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Title: Senate-for-sale case threatens new chief of staff (Rahmbo)
Source:
Yahoo - AP
URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081220 ... e_us/illinois_governor_emanuel
Published: Dec 20, 2008
Author: BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE and TAMMY WEBBER
Post Date: 2008-12-20 19:37:16 by Rotara
Keywords: None
Views: 150
Comments: 14
47 mins ago CHICAGO – Gov. Rod Blagojevich is legendary in Illinois political circles for not picking up the phone or returning calls, even from important figures like the state's senior senator, Dick Durbin. But there was always one call Blagojevich regularly took, say his aides, and that was from Rahm Emanuel — his congressman, his one-time campaign adviser and, more recently — and troubling for Emanuel — one of his contacts with President-elect Barack Obama's transition staff. The friendly rapport Blagojevich and Emanuel shared over the years has suddenly become a troubling liability for Emanuel and the new president he will serve as chief of staff. Emanuel and Obama have remained silent about what, if anything, Emanuel knew of the governor's alleged efforts to peddle Obama's vacant Senate seat to the highest bidder. Emanuel did contact the governor's office about the appointment and left Blagojevich with the impression that he was pushing Valerie Jarrett, a close Obama friend, so he wouldn't have to compete with her in the White House for Obama's attention, said a person close to Blagojevich. The person was not authorized to talk about the governor's discussions regarding the vacancy and requested anonymity. It was not clear whether Blagojevich inferred Emanuel's motive for advocating Jarrett, or whether Emanuel discussed the appointment with Blagojevich directly or with John Harris, the governor's then-chief of staff who also is charged in the case, according to the source. Emanuel's refusal to discuss the matter publicly, and the few comments offered by Obama to date, have prompted questions about Emanuel's ties to Blagojevich and what fallout he'll face as the criminal case unfolds, although sources have said he is not a target of prosecutors. Even so, any hint of scandal for Emanuel threatens to tarnish Obama's promise of new political leadership free of scandal and corruption. Obama has said he will release a full accounting of his transition staff's interaction with Blagojevich and his aides over his Senate replacement once he receives the OK from prosecutors sometime this week. Until then, Obama has said it would be inappropriate for him or his aides to comment further. Prosecutors refer in the 76-page complaint to the governor's discussions on FBI tapes about a "president-elect advisor," believed to be Emanuel, but they do not specifically cite contacts with Emanuel or anyone on Obama's transition staff. Instead, the taped conversations reveal Blagojevich telling others to float his idea by the president's adviser of forming a nonprofit that he hoped would, with Obama's help, receive millions of dollars that the governor could tap later. Blagojevich said he didn't want the idea associated directly in conversations about the Senate appointment or filling Emanuel's seat in the House, according to the complaint. However, Blagojevich is quoted as saying "I want it to be in his head" for later discussions about Emanuel's successor. It was Blagojevich who, seemingly out of nowhere, yanked Emanuel into his scandal when answering reporters' questions the day before his Dec. 9 arrest, invoking his name in an apparent attempt to shrug off any perception of wrongdoing. He said he wasn't concerned about a report in the Chicago Tribune that confidant and former aide John Wyma's cooperation had helped lead federal prosecutors to tape the governor's conversations. Big deal, Blagojevich said. He said he's "always lawful" whenever he speaks, and he was confident Wyma has been "an honest person who's conducted himself in an honest way. That's the John Wyma I know and it's the John Wyma that Rahm Emanuel knows and a lot of other people know." Blagojevich is right. Wyma does have ties to both him and Emanuel, those close to both have said. And Wyma's clients contributed to both — more than $100,000 to Emanuel's campaigns and causes, and more than $445,000 to Blagojevich's, according to campaign finance records reviewed by The Associated Press. Wyma and his attorney, Zachary Fardon, did not respond to interview requests. Emanuel's defenders say he is hardly an ally of Blagojevich. "They were in different worlds personally and politically," said Peter Giangreco, a political consultant on Blagojevich's 1996 congressional campaign and his two gubernatorial races. "They only dealt with each other because they occupied the same political geography." Emanuel's effort to promote Jarrett or anyone else for Obama's vacant Senate seat was more a part of his new job description and less a reflection of close ties, Emanuel's supporters have said. But there was more to their relationship than a polite acquaintance. The two share a political past, rooted on Chicago's North Side, and a friendly relationship — although not a close friendship — that made Emanuel the obvious choice to push Obama's preferences to fill his vacant Senate seat, current and former Blagojevich aides said. They at times joined forces politically, like in 2005 to promote importing prescription drugs from Canada and in 2006 to push for an increase in the state's minimum wage. Blagojevich, his aides say, wasn't shy about seeking the help of Emanuel, referred to in a 2006 Tribune article as his "Washington-based mentor." Blagojevich was a congressman before he was governor and he represented the Fifth District, a small but heavily populated district in Chicago's northern and western suburbs, not far from O'Hare International Airport. His rise to Congress has been well documented of late, including the help he received from powerful Chicago Alderman Dick Mell — his now-estranged father-in-law. When Emanuel returned to politics in 2002 after some years spent in investment banking, he targeted Blagojevich's Fifth District seat as he launched his reformist campaign for governor. Due to his personal wealth and his national fundraising base dating to his work in the Clinton administration, Emanuel didn't have to go to Mell or to powerful unions because he already had acquired political clout. Nancy Kaszak, who ran for Congress against Blagojevich in 1996 when both were state representatives and had a nasty battle against Emanuel in 2002, said she believes Mell quietly backed Emanuel. On Election Day that year, she recalls, Mell's poll workers passed out literature for both Blagojevich and Emanuel. Mell declined to be interviewed for this story. Emanuel has described himself as a one-time adviser to Blagojevich. David Wilhelm, one of Emanuel's close friends who worked with him in the Clinton White House, informally assisted on that campaign for Blagojevich. Emanuel, who has declined to comment since Blagojevich's arrest, told The New Yorker magazine over the summer that he, Wilhelm and Obama met once a week during the 2002 race to plot campaign strategy for Blagojevich. Wilhelm has said Emanuel overstated the group's role. Also, Emanuel, Blagojevich and Obama all have hired David Axelrod, the Chicago political consultant who helped engineer Obama's presidential victory. Axelrod helped Blagojevich in 1996 and Emanuel in 2002. The coming days will offer the first answers about Emanuel's recent interaction with Blagojevich and discussions about filling Obama's Senate seat. Obama already has insisted that his aides did no bartering with Blagojevich to advance candidates for the appointment. But refusing the deal is only the first step to fighting corruption in a political culture that promotes it when others look the other way, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said earlier when announcing the charges against Blagojevich. "We're not going to end corruption in Illinois by arrests and indictments alone," the prosecutor said. "What's going to make the difference is when people who are approached to 'pay to play' first say no, and, second, report it." ___ Associated Press Writer John O'Connor contributed to this report from Springfield, Ill. Poster Comment: More of the NeoCon Obamalamadingdong's "CHANGE". I read somewhere that Obanger the NeoCon Black Panther Globalist Collectivist-Fascist and Rahmbo the IDF Patriot Chief Commie Thug of Staff played a large part in blago getting the goobernor's seat. Hmmm Looks like one of them is going under the bus. And itain't Obamalamadingdong.
In this Dec. 1, 2008 file photo, White House Chief of Staff designate Rahm Emanuel listens to President-elect Barack Obama, not pictured, speak at a news conference in Chicago. Gov. Rod Blagojevich is legendary in Illinois political circles for not picking up the phone or returning calls, even from important figures like the state's senior senator, Dick Durbin. But there was always one call Blagojevich regularly took, say his aides, and that was from Rahm Emanuel — his congressman, his one-time campaign adviser and, more recently — and troubling for Emanuel — one of his contacts with President-elect Barack Obama's transition staff. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
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#1. To: Rotara (#0)
If he didn't break any law then drop it. If he did charge him. We don't need this crap constantly in the media distracting from more important issues.
Rahm Emanuel is above the law just as many in the current administration are. I wish it were otherwise, but anyone who thinks some sort of "scandal" is going to bring down this Israeli puppetmaster is dreaming. Bill Clinton confessed while in office that he was afraid of Rahm, even though he was supposedly his boss.
“I would give no thought of what the world might say of me, if I could only transmit to posterity the reputation of an honest man.” - Sam Houston
It wouldn't surprise me to see Rahm Emanuel as president,say, in four or eight years.
Life is a tragedy to those who feel, and a comedy to those who think.
More important issues such as Obama sending 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan. You are right, MSM is totally silent about that.
oh really.
Cyni, if the Os ignore the coming butchery in Afghanistan, their posting experience will be more pleasant, and they won't have to acknowledge a serious lapse in political judgement.
Rest assured the 30,000 "NEW" troops are not members of O'Pile families. MSM finds nothing wrong with sending them to Afghan, the Obummers are quiet, very odd. Obama has said not one word contrary. Where is this "change"??? Obama is continuing on the same trail as Bush, outlined by the Jews, more war, more American blood and wealth squandered, and Israel loses nothing. If Obama were american he would demand Israel send troops to Afghan, after all they are our "best" ally. Ally??? BS....
If Obama were American he'd send troops into Israel and scatter the tribe at bayonet point, returning the occupied land to the Palestinians.
What could be more important than showing the sheeple that the emperor has no clothes and that lucifer's roundtable runs AmeriKa ?
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
I'd have to believe that the people of Iraq are saying something similar about AmeriKa.
"If you love wealth more than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, depart from us in peace. We ask not your counsel nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you. May your chains rest lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”—Samuel Adams
I'm not sure if you've been following the state of American politics closely the last few years, but the system doesn't respond to politicians who lie, cheat, rob, kill and otherwise break the law. So who is it, IYO, that would do the "charging"? Some government agency who was created and exists to ensure the power remains in the hands of a few? Now be specific - what agency would be responsible for charging Emanuel?
Ally??? BS.... Now now, cyni, don't you remember what a helpful ally Israel was to us in Iraq, specifically with regards to interrogating all those eeeeevil Iraqi women and children held in Abu Ghraib? news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3863235.stm "Israeli interrogators in Iraq" The US officer at the heart of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal says she has evidence that Israelis helped to interrogate Iraqis at another facility. Brig Gen Janis Karpinski told the BBC she met an Israeli working as an interrogator at a secret intelligence centre in Baghdad. A BBC reporter says it is the first time a senior US officer has suggested Israelis worked with the coalition. The Israeli foreign ministry said the reports were completely untrue. Intelligence access Gen Karpinski was in charge of the military police unit that ran Abu Ghraib and other prisons when the abuses were committed. She has been suspended but not charged. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she met a man claiming to be Israeli during a visit to an intelligence centre with a senior coalition general. "I saw an individual there that I hadn't had the opportunity to meet before, and I asked him what did he do there, was he an interpreter - he was clearly from the Middle East," she said in the interview. "He said, 'Well, I do some of the interrogation here. I speak Arabic but I'm not an Arab; I'm from Israel.'" Until a 1999 ruling by the Israeli Supreme Court, Israeli secret service interrogators were allowed to use "moderate force". The US journalist who broke the Abu Ghraib scandal told the programme his sources confirm the presence of Israeli intelligence agents in Iraq. Seymour Hersh said that one of the Israeli aims was to gain access to detained members of the Iraqi secret intelligence unit, who reportedly specialise in Israeli affairs. 'Convenient scapegoat' The BBC reporter, Matthew Grant, says that whatever the truth, these allegations could cause anger in the Arab world. Photographs of naked Iraqi detainees being humiliated and maltreated first started to surface in April, sparking shock and anger across the world. One soldier has been sentenced and six others are awaiting courts martial for abuses committed at Abu Ghraib jail. Gen Karpinski has said she was being made a "convenient scapegoat" for abuse ordered by others.
Krapinski lived down the road aways from me. I think she was a real estate person of some sort, rode up the ladder in Army reserve, being female, Jew and having a female for a friend. She now lives in FL. with a "friend". She was another Janet Reno type.
I don't know what to make of Karpinski. I found 2 sources of background info on her: www.nndb.com/people/657/000046519/ Janis Karpinski's maiden name is Beam. She married her high school sweetheart, George, in 1974 and they have stayed married since then to the present. He is a lieutenant colonel at the Oman US embassy. She is listed as belonging to the Presbyterian Church. www.washingtonpost.com/wp...cles/A13114-2004May9.html "Prison Revolt" *Regardless of Karpinski's biographical background, she claims that Israeli intel officers were part and parcel of the Abu Ghraib interrogation scandal.*
#2. To: Rotara (#0)
#3. To: Sam Houston (#2)
#4. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#1)
media distracting from more important issues.
#5. To: Sam Houston (#2)
Bill Clinton confessed while in office that he was afraid of Rahm, even though he was supposedly his boss.
#6. To: Cynicom (#4)
More important issues such as Obama sending 30,000 new troops to Afghanistan.
#7. To: Jethro Tull (#6)
#8. To: Cynicom (#7)
If Obama were american he would demand Israel send troops to Afghan, after all they are our "best" ally.
#9. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#1)
If he didn't break any law then drop it. If he did charge him. We don't need this crap constantly in the media distracting from more important issues.
#10. To: Jethro Tull (#8)
If Obama were American he'd send troops into Israel and scatter the tribe at bayonet point, returning the occupied land to the Palestinians.
#11. To: bush_is_a_moonie (#1)
If he didn't break any law then drop it. If he did charge him
#12. To: Cynicom, Jethro Tul (#7)
If Obama were american he would demand Israel send troops to Afghan, after all they are our "best" ally.
#13. To: scrapper2 (#12)
Gen Karpinski has said she was being made a "convenient scapegoat" for abuse ordered by others.
#14. To: Cynicom (#13)
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