...oh. Not those kind of favors.
...Never mind.
Cheers!
The 2006 discussion with Blagojevich's top aide, Deputy Gov. Bradley Tusk, doesn't appear to cross legal lines, and Emanuel couldn't speed up the distribution of the funds.
But it offers a peek at ties between two high-profile Illinois politicians -- one now the president's right-hand man, the other facing years in prison if convicted of political corruption.
Discussion of the exchange could come up at Blagojevich's corruption trial, currently under way in Chicago. Blagojevich, who is accused of plotting to profit by selling an appointment to Obama's former Senate seat, also tried later that year to use the school grant in an extortion attempt against Emanuel, according to federal prosecutors.
Authorities say he ordered Tusk, who told the AP he is scheduled to testify in the case Monday and couldn't comment, to get Emanuel to compel his Hollywood agent brother to host a political fundraiser before the grant was paid.
White House spokesmen did not respond to requests for comment.
The favor unfolded in January 2006, according to e-mail exchanges released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Blagojevich was 10 weeks away from a Democratic primary challenge in his quest for a second term and a federal investigation into his administration's hiring practices was well known.
The Tribune ripped him for claiming he was too busy governing to campaign for the primary, while plastering his name on taxpayer-financed projects such as the new automatic-pay toll highway system and a health care plan for children.
"Why be a chump on the stump when you can make taxpayers campaign for you?" the newspaper chafed.
Tusk, currently a consultant to the Republican candidate for New York state attorney general, tapped Emanuel, who had remained friendly after winning Blagojevich's former seat in the U.S. House in 2002.
Tusk wanted someone defending the governor for merely publicizing his own good programs, according to the e-mail exchange.
A proposed 180-word letter to the editor followed.
"Would you be willing to send something like this to the Trib in response to today's editorial?" Tusk wrote Emanuel on Jan. 11, 2006.
Emanuel agreed.
Later that day, the congressman's chief of staff suggested that someone contact the state employee overseeing the grant that Emanuel wanted released to the Chicago Academy, a teacher-preparatory school in Emanuel's district which wanted to build athletic fields. The grant, promised months earlier, still hadn't been paid.
On Jan. 16, 2006, a modified letter appeared in the Tribune over Emanuel's name.
Despite the "packaging" of Blagojevich's programs, it said, "It's wrong to suggest it's the triumph of form over content. Look inside those packages, and you'll find real and lasting progress for the people of Illinois."
The money, however, didn't follow as quickly, and Emanuel appeared agitated.
"What the hell is holding up the school funding? This is a real problem for me now," Emanuel wrote on Aug. 28 when a contractor on the school project stopped work. "I am getting killed."
When Tusk repeatedly promised to call, Emanuel responded, "Just e-mail and tell me first will this happen in my lifetime. Second if yes then when. Real simple."
Phone records show Emanuel called Blagojevich on four successive days in late summer 2006.
One message indicated the subject was the school. Repeated phone calls between Emanuel's and Blagojevich's staff followed the next week.
Shortly thereafter, the money started flowing, and the $2 million was paid by December. There was never a fundraiser.
~~~
What else .. pay to play .. the ordained MO of the Chicago Way. This summer of the Blago trial will crack just a tiny window into the template of monstrous political/business corruption for the world to see.
~~Ping!
This guy ‘Rham’ is about as shady as they come. I wonder if all the talk about him ‘leaving’ is due to the Blogo trial info about to come out.
In other news, rumor has it Rahm planning to leave his WH post by end of this year, i.e., post-election.
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
...oh. Not those kind of favors.
...Never mind.
Cheers!
Related:
Rahm Emanuel “B.S.” to story he is leaving White House
By
Lynn Sweet
on June 21, 2010 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had this to sat about a story in a British paper speculating on his leaving the Obama administration: “This is B.S. And if you need it for translation, it is baseless.”
Emanuel issued the statement after the Daily Telegraph’s suggesting he was out the door. Actually, Emanuel may well be staying in Washington longer than thought. Emanuel promised Obama to stay for two years (so did senior advisor David Axelrod) but now I’m told he has made family plans to remain in Washington next year, a signal he’s not moving back to Chicago any time soon.
(snip)
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2010/06/rahm_emanuel_bs_to_story_he_is.html
This is so transparent - they are setting Rahm up to take the fall for HUSSEIN and protect him from impeachment.
I wonder how much they are paying Rahm to take it up the shorts and keep quiet.