Fresh Loaf

Wow, this is crazy. Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich was just arrested by federal agents for trying to sell Pres.-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Now that’s ballsy!

According to U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald – the guy who nailed Cheny henchman Scooter Libby — Blagojevich had been more or less soliciting bids for the soon-to-be open Senate seat. Under state law, the governor has the sole power to appoint replacement senators.

According to the Washington Post, Blagojevich wasn’t shy about his alleged scam, as revealed on wiretap tapes:

In a Nov. 3 call intercepted by the FBI, Blagojevich told an ally that if he could not get anything personally from a candidate for the job, “then I just might take it,” according to court papers.

“I’ve got this thing and it’s [expletive] golden, and uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing,” the governor said in another conversation Nov. 5, the court papers said.

(more…)

Bookmark It

In journalism there’s a term called “burying the lead.”

What it means is that a reporter downplays and misses the impact of what should be the most important aspect of a story. And with its story on former state Rep. Ron Sailor’s plea in federal court for money laundering, the AJC buried the lead.

The real news here is that Georgia’s Legislature is the target of a FBI investigation. And what the feds did yesterday was throw down the gauntlet to those who have committed crimes. Read this statement by U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias:

“Shortly after he was confronted by the FBI, however, Mr. Sailor decided to do the right thing by admitting his misconduct and agreeing to cooperate regarding potential criminal activity by others. As a result, we now have an active public corruption investigation. With respect to that investigation, all I will say at this time is the following: As Mr. Sailor and others have learned, people in public office who have violated the law and the public’s trust should know that their situation will be much better if they come knocking on the FBI’s door than if the FBI comes knocking on theirs.”

The AJC was also scooped by Dick Pettys at Insider Advantage, who reports that at least one state legislator has been wearing a wire for the past year.

It’s certainly no coincidence that Sailor’s arrest in December went unreported in the media: The feds used him as a mole to ferret out other corrupt legislators.

What’s being said between the lines of Nahmias’ statement is that the feds already have the goods on some public officials. And yesterday, the feds served notice that they mean business.
If an elected official wants to avoid prison time, he’d better step forward now, come clean and give up others involved in public corruption.

This investigation has the potential to turn up information even more tawdry than the corruption uncovered in the administration of former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell.

Bookmark It