by Frank James
Blago # 5 is not a fragrance but Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. who is the "Senate Candidate 5" mentioned repeatedly in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his top aide John Harris.
The complaint quotes Blagojevich as saying someone representing SC5 offered to raise $1 million if Blagojevich appointed SC5, or Jackson, to the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
Jackson denies any wrongdoing and the lawyer he's hired to represent him in discussions with the federal government makes the same denials.
Jackson is just one of probably many Illinois politicians who have some added anxiety right now, hoping that the angel of doom, otherwise known as U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, passes over them.
An excerpt from the story on Tribune's "Breaking News" blog.
U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) is "completely guiltless" in the alleged scheme to corrupt the appointment of a new U.S. senator from Illinois and will meet with federal investigators as soon as Friday, the congressman's newly hired attorney said today.
Jackson was not named in the criminal complaint yesterday charging Gov. Rod Blagojevich with trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. But descriptions in the court document fit the congressman's profile and sources have further identified him as the "Senate Candidate 5" who was among those being considered for the job.
Jackson hired longtime Chicago lawyer James Montgomery Sr. on Tuesday after federal prosecutors unveiled criminal charges against Blagojevich and top aide John Harris, sources said.
"There is nothing there to implicate the congressman," Montgomery told the Tribune. The attorney said he and Jackson have been advised by a top deputy to U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald that Jackson is not a target of the investigation.
Montgomery said he expected Jackson would meet with officials from Fitzgerald's office as soon as Friday.
In an interview posted on the ABC News website today, Jackson did not specify who had told him he was not a target. He also said he did not know whether he was Candidate 5.
Jackson did say, however, that prosecutors had asked him to "come in and share my insights and thoughts about the selection process" and he planned to do so after consulting with his lawyer.
A lengthy government affidavit filed with the criminal complaint against Blagojevich refers to a Senate Candidate 5 who was under on-again, off-again consideration by the governor as a replacement for Obama in the Senate.
The affidavit quotes Blagojevich from a surveillance recording as describing an approach by an emissary of Candidate 5 who had promised to raise upwards of $1 million for Blagojevich if Candidate 5 secured the Senate seat.
On Oct. 31, according to the affidavit, Blagojevich described an approach by an associate of Senate Candidate 5. "We were approached 'pay to play.' That, you know, he'd raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made [Senate Candidate 5] a senator," Blagojevich allegedly said.
Comments
If that is true, I would have bought the t-shirt: http://www.cafepress.com/localcure
Posted by: earthmann | December 11, 2008 12:43 AM
What I want to know is, Who is the "Wealthy Businessman" who was talking to Blago about the seat?
Posted by: athena | December 11, 2008 6:37 PM