The feds nabbed Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich yesterday, charging he plotted to sell President-elect Barack Obama‘s Senate seat to the high bidder – saying it was a “golden” opportunity to cash in for himself and his wife.
MORE: The Pol Of Ill Repute’s Gabby Grab For ‘Graft’
HURT: C’mon, Bam: Get Mad, Not ‘Sad’ At Your Sleazy Pal
MORE: Scheme Vs. Red-Ink Paper’s Poison Pens
“I’ve got this thing and it’s f- – -ing golden and uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for f- – -in’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it,” Blagojevich was caught saying on one of many wiretaps, referring to his sole ability to choose Obama’s Senate successor.
“And, and I can always use it.”
Blagojevich even blasted the incoming president over the choice of new senator, saying, he didn’t want to give “[this] motherf- – -er [Obama] his senator. F- – – him. For nothing? F- – – him.”
US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald laid out the charges in a Chicago press conference yesterday.
“The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” Fitzgerald said as he detailed the breathtakingly brash display of pay-to-play political machinations detailed in the 76-page affidavit against Blagojevich.
“We were in the middle of a corruption crime spree, and we wanted to stop it,” said Fitzgerald, who dubbed the accusations against the two-term governor “a truly new low.”
On a series of wiretaps, the 51-year-old Democrat who earned nearly $180,000 a year as governor was recorded talking in Al Capone-like displays.
At one point, he says bluntly that his family is hurting financially and adds, “I want to make money.”
He discussed with an adviser that he wanted someone to approach an unidentified adviser to Obama – widely speculated to be incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel – about having the president-elect help get a nonprofit foundation set up for Blagojevich to run.
He and chief of staff John Harris, with whom he’s caught on the tapes chatting frequently, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.
In a conversation with Harris on Nov. 13, Blagojevich said he wanted to be able to call a “president-elect adviser” and say that “this has nothing to do with anything else we’re working on, but the governor wants to put together” a charity.
“Can you guys help him . . . raise 10, 15 million,” Blagojevich suggested saying. He said he wanted Harris to “get the word today.”
Obama’s aides didn’t respond to questions about whether anyone in Blagojevich’s office ever spoke to Emanuel, and it’s unclear if the conversation ever happened.
Allegations against the governor include:
* Looking for a hefty salaried job for himself at a foundation or group linked to labor unions – even musing that Obama supporter and billionaire Warren Buffett could be coerced into kicking in millions to create an outfit where Blagojevich could work.
* Seeking to get his wife Patti named to a corporate board where she could earn a stipend up to $150,000.
* Pushing to exchange funding for local programs in exchange for campaign cash.
* Attempting to have the Chicago Tribune fire editorial writers who he felt were out to get him. In exchange, the governor would help the Tribune Company sell Wrigley Field.
Blagojevich, clad in a jogging suit, was picked up by FBI agents at his home in Chicago. He was taken into custody in handcuffs and later released on $4,500 bail.
He was caught discussing at length with Harris various plots – including using the threat of naming himself to the Senate for leverage, prosecutors said.
“I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain,” he allegedly said on tape.
“You hear what I’m saying. And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself.”
Throughout the affidavit, Blagojevich was consumed by the idea that “Candidate 1” – believed by many to be longtime Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett – was actually Obama’s top choice for the Senate seat.
He plotted at length about naming Jarrett in exchange for being picked himself as the incoming president’s secretary of Health and Human Services.
He also looked for a job as an ambassador, or for one to be created with the union-linked group “Change to Win.”
The tapes cite conversations he allegedly had with a top official at the powerful union SEIU, in which he discussed creating such a job for him in connection with naming Jarrett.
He lashed out at Obama’s people in anger at one point, saying, “They’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. F- – – them.”
Fitzgerald noted that the affidavit doesn’t accuse the president-elect, who has distanced himself from the scandal-tinged governor, of any wrongdoing.
Still, the sensational scandal was a distraction for Obama, who told reporters he was “saddened” and “sobered” by the probe but wouldn’t comment further.
Blagojevich, on the tapes, allegedly made references to speaking with Obama advisers – and discusses six contenders for the seat.
Obama insisted to reporters, “I had no contact with the governor or his office and so I was not aware of what was happening. But as I said, it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that, I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment.”
Officials in Illinois started calling for the state Legislature to return to discuss the possibility of a special Senate election. Others suggested removing the power to appoint the new senator from the governor’s hands.