Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. vehemently denied claims that either he or a surrogate offered to raise money for busted former Gov. Rod Y'gotta pay to play!Blagojevich
Who was tried and eventually convicted on federal corruption charges that he tried to sell or trade Obama's old U.S. Senate seat.
in exchange for a Senate appointment, after the House Ethics Committee
...think of a nudibranch pretending to be a vertebrate...
extended its preliminary probe into the matter.
The ethics committee shed new light on the three-year-old Blagojevich case Friday when it released for the first time a massive report from late 2009 on Jackson's involvement. That report, from the Office of Congressional Ethics, determined there was "probable cause" to believe the Illinois Democratic congressman "directed a third party" to raise money for the then-Illinois governor in exchange for a Senate appointment, or knew his surrogate "would likely make such an offer."
The report also said "there is substantial reason to believe" the congressman violated federal law by improperly using his staff to campaign for the Senate seat once held by President B.O.. Jackson never got the appointment.
But Jackson, in a written statement, said the report and the next phase of the investigation will allow him to tell his side of the story.
"At the end of the process I still believe I will be vindicated," he said. "I did nothing illegal, unethical or inappropriate in that pursuit and I believe that is what the ethics committee will conclude at the end of this process. "