Illinois lawmakers distance themselves from probe
By Jared Allen and Mike Soraghan
Posted: 12/09/08 02:19 PM [ET]
Two of the potential contenders for the Senate seat Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) allegedly tried to sell said Tuesday that they do not believe they were caught up in the investigation.
Illinois Democratic Reps. Danny Davis and Jan Schakowsky said they are saddened by the charges and don’t know what will happen next.
“I’m pretty much known as a straight-shooter,” said Davis.
Two other House members under consideration, Illinois Democrats Luis Gutierrez and Jesse Jackson Jr., did not immediately return messages left at their office.
Numerous political officials are identified in the criminal charges only as “Senate Candidate 1” through “Senate Candidate 6.” Capitol denizens spent the morning poring over the document, trying to figure out who is who.
Davis said that “unequivocally, without a doubt” he is not one of those on the list.
Schakowsky said she talked to Blagojevich on her cell phone about the Senate appointment the week before Thanksgiving. However, she said, there was nothing in that discussion that resembled the conversations recounted in the indictment.
“There was nothing in that conversation that indicated interest in a quid pro quo,” Schakowsky said. “There was nothing about his needs. It was only about the Senate seat and small talk about the legislature and the Congress.”
One candidate, “Senate Candidate 3,” receives only a passing mention in the indictment as a fallback selection if Blagojevich’s alleged schemes didn’t work.
“That’s the only one I could be,” Schakowsky said, “the one in that offhand mention.”
(snip)
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16374.html
Durbin calls for Senate seat election
EXCERPT
Durbin, who just was re-elected to a third term, said he did not “enjoy a close relationship” with the governor, whom he called a “difficult man to communicate with.” He cited examples of the governor not returning his phone calls, including taking 12 days to return his call about Obama’s vacancy.
When he finally returned his call, Durbin said he asked the governor not to appoint a caretaker and then to name someone as quickly as possible. Durbin said he initially wanted Obama’s close friend Valerie Jarrett to fill the seat, but she had taken her name out of the running by the time the governor returned his phone call.
If Blogo called BHO an mfer, he might sing like a canary about BHO. When bad guys are in trouble, they doublecross other bad guys.