All Posts Tagged With: "corrupt bastard"
Blago busted
Gov. Blagojevich and his chief of staff were taken into custody by the FBI this morning. The Tribune has the story, as well as the statement from our old friend Pat Fitzgerald (pdf):
Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being “stuck” as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife’s employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.
Wow. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he was that stupid.
That may be the most over-the-top part, but there’s plenty of other fascinating details in there. This quote from Fitzgerald is particularly awesome: “They allege that Blagojevich…involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target.”
To say this throws a wrench into Illinois politics is a bit of an understatement. Who picks the junior senator now? Will Blagojevich resign? Is there a special election in our future? Will people actually notice Pat Quinn now?
Have at it.