'Obama sale' politician charged

Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has been indicted for corruption while in office - including trying to sell the Senate seat held by Barack Obama.
A grand jury indicted the 52-year-old Democrat on 16 felony counts, including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy, attempted extortion and making false statements to federal agents.

Blagojevich, who claims he did nothing wrong and is a victim of a political witch-hunt, has promised to fight the charges in court and has a book contract to tell his side. If convicted, he faces more than 300 years in prison and at least $4million in fines, according to the indictment.

Blagojevich, elected in 2002, was in his second term when the state legislature kicked him out of office nine weeks ago, following his arrest in December. The 75-page indictment alleges Blagojevich was at the centre of a conspiracy to seek cash, campaign contributions and jobs for himself and others.

They would allegedly be in exchange for state appointments, state business, legislation and pension fund investments. Among those actions were attempts to use his authority to appoint a US senator when Obama vacated his seat after being elected president in November, US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said.

The governor was caught on court-approved wiretaps describing the Senate seat as something so valuable "you just don't give it away for nothing". Blagojevich added he might appoint himself if he could not get anything for the seat.

Source: The Metro

Senate scandal snares Obama’s chief aide

THE bullish, foul-mouthed but effective Chicago arm-twister Rahm Emanuel has come under pressure to resign as Barack Obama’s chief of staff after it was revealed that he had been captured on court-approved wire-taps discussing the names of candidates for Obama’s Senate seat.

Emanuel’s presence at the heart of the scandal threatens to roil the president-elect’s administration as a Chicago prosecutor builds his corruption case against Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois governor.

Blagojevich has been accused of plotting to sell Obama’s Senate seat - which is in the governor’s gift - in return for financial and political favours.

Source: The Times

Illinois governor charged in scheme to sell Obama's former Senate seat

Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested Tuesday by the federal authorities and charged with corruption, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama's former seat in the U.S. Senate to the highest bidder.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, called his sole authority to appoint Obama's successor "golden," and he sought to parlay it into a job as an ambassador, as secretary of health and human services, or into a high-paying position at a nonprofit group or an organization connected to labor unions, prosecutors said.

He also suggested, they said, that in exchange for the Senate appointment, his wife could be placed on corporate boards where she might earn as much as $150,000 a year, and he tried to gain promises of money for his campaign fund.

Source: International Herald Tribune