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Jesse Jackson Jr. May Be Tied to Blagojevich Probe, Attorney Says
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At least three times, Blagojevich warns associates to avoid telephones and public talk of illegal doings, but the affidavit shows that Blagojevich himself talked and talked as FBI agents captured his words through bugs in his campaign office and a wiretap on his home telephone.
Blagojevich is heard declaring, "I want to make money," as he discusses his right to name an Obama successor. He floated the idea of a cabinet appointment, an ambassadorship and the creation of a wealthy foundation that he could run.
He also talked of positioning himself so that his wife, real estate agent Patti Blagojevich, could make money as a lobbyist or through service on corporate boards. He said the family had money troubles and mentioned that $150,000 would be a good income for her.
"It's a [expletive] valuable thing. You just don't give it away for nothing," Blagojevich said, according to the affidavit. "I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden and I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I'm not gonna do it."
Obama is not implicated in the affidavit.
At one point, Blagojevich gripes that the Obama transition team was offering him nothing "except appreciation" in return for a prospective appointment of Obama friend Valerie Jarrett, who last month took herself out of the running for the seat.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, explaining the case to reporters on Tuesday, said investigators have been working around the clock to piece together the puzzle. He asked members of the public to step forward and tell prosecutors what they know as the government moves toward producing a grand jury indictment.
It is not yet clear whether Fitzgerald was aware of the global significance of the day he chose to arrest Illinois's chief executive. Turns out that Dec. 9 was designated by the United Nations in 2003 as International Anti-Corruption Day.
Staff writers Anne Kornblut and Garance Franke-Ruta also contributed to this report.
