Ill governor arrested on corruption charges.

[bobotech]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITI....html

LOL

Way to go, sporto!

[marlin29311]

Good to hear.

Unfortunatly, 1 high level corrupt idiot will probably turn into 4 low level corrupt idiots.

[HashiriyaS14]

Good to hear.

Unfortunatly, 1 high level corrupt idiot will probably turn into 4 low level corrupt idiots.

If you mean that he'll get off the hook and "smaller people" will take the fall, I think that's probably incorrect.

This was a HIGH PROFILE daytime arrest. They wouldn't have just marched in there and arrested a governor unless the case against him was 100% locked up tight. This guy is in deep, deep trouble.

[Jesda]

Well, that's another Illinois governor in jail. I'm surprised "Ryan" isn't his first, last, or middle name. Nearly every professional politician in that state is horribly, awfully corrupt. I suspect they aren't all in prison yet because of blackmail.

[marlin29311]

If you mean that he'll get off the hook and "smaller people" will take the fall, I think that's probably incorrect.

I didn't mean it as a smaller people will take the fall...it was more of a since one large guy left an opening, smaller people will now fill in the corruption void type of thing...

[dusred]

Just heard about this. Unfortunately Obama said that he's had nothing to do with the Governor and in fact he has. Epic fail.

I have a feeling this is going to blow up huge.

[ishkabibble]

Unfortunately Obama said that he's had nothing to do with the Governor and in fact he has. Epic fail.

Proof? (not I've-been-duped-by-a-youtube-video proof, real proof)

[dusred]

I heard a sound clip of him saying it today. . . that's proof for me.

[superbraut]

yuuup, i was watching it alll day at work, until jay leno popped up for no reason...

[ishkabibble]

I heard a sound clip of him saying it today. . . that's proof for me.

A sound clip of who saying what? Where is the proof of "in fact he has"?

Epic fail on your part?

[Cold_Zero]

Apparently, the FBI wire taps have the Governor of Illinois talking to an aid about getting Obama to shake down Warren Buffet and others to donate to a 501c3 so that they could funnel money through it. The FBI wire taps did not indicate that Obama was ever part of those conversations.

[Cold_Zero]

I missed the blurp on the news, but one of the Congressman from Illinois said that 5 of the last 6 Governors of Illinois have been indicted? Seems like something is going on in Chicago politics.

[Armelius]

The governor should have just had a private raffle and have some attorney draw a name out of a hat.

The FBI is too busy to be busting Chicago politicians and should be focusing on capturing/investigating (insert muslem sounding name here with the exception of Barack Obama...we are watching you).

[Cold_Zero]

Juan Williams was on this morning talking about this news story. He indicated that Obama is linked to Gov Blagojevich loosely through Tony Rezko. With Rezko going away for a long time from fraud and bribery convictions and Blagojevich potentially being convicted of bribery, one or both men may turn on Obama in an attempt to bring him down. It will depend on what information either Rezko or Blagojevich have on Obama and his campaign. If they have nothing, then Obama is home free with nothing to worry about. But if they do have something, this could get really interesting. All this of course is speculation. The US Attorney said that there was no evidence of wrong doing in regards to Obama.

[HashiriyaS14]

From the sound of the transcripts, Blagojevich doesn't much like Obama and doesn't really have any leverage with him.

I can't imagine that Rezko does either. If he did, he would have used it to get himself out of the predicament that he's already in.

Anything happening in Illinois is going to raise eyebrows because it's the President Elect's home state, but so far, all signs point to Obama having nothing to do with any of this.

Blagojevich regarded him with open contempt in those transcripts, and plainly revealed that Obama wasn't at all willing to "play ball".

[Armelius]

I am still trying to get a grasp on this whole thing.

The governor tried to get money from people interested in the position? But didn't get any?

Is it sort of like being a pimp on a corner with an open spot yet there are no takers?

Technically he can appoint anyone he feels like should be there and can even appoint himself.

So isn't it still like prostitution or something but no sex occurs and no money or positions change?

All I am trying to do is take the Governors side. Not sure if that is possible but if all the feds have is conversations then I can't find anything wrong with that.

To me it's not like he's selling Chicago off to China or Dubai and would like to see the guy walk away as an innocent man if possible.

[HashiriyaS14]

I am still trying to get a grasp on this whole thing.

The governor tried to get money from people interested in the position? But didn't get any?

Is it sort of like being a pimp on a corner with an open spot yet there are no takers?

Technically he can appoint anyone he feels like should be there and can even appoint himself.

So isn't it still like prostitution or something but no sex occurs and no money or positions change?

All I am trying to do is take the Governors side. Not sure if that is possible but if all the feds have is conversations then I can't find anything wrong with that.

To me it's not like he's selling Chicago off to China or Dubai and would like to see the guy walk away as an innocent man if possible.

Are you for real?

He's trying to get personal financial gain via his powers as governor. Don't you see anything wrong with that?

Intent IS a crime. Do you understand that? Intent to rob a bank or kill someone is a crime, whether you do the robbing or killing or not. It's called "conspiracy", i.e. "conspiracy to commit murder". It's the planning of a crime, and it's illegal in and of itself.

He conspired to commit fraud by selling something he's not allowed to sell.

[Armelius]

So where does it say he can't sell the senate seat?

From what I know about politics it looks like all the campaign contributors get paid off with positions in the government. Maybe we can wait and see who takes the Senate seat in New York.

[HashiriyaS14]

So where does it say he can't sell the senate seat?

From what I know about politics it looks like all the campaign contributors get paid off with positions in the government. Maybe we can wait and see who takes the Senate seat in New York.

Are you serious?

Campaign WORKERS often get appointments, yes. For instance, the communications director of a campaign might end up as press secretary because, well, that's what they're good at and they're already personally trusted by the candidate.

But....SELLING a senate seat, for personal wealth? Are you out of your f**king mind?

No, you cannot do that. That is absolutely illegal.

[Cold_Zero]

From what I understand of the charges...The Governor would sell the seat for money, which would be funneled into a 501c3 to be used later when the Governor ran for political office.

This is absolutely a crime.Even though no money changed hand, they have Federal Wire Taps of this activity going on. Unlike a Prostitution Sting operation, I don't think any money has to change hands for it to be a crime. It sounds like the Federal Government has a very good case.

[HashiriyaS14]

This is absolutely a crime.Even though no money changed hand, they have Federal Wire Taps of this activity going on. Unlike a Prostitution Sting operation, I don't think any money has to change hands for it to be a crime. It sounds like the Federal Government has a very good case.

This is correct.

The charge is "conspiracy to commit fraud", both mail fraud and wire fraud.

No money need change hands for this charge to stick.

The governor committed a crime and this clown is almost certainly going to jail for it. Good riddance.

[OriginalWheelman]

Welcome to the information age. Where news travels at the speed of light and privacy is a relative term. This is politics as usual. As the old saying goes absolute power corrupts absolutely. The good news is, with the wide spread media coverage, the ability to check facts and histories, and the general availability of information that the internet provides us with makes it very VERY hard for them to get away with this BS anymore. GOOD. I look forward to routing all the scum out of our government. I can only hope the American public wakes up and realizes the agenda these parties have, and that members of them have. I remember the thread where someone post about Obama being the head of the Democratic party. He is not. He is the head of the Executive branch of the US government. So our boss has a boss to make happy. That doesn't sound good to me. At least McCain has the stones to stand up to the party when he has to. Obama is a slave to the party, they got him where he is and he knows it. His next 4 years will be to serve the democratic party's agenda, not the US. While this is a big example of what I mean this is not the end. A lot of politicians in places of relative power do a lot of underhanded things. They enjoy the general lack of publicity / scrutiny of the presidential seat, and they get away with a LOT more. The cleansing needs to start at the bottom. Your corrupt local politician is a lot bigger danger to you than a corrupt Governor, or a corrupt president. We need to eliminate the stranglehold that unethical people have on our government. It is up to the American people to elect worthy leaders, not pick the best leader of the 8 choices the party gives you. Think for yourselves people, you're being duped. Obama was not the best Democrat for the job, he was the democrat that had the best chance of winning.

[Cold_Zero]

While Obama is not the chair of the DNC, Howard Dean currently holds that position. When Obama takes the oath and becomes President, he will effectively be the head of the Democrat Party. George W Bush has typically been considered the head of the party due to his position.

[hannibal]

This was a HIGH PROFILE daytime arrest. They wouldn't have just marched in there and arrested a governor unless the case against him was 100% locked up tight. This guy is in deep, deep trouble.

If a public figure is suspected of a crime, the authorities usually contact the suspect thru his or her attorney and allow them to turn themselves in. In this case, they went to arrest him. They definately have solid evidence against him.

And yes, Armelius, receiving money in exchange for an appointment to a position is a crime...

[Armelius]

I looked into it. The law is about to change Jan. 1st. So it appears to me that the governor isn't doing anything wrong and Fitzgerald jumped the gun (which is a first).

Right now I wish the governor all the luck in the world. Reason being there isn't any names connected to him as to wanting the seat or showing an iota of interest.

I looked at a chart (NYT) with all these people connected to the governor and it looked very flimsy.

The way I knew Chicago politics was that they would throw dirt on you even before you are dead. That governor might be playing some mean politics if he has been under investigation since he has taken office.

Comparing the governor to Huey Long is a huge stretch (NYT).

[S13_love]

I am still trying to get a grasp on this whole thing.

The governor tried to get money from people interested in the position? But didn't get any?

Is it sort of like being a pimp on a corner with an open spot yet there are no takers?

Technically he can appoint anyone he feels like should be there and can even appoint himself.

So isn't it still like prostitution or something but no sex occurs and no money or positions change?

All I am trying to do is take the Governors side. Not sure if that is possible but if all the feds have is conversations then I can't find anything wrong with that.

To me it's not like he's selling Chicago off to China or Dubai and would like to see the guy walk away as an innocent man if possible.

"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

^ I cant believe that this quote had to be used for a second time for you...i didnt want to but i felt obligated to do so

Still trying to figure out where you were going with that...

[Armelius]

Are you for real?

He's trying to get personal financial gain via his powers as governor. Don't you see anything wrong with that?

Intent IS a crime. Do you understand that? Intent to rob a bank or kill someone is a crime, whether you do the robbing or killing or not. It's called "conspiracy", i.e. "conspiracy to commit murder". It's the planning of a crime, and it's illegal in and of itself.

He conspired to commit fraud by selling something he's not allowed to sell.

Intent to rob a bank. Intent to kill someone. If you are walking in the desert or out in Antarctica I doubt if anyone is going to take you seriously. You also need willing participants for there to be a conspiracy. Driver for a bank perhaps or someone to help you dispose of a body.

A person can write a book about killing or robbing banks and it isn't a conspiracy or intent to commit a crime. You could probably tell someone how you would do it or how you would do it (OJ Simpson) and you wouldn't be convicted of a crime. You need capability and opportunity. So far as I know the seat is still taken and you can't do anything until it's vacant.

Maybe an example would be if a prostitute was walking down the street looking like she would do business with the first customer that she saw doesn't make her a criminal until she is able to find a customer.

You might have bad conduct for a person acting like a criminal but you shouldn't be arresting everyone with baggy pants, pin stripe suits or enticing clothing because you think they are going to do something bad.

Since no one was in immediate danger, Fitzgerald could have waited until there were other people around to either witness it or conspired to get into that office. Instead the governor said he would put himself in that position if he had to.

If the governor wins the case then I think that is the end of Fitzgerald.

[480sx]

Not doing it anymore.

All i want to read from Armelius is 'I choke on sausage'.

[Armelius]

Not doing it anymore.

All i want to read from Armelius is 'I choke on sausage'.

Good call. This is going to be more about discussing the facts or allegations and not putting words in people's mouths.

The attorney general of Illinois just jumped the gun too. If the governor walks then I think her career should be over too.

[480sx]

You choke on what? Hahaha thats hilarious!

Seriously, your arguments are so flawed. Its every single argument you get into. Im just sick of pointing out why your wrong. Everyone here has tried to do it, you still dont get it. After this post...

Ok. And I just said I am going to take the Governor of Illinois side in something more worthy of my time. Since he probably can't say anything I will just have to go against the allegations. He may be guilty but I think he's innocent until proven guilty.

Its obvious to me you are just here to try to stir up crap. If you were good at it it would be cool, but your not.