Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich
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But the President-elect's political universe overlaps uncomfortably with the Illinois governor's seamy world of swagger, cussing and kickbacks. Obama's new chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, once boasted that he and Obama had worked closely with Blagojevich on his 2002 election, which was billed as a reformist campaign--a claim that Obama aides deny and Emanuel has since retracted as "wrong." As recently as 2006, Obama told a reporter he had concerns about allegations of corruption involving state Democrats, though he added that he would be "happy" to work to support the governor's re-election bid.
The criminal complaint, meanwhile, is riddled with mysterious references to unidentified political aides, fundraisers, potential Senate candidates and even a union official who could bring legal scrutiny uncomfortably close to the new Administration. Federal wiretaps picked up an unnamed official of the Service Employees International Union, an early endorser of Obama's, who was apparently entertaining Blagojevich's idea of creating a new nonprofit organization that could pay the governor a salary if he picked a certain candidate for the Senate seat and then retired to private life. The union official was recorded agreeing to "put that flag up and see where it goes." The union denies any wrongdoing.
In a different incident, Blagojevich spoke of an emissary from a potential Senate appointee, named by the feds as "Senate Candidate 5" but who has since been identified as Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. The emissary, according to the governor, offered to arrange as much as $1.5 million in future campaign contributions in exchange for the Senate seat. For Blagojevich, the price was right, but the timing was wrong, say prosecutors. Blagojevich didn't want to wait until the next election for the money to arrive. He wanted to see a down payment right away. "Some of this stuff has gotta start happening now," the governor barked to his aide regarding campaign contributions. "And we gotta see it. You understand?" Apparently aware of the illegality of the demand, he told his aide to turn the screws in person, not over the phone. Jackson has denied initiating or authorizing any such offer and has promised full cooperation with prosecutors.
Neither Blagojevich nor any of the power brokers who spoke with him in recent weeks should underestimate Fitzgerald, the no-nonsense federal prosecutor who brought down vice-presidential aide Lewis (Scooter) Libby in 2007 and has a record of following facts wherever they lead, flipping criminals into witnesses and forcing reporters behind bars if they don't give up their sources. Fitzgerald has made clear that his investigation is far from complete. In his probe of public corruption in Illinois, he has already brought charges against 15 people, including Blagojevich's predecessor, former governor George Ryan. "If it isn't the most corrupt state in the United States, it's certainly one hell of a competitor," says FBI special agent Robert Grant.