Who do you think tried to buy Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat?
A. Obama Advisor, Valerie Jarrett
B. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr.
C. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan
D. Deputy Governor Louanner Peters
E. Someone else
OPINION: Release the Blagojevich Tapes: Time to Target the Chicago '5'
The Chicago '5'
After a political circus side show of U.S. Senate seat proportions, it would be easy to continue to laugh at former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. However, a year after his arrest for federal corruption, there are more questions and fewer answers – especially from people like President Obama, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and Valerie Jarrett. High ranking officials all – and yet they all have a direct connection to the U.S. Senate “pay to play” scandal in Illinois.
For more than twelve months since his infamous arrest and impeachment, former Blagojevich has declared his innocence and requested that the public be allowed to hear the government tapes in full, not just the select portions that – to put it mildly – do not put him in the best light. However, Blago’s request is a no can-do with a “gag order” in place and sensitive documents and tapes under court-ordered seal. U.S. District Court judge James Zagel recently ruled that the jury would only be allowed to hear approximately 200 hours of recorded conversations – a victory for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s case. There are 500 hours of tape.
However, if wasting the jury’s time with unnecessary tape recordings is Judge Zagel’s objection, why not allow Blago’s defense to submit the excerpts they want the jury to hear in full? In the American legal system, a man is innocent until he is proven guilty and if Blagojevich says the tapes can prove him innocent, then play the damn tapes. In a court of law, a defendant is entitled to subpoena witnesses to his defense – even if they are President of the United States. In the case of Rod Blagojevich, President Obama has a connection to this case – despite being cleared by an FBI affidavit. Last week, Judge Zagel quashed the motion to subpoena the President but left the door open to the defense if they could prove he would provide relevant testimony.
Last week, redacted portions of Blagojevich’s Motion to Subpoena President Obama came to light, indicating that Obama had contacted SEIU labor officials to lobby the Senate seat for Valerie Jarrett. If true, this would potentially contradict the President’s public statements. In earlier statements, President Obama said, “he was "confident that no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat. Given the involvement of the President’s good friend and advisor, Valerie Jarrett, his Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and others in the Obama’s circle of power in this scandal, there is enough here that does not pass the smell test.
In fact, all the mysterious U.S. Senate candidates alluded to in the wire taps have gotten a pass while Blagojevich is on the hot seat: namely, Valerie Jarrett (referred to as Senate Candidate #1 in the government's complaint); Lisa Madigan (Senate Candidate #2); Unknown (Senate Candidate #3); Louanner Peters (Senate Candidate #4); and Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (Senate Candidate #5). Of these “persons of interest,” it is Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. that should be at the top of any investigator’s list.
According to 91 pages of documents released in April by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald outlining the government’s case, Blagojevich was recorded several times saying that Jackson came to him "through third parties, you know, with offers of campaign contributions and help…You know what I mean? One-point-five million they've ... they're throwin' numbers around." Doesn’t Rep. Jackson have to answer some serious questions? Even if not legal, ethical? Did he make a deal? Is that why Jackson’s name isn’t brought up? How many of these other “senate candidates” made a deal? Should we just assume that - in Illinois of all places – that these politicians born and bred in “the Chicago Way” are as ethical as can be? And that everything they did was in comportment with the law? How dumb do they think we are?
The media need to start doing their job – even if means asking Democrats tough questions. Again, play the damn tapes. Allow Blagojevich to subpoena witnesses with relevant testimony. With confirmation of Blagojevich’s conversations with Rahm “Dead Fish” Emanuel and pressure exerted on him by Senator Harry Reid to pick certain senate candidates over others, this is, a year later, still not the story the media is telling.
It’s time to get the truth out in the open. It’s time to target the Chicago ‘5.”
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