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Remainders: Blago
Ben Smith's Blog — (From the Trib.) Danny Davis wouldn't take an appointment. Obama's Senate seat is on eBay. Pareene thinks this is bad for Obama. Sargent devises a novel solution for Blago. Toobin looks at Illinois politics then and now. Not much different. Lynn Sweet has the transcript of Fitzgerald's presser. In other news: Al Gore was there too. Susan Rice makes a move on Hillary's Foggy Bottom turf. Weigel brings the fringe. Gay advocates ...

Cooperators in Blagojevich Probe
TalkLeft — If you are just getting home from work, the transcript of Patrick Fitzgerald's press conference is available here. The complaint (pdf) says the latest phase of the Blagojevich investigation began in early October, 2008 with information from "Individual A." The wires and bugs were in by October 21, 2008. The wiretap of Blagojevich's home phone went up on October 29. The details of the fruits of the wires and bugs and information received from Individual A begins on page 28. The Complaint says Individual A is a subject but not a target, someone hoping ...

Another Report of Barack Obama Meeting with Illinois Governor Surfaces
Politics Daily — ... There are as yet no allegations that President-elect Obama did anything wrong in this colossal political scandal, although the U.S. Attorney who brought the Blagojevich indictment refused to categorically rule out that possibility at his press conference yesterday, saying only that there was, "no reference in the complaint," to what Obama may or may not have been aware of. But the daily revelations, leaks, and past discoveries will only serve to focus the scandal more and more on the president-elect unless and until he holds a press conference and answers questions about ...

Is Illinois the Most Corrupt State?
Capitol Briefing — Is Illinois the Most Corrupt State? By Ben Pershing and Paul Kane During Tuesday's press conference to announce the indictment and arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich , Robert Grant, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Chicago field office, made a bold statement about his adopted home state: "I got here four years ago. A lot of you were in the audience asking the question of whether or not Illinois is the most corrupt state in the United States, and I didn't answer that question yes or no, and I can't answer that question today. I don't have 49 other states to compare ...

Next Blagojevich Shoe to Drop: the Deputy Governor
Firedoglake — ... Gosh, why do you think someone in Blagojevich's office resigned today, the day after his boss got busted? You don't think it has anything to do with the search the Feds conducted of the Deputy Governor's office yesterday, do you? ...

Chicago Hope
California Conservative — ... Nor did Illinois Governor and Mrs. Rod Blagojevich suffer from a Tourette’s moment. Their demands and outrage appear too bold and honest to be anomalous. Both felt comfortable enough to behave as they did before peers and the Chicago media, just as Jeremiah Wright’s celebratory flock was not shocked or disgusted by Wright’s depraved sermons ( ...

Mitchell Bard: It's Time for the Senate to Hold Its Nose and Seat Burris
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — ... My post-election high lasted through Obama's appointments, before crashing to a halt on December 9, when Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, announced at a press conference that the governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, had been busted for, among other things, trying to sell Obama's vacant senate seat. ...