Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Obama's team clears Obama's team in Blagojevich scandal


Well, I for one am not shocked. When people or organizations investigate themselves, they never seem to find any wrong doing. According to The Smoking Gun Obama and two members of his team were interviewed by federal prosecutors about the Blagojevich scandal.





Obama Interviewed In Blagojevich Probe
President-elect, two aides quizzed last week by federal prosecutors

DECEMBER 23--President-elect Barack Obama and two of his top advisers were interviewed last week by federal prosecutors probing Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich's alleged bid to sell Obama's vacated Senate seat, according to a report issued today by an Obama lawyer. The lawyer, Gregory Craig, concluded that Obama and his aides engaged in no improper conduct in connection with the Senate opening. A copy of the Craig report can be found below. As part of his review of transition team "contacts" with Blagojevich, Craig reported that only incoming White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had spoke with the Illinois pol. Emanuel, Craig disclosed, had "one or two telephone calls" with Blagojevich in early-November. The Smoking Gun.



I will await the report from Federal Prosecutor Fitzgerald. Meanwhile, President Elect Obama took off on a Hawaiian vacation and White House Chief of Staff designate Rahm Emanuel has gone on vacation to Africa. I guess they did not want to answer any questions about the report.

No Improper Contact With Governor, Says Obama Report

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By JEFF ZELENY
Published: December 23, 2008

HONOLULU — An internal report issued on Tuesday by lawyers for President-elect Barack Obama found that his top advisers had numerous contacts with the office of Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and attempted to guide his choice to fill a vacant Illinois Senate seat, but none of the talks suggested an attempt to play along with the governor’s alleged attempts to sell the seat.

Rahm Emanuel, the new White House chief of staff, had two conversations with Mr. Blagojevich and four calls with John Harris, the governor’s chief of staff, about the Senate seat. He provided a list of six names of Illinois Democrats whom Mr. Obama favored to fill his Senate seat.

“At no time in the discussion of the Senate seat or of possible replacements did the president-elect hear of a suggestion that the governor expected a personal benefit in return for making this appointment to the Senate,” said the report, which was written by Gregory Craig, the new White House counsel. Full story here.

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