Top Items:
Huma Khan / Political Punch:
Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship — “Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney's office today,” said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs, JammieWearingFool, Think Progress, Weekly Standard, Marc Ambinder, Taegan Goddard's …, Commentary, Sister Toldjah, Hot Air, Liberal Values, Associated Press, RedState, TigerHawk, Flopping Aces, Right Wing Nut House, CANNONFIRE, NewsBusters.org, Brian Beutler and Hullabaloo
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Chicago Breaking News:
Blagojevich arrested on federal charges — Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents for what U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald called a “staggering” level of corruption involving pay-to-play politics in Illinois' top office.
Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:
Chicago reporter suggests Rahm Emanuel may have ‘tipped’ off federal investigators about Blagojevich.» — Marcy Wheeler catches local Chicago press reporting that Rahm Emanuel may have tipped off federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was engaging in corrupt acts.
Discussion:
CNN, TPM Election Central, Minnesota Independent, Gawker, Emptywheel, Don Surber and Wonkette
Marc Ambinder:
Blago Indictment: Who Is Senate Candidate 5? — Gov. Blagojevich's own words make it clear that he did not believe that Barack Obama wanted a person called “Senate Candidate 5” to be appointed to the Senate. … In other words — if Blago doesn't get what he wanted, then he'd stiff the PEOTUS …
Discussion:
TalkLeft, Chicago Sun Times, The Capitol Fax Blog, The New Republic, Gawker, ArchPundit, Eunomia and DownWithTyranny!
Chicago Tribune:
Blagojevich's Senate selection process investigated — Federal probe widens to Obama's vacant seat — UPDATE: Source: Feds take Gov. Blagojevich into custody — A source said today that Gov. Rod Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning.
New York Times:
Illinois Governor in Corruption Scandal — CHICAGO — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama's seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.
WBBM-TV:
Details Of Complaint Against Blagojevich — CHICAGO (CBS) ― Full release from U.S. Attorney's Office: — Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging …
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Blago calls Obama “motherf—er” — The tapes reveal a two-term governor who no longer wants his job, badly wants cash and is determined to leverage a financial benefit out of his appointment powers. — He also appears to think little of the president-elect, whom he calls a “motherf***er” at one point.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, The Moderate Voice, The Swamp, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Field on the Narcosphere and The Caucus
Carol E. Lee / The Politico:
Attorney: Blagojevich has no plans of resigning — CHICAGO— The attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor will be vindicated and he has no plans to resign. — “He didn't do anything wrong,” attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters after Blagojevich was arraigned.
Discussion:
The Huffington Post, Chicago Breaking News, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, TIME.com and Reuters
Chicago Breaking News:
Lt. Gov. Quinn urges Blagojevich to ‘step aside’ — Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn today called on Gov. Rod Blagojevich to step aside, at least temporarily, because the governor is “seriously impeded from carrying out his oath of office.” — “I think that should certainly be considered by the governor today.
Discussion:
TPM Election Central, FiveThirtyEight.com, The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, BuzzFlash.org and Open Left
CNN:
Durbin wants special election to replace Obama — (CNN) — Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said Tuesday he wants a special election called to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. — At a press conference with reporters on Capitol Hill, Durbin said he wants the Illinois legislature …
Discussion:
A1 WBBM Local Stories, TPM Election Central, The Fix, MSNBC, Taylor Marsh and BuzzFlash.org
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
A tip from Rahm? — Jack Connaty, of Chicago's Fox affiliate, reported this morning: — We did receive a tip this morning that perhaps all of this came together so quickly because the Governor may have reached out to Rahm Emanuel, the president-elect's chief of staff, in attempting to leverage filling the Senate seat.
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:
Source: ‘SEIU official’ was Stern — A Democratic source confirms that SEIU President Andy Stern is the “SEIU official” referred to in the federal complaint against Rod Blagojevich. — There's no allegation that the SEIU official did anything wrong, and what appears to be a wiretap transcript …
Chicago Tribune:
Statement from Gerould Kern, editor of the Chicago Tribune — Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrives at the Tribune Tower on Monday for an interview at CNN's Chicago office. (Tribune photo by Nancy Stone / December 8, 2008) — The Chicago Tribune investigated allegations of misconduct involving Illinois …
Discussion:
Real Clear Politics, On Deadline, Emptywheel, Political Machine, TPMMuckraker, The Raw Story, Guardian and Chicago Breaking News
Katie Allison Granju:
Note to President-Elect Obama: just tell the truth — Today, President-Elect Obama spoke out about the emerging political scandal out of Illinois involving his former Senate seat, and he denied emphatically having ever even spoken to the now-arrested governor about the matter, saying:
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:‘Senate Candidate 5’ — Capitol Fax's Rich Miller updates …
Discussion:
The Capitol Fax Blog
Ron Kampeas / JTA:Blagojevich arrest could send Jewish rep to Senate
Discussion:
Sunlight Foundation
Michaelscherer / Swampland:BlagoGate: Obama's Burden
Discussion:
The Hill's Blog Briefing Room, Chicago Business, Kevin Drum, Hot Air, Political Punch and RedState
Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blogs:What the transition knew
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, The New Republic, JustOneMinute, The Swamp and Marc Ambinder
Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo: AMAZING — Even setting aside the primordial level of corruption …
Adam Serwer / American Prospect:A GUIDE TO THE CANDIDATES. — There are six candidates named …
Discussion:
TPMMuckraker, Chicago Sun Times, NO QUARTER, The Opinionator, ATTACKERMAN, The Volokh Conspiracy and The New Republic
Chicago Sun Times:Charges: Illinois Governor Blagojevich shook down the Chicago Tribune
Discussion:
Braublog
Chris Cillizza / The Fix:Blagojevich Criminal Complaint: The Best of the Best
Discussion:
Washington Post
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Joe the Plumber: McCain ‘appalled me’ — Joe Wurzelbacher lashed out at former GOP presidential nominee John McCain Tuesday, the man who made Wurzelbacher famous as “Joe the Plumber.” — Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Glenn Beck that he felt “dirty” after “being on the campaign trail …
Marist Poll:
Voters Weigh In: Cuomo and Kennedy Deadlocked for Clinton Seat — High Hopes for Secretary of State Clinton — This Marist Poll reports: — · Cuomo and Kennedy Tie...More Than a Quarter of Voters Unsure About Clinton's Replacement: While much of the buzz …
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Steve Benen / Washington Monthly:
QUOTE OF THE DAY.... A new national poll from CNN/Opinion Research Corporation finds 79% of Americans approve of the job Barack Obama has done so far. That's probably not too significant — this is still the transition period, when exercising one's limited authority is a lot easier — but 79% is still a pretty solid number.
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Michael Tarm / Associated Press:
Workers win a big round in Chicago factory sit-in — CHICAGO - The creditor of a Chicago plant where laid-off employees are conducting a sit-in to demand severance pay said Tuesday it would extend limited loans to the factory so it could resolve the dispute, but the workers declared their protest unfinished.
Discussion:
MyDD
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Scarecrow / Firedoglake:Who Needs Republic's Window Manufacturing Workers? The Whole Country.
Discussion:
Chicago Breaking News
The Daily Beast:
The Man Who Brought Down Spitzer by Scott Horton — Blogs and Stories — It's time to play Name That Goon! Rod Blagojevich vs. Tony Soprano. — Hands on buzzers: One's a trash-talking thug trying to stay one step ahead of the law. The other was played by James Gandolfini.
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