One of the worst kept secrets has been the Obama generated report on the his team’s contact with Gov. Blagojevich. On Tuesday the report was finally released.
By Jill Zuckman and John McCormick
Chicago Tribune
WASHINGTON – A report issued by Barack Obama’s transition concluded that the president-elect had no contact with Gov. Rod Blagojevich or his office and no one acting on Obama’s behalf tried to offer any “quid pro quo” arrangement to benefit the governor in exchange for filling the vacant Senate seat with a candidate of Obama’s choosing.
The report was put together by attorney Greg Craig following Blagojevich’s arrest for engaging in a scheme to sell the vacant U.S. Senate seat, as well as other state appointments and services.
Craig said Obama, his chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, and his adviser, Valerie Jarrett, all submitted to interviews with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald last week. Craig said neither Jarrett nor David Axelrod, another senior adviser, had any contact with Blagojevich or his office.
The report did say that Dr. Eric Whitaker, a close friend of Obama’s, was approached “by a member of the Governor’s circle” for information.Obama has portrayed himself as taking a hands-off approach to the governor’s decision about who to appoint to his Senate seat. In fact, the report noted that he was very much interested in who would succeed him in the Senate.
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