From the Breaking News Center:
A newly released government
document says former Gov. Rod Blagojevich "repeatedly expressed an
interest in personally profiting" from naming a successor to the U.S.
Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama on his election as president in the
fall of 2008.
"Despite repeated warnings from others that he
could not personally profit in any way, Blagojevich continued to suggest
methods in which he could personally profit from the naming of a
senator," prosecutors wrote.
The document alleged that the former
governor told a high-ranking aide, "Now is the time for me to put my
(expletive) children and wife first, for a change."
In one
conversation with John Harris, his then-chief of staff, Blagojevich
allegedly discussed going to work in Washington if he appointed Obama’s
preference for the Senate seat.
"I’d like to get out, get the
(expletive) outta here," he said. "The objective is to, to get a good
gig over there."
document says former Gov. Rod Blagojevich "repeatedly expressed an
interest in personally profiting" from naming a successor to the U.S.
Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama on his election as president in the
fall of 2008.
"Despite repeated warnings from others that he
could not personally profit in any way, Blagojevich continued to suggest
methods in which he could personally profit from the naming of a
senator," prosecutors wrote.
The document alleged that the former
governor told a high-ranking aide, "Now is the time for me to put my
(expletive) children and wife first, for a change."
In one
conversation with John Harris, his then-chief of staff, Blagojevich
allegedly discussed going to work in Washington if he appointed Obama’s
preference for the Senate seat.
"I’d like to get out, get the
(expletive) outta here," he said. "The objective is to, to get a good
gig over there."
The new details are contained in
an evidentiary proffer ordered unsealed by
a federal judge today. It echoes some of the details in the indictment
against
the ex-governor but offers the most complete roadmap yet of the
government’s case.
Read more from Tribune federal courts reporter Jeff Coen by clicking here.