Why is Barack Obama lying about contact with Illinois Governor Blagojevich? The above video (3:31) shows Obama explicitly stating on December 9, 2008: “I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening.”

Yet, this photograph of one week previously (December 2, 2008) shows otherwise:

President-elect Barack Obama, right, greets Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich, left, at the Bipartisan meeting of the National Governor’s Association at Congress Hall, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pa. Looking on are Gov. of Indiana., Mitch Daniels, left center, and Gov. of Ohio, Ted Strickland, right center.

So, say what?

The question is: Does Patrick Fitzgerald have Obama or close Obama aids on tape discussing Obama’s Senate seat with Hot Rod Blagojevich?

Certainly, Obama had motive and opportunity to discuss the Senate replacement matter personally with Hot Rod.

Exit Question: Will Obama be called before the Chicago Grand Jury to answer questions in the matter before the inauguration?

Stay tuned…..

Update:

Now, Ed Morrissey has another photo from Rod Blagojevich’s own newsletter:

Governor Blagojevich confers with now President‐Elect Barack Obama, undated

Go over to the Volokh Conspiracy and look at their timeline of events and see despite Obama’s denials that the actions of all the parties, including those purporting to speak for Obama, are consistent with Obama and his staff learning about Blagojevich’s corrupt plans on Monday, Nov. 10.

Stay tuned……

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Rod Blagojevich

Why is Barack Obama lying about contact with Illinois Governor Blagojevich? The above video (3:31) shows Obama explicitly stating on December 9, 2008: “I had no contact with the governor or his office and so we were not, I was not aware of what was happening.”

Yet, this photograph of one week previously (December 2, 2008) shows otherwise:

President-elect Barack Obama, right, greets Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich, left, at the Bipartisan meeting of the National Governor’s Association at Congress Hall, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2008 in Philadelphia, Pa. Looking on are Gov. of Indiana., Mitch Daniels, left center, and Gov. of Ohio, Ted Strickland, right center.

So, say what?

The question is: Does Patrick Fitzgerald have Obama or close Obama aids on tape discussing Obama’s Senate seat with Hot Rod Blagojevich?

Certainly, Obama had motive and opportunity to discuss the Senate replacement matter personally with Hot Rod.

Exit Question: Will Obama be called before the Chicago Grand Jury to answer questions in the matter before the inauguration?

Stay tuned…..

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Rod Blagojevich

Well, Blagovejich DARED the Unites Sates Attorney to tap his phone (in the video above) and he did. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald tappped Blagojevich’s home phone for over eight weeks. God knows what is on all of those tapes, including contacts with President-Elect Obama’s staff.

But, the Illinois governor is DEFIANT and reportedly will not resign.

His career in shreds, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich clung defiantly to power Wednesday, ignoring a call to step down from President-elect Barack Obama and a warning that Senate Democrats will not let him appoint a new senator from the state.

“Everyone is calling for his head,” said Barbara Flynn Currie, a leader in the Illinois Senate and, like the governor, a Democrat.

One day after Blagojevich’s arrest, fellow Illinois politicians sought to avoid the taint of scandal-by-association.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said at a news conference in Washington that he was Senate Candidate 5 in the government’s criminal complaint — a man Blagojevich was secretly recorded as saying might be willing to pay money to gain appointment to Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Jackson said he had been assured by prosecutors he was not a target of the investigation, and he emphatically said he had not engaged “whatsoever in any wrongdoing.”

Other Democrats in Washington edged away from calls for a special election to fill Obama’s place in the Senate, hoping that Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would soon become governor and fill the vacancy on his own. That would assure the party of holding the seat, and on a far faster timetable than any balloting would allow.

Ensconced in his downtown office, Blagojevich gave no sign he was contemplating resigning, and dispatched his spokeswoman, Kelley Quinn, to say it was “business as usual” in his 16th-floor suite, situated a few blocks from Obama’s transition headquarters.

“At the end of the day, the top priority for our office is to serve the people, and we have not lost sight of that, nor will we lose sight of that,” Quinn said.

Who knows what is going on behind the scenes with a plea deal. But as Flap said this morning, time is running out for Blagojevich.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Rod Blagojevich

Ok, now Obama’s staff is saying that David Axelrod misspoke about Obama talking to the Governor Blagojevich but what about Obama’s staff?

Obama leaves this question open with an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

Q: Have you ever spoken to [Illinois] Gov. [Rod R.] Blagojevich about the Senate seat?

O: I have not discussed the Senate seat with the governor at any time. My strong belief is that it needed to be filled by somebody who is going to represent the people of Illinois and fight for them. And beyond that, I was focused on the transition.

Q: And that was before and after the election?

O: Yes.

Q: Are you aware of any conversations between Blagojevich or [chief of staff] John Harris and any of your top aides, including Rahm [Emanuel]?

O: Let me stop you there because . . . it’s an ongoing… …investigation. I think it would be inappropriate for me to, you know, remark on the situation beyond the facts that I know. And that’s the fact that I didn’t discuss this issue with the governor at all.

Q: Could you talk to the point of whether an appointment by Gov. Blagojevich would taint whoever your successor would be, given what we know?

O: I think what the people of Illinois deserve is somebody they can trust, somebody that’s going to fight for them and, you know, I think we’ve got to make sure that whatever process emerges gives them that assurance. I haven’t examined all the options that are out there at this point.

Jim Geraghty points out that Obama knows about the scandal and did NOT speak directly to Hot Rod Blagojevich. But, what about his other staffers? How about Obama’s soon to be Chief of Staff and former Illinios Congressman Rahm Emanuel?

And, who does United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald have on tape? What did they say and when did they say it?

Update:

Maybe it was Axelrod since he does not seem to have a problem with pay to play Chicago style.

“The democratic process is often messy,” Axelrod wrote in the op-ed. “Diverse constituencies fight fiercely for their priorities. Their elected representatives use the influence they have to meet those needs, including sometimes the exchange of favors – consideration for jobs being just one.

“When a congressman responds to the president’s request for support for a judicial nominee or a trade deal by replying that he’d like the president’s backing for a new bridge in his district, he’s fighting for his constituents. If the money for that bridge is approved over a worthier project elsewhere, should the deal between the two officials become a crime?” Axelrod wondered, questioning whether a “system free of political influence … is really desirable.”

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama, Rod Blagojevich