In Chicago politics, where ever there’s smoke, at minimum, there’s more smoke. We’ll see if there’s any fire here. This probe could still have more legs.
NATASHA KORECKI AND FRAN SPIELMAN
Chicago Sun-Times
CHICAGO — Federal authorities have asked U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson (D.-Ill) why former Gov. Rod Blagojevich believed he would get campaign cash in exchange for appointing Jackson to President Obama’s vacant Senate seat, sources told the Sun-Times.
More than a week ago, Jackson and his criminal defense lawyer sat down for an interview with investigators in connection with the ongoing corruption probe of the now-indicted Blagojevich.
Among the areas of interest, sources say, was what Jackson told his representatives to convey to the Blagojevich camp on his behalf last year — a time Jackson sought the Senate seat appointment.
And, in a signal that the probe into dealings involving a possible Jackson appointment is still under way, witnesses and possible evidence involved in that part of the alleged scheme were recently subpoenaed by a federal grand jury, sources say.
Jackson’s recent interview took place nearly four months after he publicly announced he wasn’t a target in the probe and said then that he expected to sit down with the feds in a matter of days. He isn’t accused of wrongdoing and has said he never gave anyone the authority to trade cash for the appointment.
