"I've got this thing and it's expletive golden, and uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for expletive nothing. I’m not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there." -Rod Blagojevich
Unbelievable Corruption
Milorad "Rod" R. Blagojevich is the current/40th governor of Illinois. On December 9, 2008, (a day before his 52nd birthday) the governor was arrested by FBI agents for corruption. In the United States when a senate seat becomes vacant the governor gets the sole right to replace him or her. So when Barack Obama was elected to become the next president, Blagojevich quickly jumped to make a trade in what U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald calls pay-to-play politics. "Blagojevich is accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy, including alleged attempts by the governor to try to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. Blagojevich also is accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions." (Chicago Breaking News)
FBI Nails Blagojevich
76-pages of an FBI affidavit have been released. Mr Blagojevich said the seat was "expletive valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing." (BBC) The governor even considered selecting himself! "if . . . they’re not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it.” (National Post) To avoid impeachment and "boredom."
Charges
- Selling a US Senate Seat for personal gain.
- Campaign contributions in exchange for official actions.
- Illegally threatening to block state aid to the company that owns the Chicago Tribune.
- Conspiring to sell the Senate seat in exchange for his wife’s placement on paid corporate boards.
"I interviewed Rod "Blago" Blagojevich several times when I was a reporter for KWQC TV in Iowa/Illinois. The Blog-meister was running for governor. I thought he was a slime ball then and I was cracking up with the feds brought down the hamma'. Bye bye Blago!" - Gene Kennedy
3 Renegade States:
colonelmustard says re Rod Blagojevich: "In the United States when a senate seat becomes vacant the governor gets the sole right to replace him or her". That is not accurate. It varies state by state. In Arizona, Alaska, and Massachusetts, the governor is not allowed to appoint a replacement. See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_senate#Vacancies."
Sources:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7773717.stm
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/source-feds-take-gov-blagojevich-into-custody.html
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/posted/archive/2008/12/09/the-shakedown-juicy-bits-from-the-blagojevich-indictment.aspx
http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/acrobat/2008-12/43789434.pdf