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Sheldon Sorosky, one of Rod Blagojevich’s lawyers, has been trying to drag President Barack Obama into the fray this afternoon, asking union official Tom Balanoff whether the FBI asked him about campaign money going to Obama. Prosecutors objected, as they have so often during cross-examinations, and U.S. District Judge James Zagel said Sorosky should only ask in general what the FBI had said to Balanoff. Rest @ link Sorosky tried the question again, using Zagel’s recommended wording. “I know that won’t be objected to,” Sorosky said, causing the nearby Blagojevich to laugh. But Balanoff didn’t get to give an answer,...

Andy Stern, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) issued a poorly timed press release this afternoon that nevertheless blasts patriots with both rhetorical barrels.Anti-American, right wing extremists, right wing attack dogs, teab*****s, cruel, venomous, Glenn Beck, Fox News. Stern hurls every eptithet in the liberal handbook except racist. Maybe he's waiting to play the race card until next week. SEIU put out the press release at 1:33 p.m. this Friday, a time when official Washington and the media are trying to shut down for the weekend.Friday afternoon and evening is when pros try to release news they want...

The 2008 Convention: Americans Gathering To Change The Course Of A Nation Program Schedule Monday, August 25 – One Nation Barack Obama’s story is an American story that reflects a life of struggle, opportunity and responsibility like those faced by Americans everyday. The opening night of the Convention will highlight Barack’s life story, his commitment to change, and the voices of Americans who are calling for a new direction for this country. Monday’s headline prime-time speaker will be Michelle Obama. 3:00 PM - 7:00 PM (LOCAL) Call to Order The Honorable Howard Dean Chair, Democratic National Committee Former Governor of...

An internal review released by the Obama transition team Tuesday concluded that conversations between the Obama team and Rod Blogajevich's office did not involve any kind of deal with regards to Barack Obama's vacant senate seat. In other words, the Obama team was oblivious to any wrongdoing on the part of the governor. Now, if you honestly believe that, then I'd be more than happy to sell you the Brooklyn bridge - at half the going price. However, what's even more troubling than that bit of nonsense is how the memo portrays Valerie Jarrett as an innocent bystander in the...

CHICAGO—U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias said Sunday that he has been subpoenaed to testify at the corruption trial of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The first-term Illinois treasurer, a Democrat who's locked in a contentious race for President Barack Obama's old Senate seat with Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, told The Associated Press that he was subpoenaed by Blagojevich's defense team. Giannoulias' name was mentioned briefly last week during Blagojevich's trial. .. Giannoulias told the AP that he introduced a friend of Obama's to Tom Balanoff, an official with the Service Employees International Union. The friend, Valerie Jarrett, allegedly was Obama's...

In a stunning admission today, it has been revealed by John Harris, Blago’s chief of staff, that Barack Obama knew of Blago’s behind the scene deals for his Senate seat. The Chicago Sun Times Says: “The president understands that the governor would be willing to make the appointment of Valerie Jarrett as long as he gets what he’s asked for. . . . The governor gets the Cabinet appointment he’s asked for,” Harris said, explaining a recorded call. Harris said Blagojevich came away believing Obama knew what he wanted after having a conversation with a local union representative, who in...

After Barack Obama friend Valerie Jarrett publicly pulled out of contention for the U.S. Senate seat appointment, Rahm Emanuel called Rod Blagojevich's top aide. Emanuel, now Obama's chief of staff, wanted Blagojevich to know the list of Senate candidates "acceptable" to Obama, according to testimony Thursday in Blagojevich's corruption trial. They were: Tammy Duckworth; Illinois state comptroller Dan Hynes; U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, according to Blagojevich's former chief of staff John Harris. Harris told the ex-governor of the discussion in a secretly recorded phone call Nov. 12. On the call, Blagojevich calls the list...

We've had the Summer of Love and the Summer of the Shark. Now, are you ready for the Summer of Corruption? On Thursday, jury selection begins in the federal trial of disgraced former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois. The timing couldn't be worse for Blago's old Chicago pals in the White House. Just as Team Obama tries to bury one job-trading scandal, another one resurfaces. It's a useful reminder that Washington didn't turn Obama into a business-as-usual politician. He was born and bred among the slimiest in their class. At the center of the Blago trial is the convergence...

*snip* Obama hasn't been accused of wrongdoing and neither have his allies, but top administration aides have been subpoenaed. It's another problem in a tough congressional election year for Obama, who's already dealing with the Gulf oil spill and a lagging economy. Obama's political opponents will certainly try to tie him to Blagojevich's alleged shenanigans. But Democratic consultant Chris Lehane says Blagojevich has credibility issues, and he predicts Obama won't suffer long-term damage because of the trial.

The corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is already shaping up to be a political circus, promising to lay bare the underbelly of Chicago politics. But while the stakes are clear for Blagojevich – he could be the fourth Illinois governor in 40 years to retire to a federal prison – some of the most powerful Washington insiders are braced for potential political damage from the trial, which begins Thursday. President Barack Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Valerie Jarrett, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. all have at least some skin in the game,...

Obama trial aka Blagojevich trial, Obama quid pro quo, Obama senate seat, SEIU negotiates for Obama, Valerie Jarrett This audio exerpt from a Blagojevich wiretap dated November 7, 2008 has it all. It indicts Obama and Blagojevich in a quid pro quo, classic Chicago pay to play scheme to sell Obama’s old senate seat. It reveals that Obama used SEIU major players Andy Stern and Tom Balanoff to negotiate with Blagojevich. It also reveals that Obama wants Valerie Jarrett, no stranger to pay to pay politics, to get the senate seat. BLAGOJEVICH To get a sense of where I was....

Illinois Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias said Sunday he was subpoenaed by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's defense lawyers to testify at his corruption trial. Giannoulias name surfaced last week during the trial, where prosecutors were focusing on the charges dealing with Blagojevich trying to sell the Senate seat Barack Obama was vacating after winning the presidential election. The jury heard a lot about Blagojevich mapping strategy to see what he could get in return for appointing Valerie Jarrett to the Senate. Blagojevich learned, the jury heard on wiretaps, that all Blagojevich would get is "appreciation." Jarrett is now a...

On another tape just played by prosecutors, Rod Blagojevich is heard talking to John Harris over the phone on Nov. 3, 2008 -- the day before the election. They are discussing how Barack Obama is sending two representatives -- union leaders Tom Balanoff and Andy Stern -- to visit to talk about Valerie Jarrett. "Do they think I would just appoint Valerie Jarrett for nothing?" Blagojevich is heard saying of the Obama camp. "Just to make it happen?" Judge Zagel has called a one-hour break for lunch. Court will reconvene at 1:30 p.m.

Nothing criminal about The One’s behavior here — to this day, there hasn’t been a single accusation that he considered a quid pro quo with Blago to appoint his candidate of choice — but this does suggest that Team Barry’s report on all this in December 2008 was a sham. The claim that Obama had spoken to a middleman about the seat had been made previously, but not until now did the middleman himself step forward to confirm it. Meet Tom Balanoff of — ta da — SEIU: “Tom, I want to talk to you with regard to the Senate...

W.H. quiet on Obama-Blago link By: Glenn Thrush and Jonathan Allen June 29, 2010 06:50 PM EDT The White House was mum Tuesday after a union leader testified that Barack Obama personally asked him to approach then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich about appointing confidant Valerie Jarrett to his Illinois Senate seat. In testimony at Blagojevich’s federal corruption trial, Tom Balanoff said Obama — speaking a day before his Nov. 8, 2008 triumph in the presidential election — said that Jarrett wanted the job and was qualified, although he wanted her to join him in the White House. Balanoff, a close Obama ally...

Top union leader Thomas Balanoff said he was at dinner the night before the November Presidential election when he got a call that was blocked. So he didn't take it. Later he listened to his messages: "I walked outside, listened to it and it was from President Obama," Balanoff said. "Tom, this is Barack, give me a call," the soon-to-be President-Elect said on the message. After Balanoff sent word through an Obama aide to call him back, Obama returned his call later that night. "Tom, i want to talk to you with regard to the Senate seat," Obama told him....