ranting on an FBI tape—but that wasn’t the first time Patricia Blagojevich’s name has surfaced in the corruption probe of her governor husband, the Chicago Tribune reports. A federal investigation that began a year ago prompted Mrs. Blago to quit real estate work amid...

Blago's Real Crime:
His Blackmail of BoA

opinion

Dec 13, 2008 11:19 AM CST

Blago's Real Crime: His Blackmail of BoA

Government shouldn't just step into commercial affairs

(Newser) - Emperor Nero killed a lot of people, but most people just remember the fiddling incident, notes Joe Queenan in the Washington Post. Something similar is happening with Rod Blagojevich, whose most flamboyant offense, trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat, is obscuring his real crime: Forcing Bank of America to...

Emanuel Talked Senate Seat
With Blago Aide

Dec 13, 2008 10:20 AM CST

Emanuel Talked Senate Seat With Blago Aide

No sign Chief of Staff pick tried to wheel and/or deal

(Newser) - Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s pick for White House chief of staff, had multiple conversations with Rod Blagojevich's chief of staff about Obama’s Senate seat, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. There’s no evidence that Emanuel engaged in any dealmaking for the seat, or that he knew of Blagojevich’...

Death Threats,
Blago Rumors
Plague Emanuel

Dec 12, 2008 4:57 PM CST

Death Threats, Blago Rumors Plague Emanuel

(Newser) - Fuming over rumors he was the Obama adviser who spoke with Rod Blagojevich about the president-elect’s Senate seat, Rahm Emanuel told ABC News today he's received death threats and the media have "intruded too much." Emanuel is not a target of prosecutors, sources told the AP late...

Media Gets 'Silly' Over
Obama Ties to Blago

OPINION

Dec 12, 2008 2:05 PM CST

Media Gets 'Silly' Over Obama Ties to Blago

There's little evidence of ties as questions pour from press

(Newser) - The media is aflutter with questions over Barack Obama’s connection to Rod Blagojevich, and although it’s fair for the press to probe, things are getting “silly,” Joan Walsh writes on Salon. The only tie we’ve seen is Blagojevich caught on tape ranting obscenely that Obama...

Blago to
Ministers:
I'm Innocent

Dec 12, 2008 1:04 PM CST

Blago to Ministers: I'm Innocent

Guv says he'll be vindicated

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich prayed with several ministers before heading to his office today, telling them he is innocent and will be vindicated "when you hear each chapter completely written," said a pastor. He added that the governor discussed trying to get a legal and political consultation team in place...

AG Asks Court to Oust Blago

UPDATED

Dec 12, 2008 11:24 AM CST

AG Asks Court to Oust Blago

Declare him 'unfit to serve,' she asks

(Newser) - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan today asked the state’s Supreme Court to declare Rod Blagojevich unfit to serve as governor, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. "We think it is very clear he is incapable of serving," said Madigan. She wants to prevent the scandal-plagued governor from appointing Barack...

Forget
Blago:
Rangel
Plagues Obama

analysis

Dec 12, 2008 11:12 AM CST

Forget Blago: Rangel Plagues Obama

Key congressman's probe could hurt Obama's agenda

(Newser) - The Blagojevich mess may appear more damaging, but the bigger concern for Barack Obama is the scandal surrounding Charles Rangel, who is under scrutiny for a number of questionable dealings, writes Gerald Seib in the Wall Street Journal. Blago may soon be out of Obama’s hair, but Rangel's status...

Jackson's Senate Chances Now Slim to None

Dec 12, 2008 11:03 AM CST

Jackson's Senate Chances Now Slim to None

But if cleared, he could still have a shot

(Newser) - Former frontrunner Jesse Jackson Jr. is unlikely to get Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat because of his ties to Rod Blagojevich’s pay-to-play scandal, the Hill notes. The so-called "Candidate No. 5" has denied wrongdoing, but that may not matter. "Like anybody who's ever been named in...

Obama Steered Clear
of Blago for Years

ANALYSIS

Dec 12, 2008 8:03 AM CST

Obama Steered Clear of Blago for Years

President-elect kept his hands clean; guv was classic machine pol

(Newser) - Rising through Illinois politics, Barack Obama learned to recognize a crook when he saw one, so he kept a healthy distance from Rod Blagojevich, writes Eli Saslow in the Washington Post. At the convention, Obama disappointed Blagojevich by giving nearly every other Illinois official a speaking slot. Says a mentor,...

Blago 'Upbeat'
Amid Storm

Dec 11, 2008 6:22 PM CST

Blago 'Upbeat' Amid Storm

(Newser) - With pressure mounting by the hour for him to resign or face impeachment, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich remained "upbeat" and in a "positive mood," his spokesman said. Blagojevich did his best to ignore the storm swirling around him. "There's a sense of trying to return to...

$500K in Legal Bills May Have Motivated Blago

Dec 11, 2008 4:26 PM CST

$500K in Legal Bills May Have Motivated Blago

Guv could have hoped Senate seat could bail him out of debts

(Newser) - Disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich owes a Chicago law firm more than $500,000, the Wall Street Journal reports. In intercepted conversations released as part of the current complaint against him, Blagojevich repeatedly mentions his poor financial situation; earlier this year, he stopped paying Winston & Strawn, which had counseled...

Crazy? Nah, Just a Chicago Pol

OPINION

Dec 11, 2008 2:40 PM CST

Crazy? Nah, Just a Chicago Pol

Blagojevich just doing what machine politicians do, warts and all

(Newser) - Amateur psychologists are calling Rod Blagojevich “crazy,” just because he dropped some F-bombs while allegedly trying to sell Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Obviously, these guys “have never talked to a Chicago machine politician in their lives,” writes John Kass in the Tribune. “How do...

Patti Is Not a 'Potty Mouth,' Family Says

Dec 11, 2008 1:22 PM CST

Patti Is Not a 'Potty Mouth,' Family Says

Feds' wiretap recording paints off-color image of Mrs. Blagojevich

(Newser) - Illinois’ first lady is not the “potty mouth” the feds and Barbara Walters make her out to be, Patti Blagojevich’s family tells the Chicago Sun-Times. While conceding that Patti can be “standoffish," state legislator Deborah Mell said yesterday, “that is absolutely not my sister,”...

Feds: Blago
Extorted
Hospital
Honcho

Dec 11, 2008 12:47 PM CST

Feds: Blago Extorted Hospital Honcho

Guv planned to seek campaign cash in return for state funding

(Newser) - The Rod Blagojevich scandal extends beyond politics to medicine, the Chicago Tribune reports. He threatened to withhold $8 million in state funding for a pediatric health initiative unless the head of Children’s Memorial Hospital gave his campaign $50,000, according to the federal criminal complaint against the Illinois governor....

Blago:
To Impeach,
Quit, or Stay?

Analysis

Dec 11, 2008 12:13 PM CST

Blago: To Impeach, Quit, or Stay?

What happens if he quits, is impeached, he's removed, or stays—and if there could be a special Senate election

(Newser) - Many politicians, including President-elect Obama, have called on Rod Blagojevich to quit as Illinois governor, but Ray Long writes in the Chicago Tribune, there are other possible scenarios: He’s impeached, he’s removed, or he stays—and there’s also the chance of a special election to fill Obama’...

Obama: I Had
No Contact
With Blago

Dec 11, 2008 10:55 AM CST

Obama: I Had No Contact With Blago

(Newser) - Barack Obama went before reporters to introduce Tom Daschle as his pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services today, but the real attention was on his reaction to the Rod Blagojevich scandal. “I was as appalled and disappointed as anyone,” he said, sayinghe's still gathering...