President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, refused to take questions from reporters this morning about whether he was the Obama "advisor" named in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The complaint states Blagojevich wanted a promise of a high-level appointment or some other reward for Blagojevich in exchange for Blagojevich naming Obama's friend Valerie Jarrett to replace him in the U.S. Senate.
Emanuel was uncharacteristically absent from Obama's news conference this morning. He was spotted two hours later in the lobby of Chicago's City Hall. He was there to listen to his two children performing in a concert with their school, Anshe Emet.
"I'm not going to say a word to you. I'm going to do this with my children. I have two kids. I'm not going to do it."
A Sun-Times reporter pressed him to comment about whether he was the emissary named in the criminal complaint. "You're wasting your time," Emanuel said. "I'm not going to say a word to you. I'm going to do this with my children. Dont do that. I'm a father. I have two kids. I'm not going to do it."
Asked, "Can't you do both?" Emanuel replied, "I'm not as capable as you. I'm going to be a father. I'm allowed to be a father," and he pushed the reporter's digital recorder away.
Blagojevch was caught on tape saying that he wanted the Obama advisor in question to know what Blagojevich wanted in exchange for the Jarrett appointment. Blagojevich said, "He asks me for the fifth CD thing, I want it to be in his head." Emanuel represents the 5th Congressional District in Illinois.
No one in the Obama campaign or administration has been charged with any wrongdoing. Obama said this morning that none of his staff has had a hand in any dealmaking on his Senate replacement.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2008 09:43 ||
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#1
Obama and his staff all seem to be runnung for cover. Not a good sign. Right now it's at a really volatile stage. A little is known for certain, a lot more is in the speculative stage. Keep pressing.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/12/2008 10:29 Comments ||
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Veteran Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio was indicted for fraud yesterday after plea negotiations in his corruption case apparently broke down.
The Manhattan federal court indictment boosted to $1 million the amount of cash the Queens Democrat is charged with collecting through an eight-year, influence-peddling scheme.
In early September, federal authorities charged that Seminerio pocketed money in exchange for access to Albany lawmakers. Payments allegedly went to a bogus consulting outfit linked to the Assemblyman.
Defense lawyer Ira Cooper, who was reportedly trying to cut a deal for 73-year-old pol, didn't return a call for comment.
I seem to recall when Ney, Craig, Foley, Jack the A, etc., all got into trouble. I recall it because it was in the news all the time. Something about a 'culture of corruption'. I don't recall hearing near as much about all the Dem corruption, with the exception of Blago and perhaps El-i-ot. Wonder why?
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Well, maybe all of them can do "public service" by making license plates.
This is the biggest nationwide corrupt government I have ever seen in my life.
#2
And you notice that even the ones in court are readily reelected. The Trunks stay home* when one of their boys are dirty having a moralistic fit allowing the Donks to add another seat to their collection, while the Donks keep backing their own no matter how guilty they are. For those who play for power, morals are not a problem. They only replace the ones convicted because they have a line of people just like the one departed waiting in line and the cabal prefers a warm body to operate the machine in the backroom cause traveling to the pen to get 'business' done is too inconvenient.
*then again, I think most of us are going to stay home when Sulla or Caesar show up too because we'll have recognized that it's not our government anymore either, but rather a government of special interests which treats 'taxpayers' basically as serfs to be sheared or shaken down for another program.
#4
The dems have been in power for not quite 2 years in the house and they are already running amok.
Just think what the next 4 years are going to be like.
If the media had any credibility or influence left, they could try to cover for them.
A footnote to the 76-page criminal complaint and affidavit charging Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) with soliciting bribes confirms what has long been rumored -- that a former longtime friend and fundraiser for President-elect Barack Obama is talking to federal prosecutors in hopes of a reduced sentence.
Antoin "Tony" Rezko's offer to provide authorities with evidence of others' wrongdoing is "not complete," and prosecutors are working to corroborate the claims he has made so far, the footnote said.
Rezko, a 53-year-old developer, was convicted in June of 16 criminal counts, including fraud, money laundering and abetting bribery. He is in custody awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutors depicted Rezko at trial as a fixer for Blagojevich and the man to see to secure a high-level appointment with the governor's administration. Rezko had been a longtime fundraiser for Blagojevich and other Illinois politicians, including Obama.
Obama was not implicated in the months-long trial, and he has said that Rezko sought no favors from him. At a news conference on Tuesday, Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, went out of his way to dampen speculation about Obama.
"I should make clear, the complaint makes no allegations about the president-elect whatsoever," Fitzgerald said. "We make no allegations that he's aware of anything, and that's as simply as I can put it. . . .
"There's no reference in the complaint to any conversations involving the president-elect or indicating that the president-elect was aware of it. And that's all I can say."
Legal experts said it was unusual for a prosecutor to make such a blanket statement while an investigation was continuing. "That carries a great deal of weight," said Jan Witold Baran, a Washington lawyer who represents politicians on ethical complaints and campaign finance matters. "It is really unusual for a U.S. attorney to say someone is not implicated.
"Could evidence pop up in the future to the contrary? Sure, it's possible. Is it likely? I think that, based on what he said yesterday, the answer is no," Baran added.
The ongoing investigation is sure to present political complications for the Obama Justice Department, because advisers close to the president-elect are referenced in the criminal complaint and will be interviewed by federal prosecutors, legal analysts said. A lawyer for the Obama transition team did not return calls or e-mails yesterday.
Fitzgerald was appointed U.S. attorney by President Bush, but he is a political independent. Obama could retain Fitzgerald, lending an element of continuity to the Blagojevich case and insulating himself somewhat from accusations that he is seeking to remove a dogged prosecutor from a case targeting Illinois Democrats.
Rezko's reappearance in the headlines in recent years has been of continuing use to Obama's political opponents -- including Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), both of whose presidential campaigns pointed out that Obama shared a long history with the Chicago developer.
Over Obama's political career, Rezko raised contributions for him and introduced him to powerful aldermen. Rezko even offered real estate advice when Obama bought an expensive house on Chicago's South Side.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2008 00:00 ||
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"Obama declined a job offer from Rezko, instead accepting a position at a small Chicago law firm that would later represent Rezko's company and whose senior partner would in time go into business with Rezko."
Even outside of the Chicago Machine, that's considerd a difference without distinction.
#2
No, don't go into business with me, I'll set you up with a job over at X. I'm thinking about partnering with X, and I need someone I can..... trust, if you get my drift.
#3
The thing to remember is that as a politician in the same state and party any politician has to interact with people. However, he or she does not have to befriend a person, and limit the interactions to professional boundaries. Obama might have endorsed Blago in the general but in the primary he did endorse his opponent. So, the conclusion is that all the interactions were strictly professional. In a similar analogy, a lots of folks who endorsed Hillary then turned their endorsement to Obama when he won the primary. Even though he was not their first choice, he was the Democratic nominee so they endorsed him. That is politics works. Obama does not need to discuss any interaction once he indicates that he has not have any discussions regarding the vacant seat. Therefore, he was not involved in any wrongdoing - it's time to move on and look forward! Let's focus on all other critical problems at hand!
#5
Suggestions4Obama, are you paid to post comments at certain blogs? Is Rantburg on your morning list?
Also, if you're into suggestions, why is it that if I go to change.gov and ask a question about how Obama is going to clean up corruption, that question is flagged as 'inappropriate'?
Notice that, as a moderator, I'm not flagging you as inappropriate.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/12/2008 9:44 Comments ||
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#6
And that's too bad. It's foolish to let these astroturfers use the Burgs bandwidth to spread their propoganda when they've no interest in reciprocity. One set of rules for the, another set for me. I see nop reason to help our enemy domestic poltical opponents.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/12/2008 9:59 Comments ||
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#7
Let's focus on all other critical problems at hand!
Hey rookie, you just said that this is a critical problem but not to pay attention..you know, like it was in English class.
#10
Tony 'The Fixer' Rezko corrupted anyone and anything he got near. But when he interacted with Obama he realized he was dealing with a politician that was pure as the driven snow so he was always on the up and up.
Can we all believe that?
Yes we can!
Yes we can!
Yes we can!
Yes we can!
All this shouting is making me thirsty. Can I please have another glass of Koolaid?
#11
Aisle #3. Where do these people go to learn such mindless gibberish? Liberals are the only folks I have ever seen that could throw out that sort of word salad.
#13
If I remember it was Sen. Tom Daschle who first called on his fellow countrymen to "move on" after we learned the truth about Bill Clinton's relationship with Monica Lewinsky and the lies he told when he denied it. Seems like one of the primary donk characteristics is to "move on" and pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Well, nuts to you, Suggestions4Obama. We are not over the rainbow. We wanna stop and look into it a little more because we think your man is the Creature from the Black Lagoon and, yes, that is a critical issue.
Henry Waxman's House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform met Tuesday to examine "The Role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the Financial Crisis." Alas, Mr. Waxman didn't come to bury Fan and Fred, but to bury the truth.
The two government-sponsored mortgage giants have long maintained they were merely unwitting victims of a financial act of God. That is, while the rest of the market went crazy over subprime and "liar" loans, Fan and Fred claimed to be the grownups of the mortgage market. There they were, the fable goes, quietly underwriting their 80% fixed-rate 30-year mortgages when -- Ka-Pow! -- they were blindsided by the greedy excesses of the subprime lenders who lacked their scruples.
But previously undisclosed internal documents that are now in Mr. Waxman's possession and that we've seen tell a different story. Memos and emails at the highest levels of Fannie and Freddie management in 2004 and 2005 paint a picture of two companies that saw their market share eroded by such products as option-ARMs and interest-only mortgages. The two companies were prepared to walk ever further out on the risk curve to maintain their market position.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2008 00:00 ||
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President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, refused to take questions from reporters this morning about whether he was the Obama "advisor" named in the criminal complaint against Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The complaint states Blagojevich wanted a promise of a high-level appointment or some other reward for Blagojevich in exchange for Blagojevich naming Obama's friend Valerie Jarrett to replace him in the U.S. Senate.
Emanuel was uncharacteristically absent from Obama's news conference this morning. He was spotted two hours later in the lobby of Chicago's City Hall. He was there to listen to his two children performing in a concert with their school, Anshe Emet.
A Sun-Times reporter pressed him to comment about whether he was the emissary named in the criminal complaint.
"You're wasting your time," Emanuel said. "I'm not going to say a word to you. I'm going to do this with my children. Dont do that. I'm a father. I have two kids. I'm not going to do it."
Asked, "Can't you do both?" Emanuel replied, "I'm not as capable as you. I'm going to be a father. I'm allowed to be a father," and he pushed the reporter's digital recorder away.
Blagojevch was caught on tape saying that he wanted the Obama advisor in question to know what Blagojevich wanted in exchange for the Jarrett appointment. Blagojevich said, "He asks me for the fifth CD thing, I want it to be in his head." Emanuel represents the 5th Congressional District in Illinois.
No one in the Obama campaign or administration has been charged with any wrongdoing. Obama said this morning that none of his staff has had a hand in any dealmaking on his Senate replacement.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2008 00:00 ||
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If Emanuel is driven out, it'll make easier for the morons running Israel to understand that the "special relation" no longer serves Israel's best interests.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/12/2008 10:19 Comments ||
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#6
Rahm was supposed to be the "proof" that Obama's presidency would be handled by grown ups. I am not sure I would rejoice me of him being forced to resign.
Senate Republican Leader Dave Cogdill declared legislative negotiations with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger essentially dead after an apparently hostile meeting Thursday in the governor's office.
The Republican governor and legislative leaders publicly blamed one another this week for their failure to resolve a $14.8 billion gap in the current $100 billion state general fund budget. Cogdill, of Modesto, said leaks from "Big 5" meetings between four legislative leaders and the governor have undermined future talks.
Cogdill said he would attend future meetings with Schwarzenegger "out of respect for him and out of respect for his office." But he said he believes any deal will now be brokered among the legislative leaders and without Schwarzenegger.
"I believe that the Big 5 process has been irreparably compromised as a result of comments in the press over the last couple of days, and it's pretty difficult to negotiate in good faith in that situation," Cogdill said. "My personal belief is that any resolution to this that is going to be negotiated will result from efforts with the Big 4 similar to what we were able to accomplish with the budget last year, because, again, I just don't see this process as being productive or helpful."
Schwarzenegger and fiscal leaders have warned that without swift budget action the state will run out of cash in February. The governor has proposed immediate solutions that include tax hikes and spending cuts, a proposal that Democrats say they are willing to entertain but Republicans have lambasted because of its tax increases.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2008 00:00 ||
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California is the 8th largest economy on the planet. YOU have no busines asking for money.
PERIOD.
If the terminator cannot balance it, he is useless. The only reason your sorry foreign ass was elected in the gary recall was to fix THAT.
#2
Davis was a model of fiscal restraint compared to the governator in much the same way Clinton was a model of fiscal restraint compared to Bush. Whow knows, maybe the lefties really are more sane on spending than these new Republicans.
#3
I wonder how much illegals have brought into the economy, and how much they have taken away. And how long before the finger pointing dies down and they kick all the illegals out.
#4
No way anyone is going after the illegals. They're here because the Dems want to cement a permanent majority in the voter base post-legalization and the Reps want them to pay FICA taxes post-legalization to stave off the worst of the coming implosion of SS & MC.
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the federal government is going to have to spend a "significant" amount of money if it is going to get the country out of its current economic troubles -- despite rapidly ballooning federal deficits, historic unemployment, and the hundreds of billions already spent.
"One thing we've learned from past recessions, is that you've just got to spend money to get out of it," he said, in response to questions from CNSNews.com.
Baucus said there wasn't any formula behind that spending, saying that it would be up to Congress to determine the best course for economic recovery. "We just have to use our best judgment (because) there's no science to this," the senator explained. "We just have to spend some significant money."
'Best judgment' and 'spending money' just don't go together in the Congress ...
Baucus, speaking to reporters Wednesday about financial issues for 2009, said that government needs to spend big not only to create jobs, but to let the public know it cares. "You start to send the psychological signal that Congress doesn't care," Baucus said. "What are people going to do then, if they think Congress doesn't care?"
Get on with their lives? ...
Baucus then paradoxically called for budgetary reform, saying that there has to be a federal plan to start paying back the national debt. The Montana Democrat refused to elaborate on the details of a proposal despite being pressed by CNSNews.com
Posted by: Fred ||
12/12/2008 00:00 ||
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...the federal government is going to have to spend a "significant" amount of money.
The federal government has money like Pres. Mugabe has money. If you have to tax it to raise it, then its NOT your money, Mr. Loxley. Socialism doesn't magically make it your money. You are the stewards of the people's money, the people are not the stewards of your/the state's money.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
