Friday, December 21, 2007

UPDATED: Illinois corruption watch, Blagojevich smoking gun?

As I noted in the below post--actually, a whole bunch of posts--Illinois is a pretty corrupt place.

Is this the smoking gun that could land an indictment against our governor, Rod Blagojevich?

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Gov. Blagojevich told a prominent Democratic fundraiser that the governor "could award contracts, legal work and investment banking to help with fund-raising," according to a federal court document released Friday.

The court filing offers a detailed overview of the evidence federal prosecutors expect to introduce in the upcoming trial of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, a former key fund-raiser and adviser to the governor.

Blagojevich is not referred to by name in the document, but only as "Public Official A" as he has in previous government court filings

The governor has denied he is "Public Official A."

Here is the latest court filing of The United States of America vs. Antoin Rezko.

UPDATE Dec. 22 9:30am:

The ring is closing on the Illinois Democrat. The Chicago "free registration required" Tribune has more:

In a 78-page court filing that identifies the governor only as "Public Official A," federal authorities detailed the accusations of the two former political operatives who have already pleaded guilty in a shakedown scheme and are cooperating with prosecutors.

Blagojevich told one of the men he "could award contracts, legal work and investment banking to help with fundraising," according to the filing.

"You stick with us and you will do very well for yourself," Blagojevich replied, according to the court document.


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