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Pritzker doubles down on “leaked” FBI tapes
Wednesday, Jun 14, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller * JB Pritzker appeared on WBEZ this morning and was asked about the leaked FBI recordings of him talking with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2008. Pritzker repeated his claims from earlier that he knew before he ever announced that Gov. Rauner would “throw everything and the kitchen sink at me because, frankly, he’s got nothing to run on and they are afraid, the GOP and Bruce Rauner, are afraid to run against me.” Pritzker also once again pointed what he considered to be the suspicious timing of the “leak,” which he says occurred on the final day of spring session when the governor couldn’t get a budget passed for the third time in a row. “So, at the close of the day with nothing to talk about, this is what they throw out there.” When reminded that a Tribune reporter had earlier said that these recordings didn’t come from the Rauner campaign, Pritzker said…
An ILGOP official flagged this audio for me earlier today, saying Pritzker “goes full on conspiracy theory.” My own suspicion is that these tapes might’ve been leaked by one of Blagojevich’s defense attorneys (or perhaps a defense lawyer for a different defendant in the same case). Whether the leak was conveniently timed or whether the Trib has had these tapes for a while and the reporters just went back to listen to them is perhaps something for the FBI to consider if it ever looks into this breach of a federal judge’s seal. The full interview is here. * This is what the Tribune reporter said, by the way…
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- A guy - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:08 pm:
Whenever someone says “They’re afraid of me” it sorta hits you funny. Like, they’re not really afraid. Bad choice of words IMO.
- LizPhairTax - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:11 pm:
Billionaire Fight Club!
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:15 pm:
The Pritzker Comm and Pritzker Crews really need to understand how to respond to oppo, to lockdown a single rebuttal, and lockdown Pritzker himself in a disciple way to keep the response(s), the rebuttal(s) and Pritzker on one message to move forward.
This is the lacking. It’s so glaring.
- 51st ward - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:16 pm:
Damn Russians now their working with the FBI to influence elections
- Amalia - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:16 pm:
Hey JB, why don’t you consult your esteemed peer group of “National Leaders” (whatever that is) to defend you against the vast GOP conspiracy, which this is not.
- Oswego Willy - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:19 pm:
“disciplined”
- Real - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:26 pm:
The leak came from Rauner or his GOP period. Too many people scared to be real I see. And if it came from Blagojevich defense attorneys it was leaked from them to Rauner or GOP.
- jim - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:28 pm:
It is a conspiracy so vast that it is beyond comprehension by the minds of men (and women).
- Sic semper tyrannis - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:43 pm:
Actually JB, with all your character flaws (property tax appeals sham, colluding with Blago, off shore family tax havens)
Rauner can’t wait to run against you.
- Leaks? - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:46 pm:
Leaks defined by Webster to become known despite efforts at concealment or to give out information surreptitiously.
Weren’t all these available to the public and did JB Pritzker try and keep them hidden?
I agree with him Rauner can’t run on his record of failure
- phocion - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:47 pm:
JP Pritzker is a fundamentally flawed candidate. If his early backers aren’t already having buyer’s remorse, they soon will be.
- ChrisB - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 2:01 pm:
He’s really playing the “Vast Right Wing Conspiracy” card, isn’t he?
- Echo The Bunnyman - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 2:03 pm:
I do think it was way too early to “back” a candidate as many have JB… I think his flaws and lack of discipline will continue to be exposed. I am just not seeing the “moderate” folks that I am, and associate with have a real choice between the two rich guys. Typically, doesn’t that help the incumbent?
- DuPage - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 2:08 pm:
- Leaks? - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 1:46 pm:
===Weren’t all these available to the public===
No, the tapes were ordered sealed by the federal judge in the Blago trial. Blago’s lawyers claimed the parts of the tapes heard by the jury were taken out of context, and the full tapes contained exculpatory information.
- Illinois O'Malley - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 2:12 pm:
Hopefully it was a soon to be retired defense lawyer because they’d stand a good chance of disbarment or suspension by ARDC
- DeseDemDose - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 2:14 pm:
Good for JB…only Dem with the cash and guts to brawl with lyin’Rauner and his flunkies. So far the other Democrats are MIA when it comes to attacking any and all the Republicans. Mendoza should be JB’s lieutenant governor and hit Rauner with a constant double whammy.
- Anon0091 - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 2:20 pm:
Someone broke a Federal seal to leak these tapes. The idea that Rauner/GOP was not involved in that effort is silly. And the fact the the Trib reporter claimed they didn’t get it from Rauner is naive at best. As a practitioner in the dark arts, I can promise you there are 1000 ways to make this happen without Rauner’s fingerprints personally on it. In fact, it would be political malpractice if his fingerprints were on it. But only a fool would then conclude the Rauner GOP had nothing to do with it.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Jun 14, 17 @ 4:24 pm:
–We don’t ever talk about sourcing on these kinds of issues. I know the [Pritzker] campaign threw out a Bruce Rauner allegation. That’s not correct. I can say that. […]–
Still one of the goofier recent quotes.
Meh, Pritzker is positioning himself as running against Rauner already, so of course he’s going to say it came from Rauner.
Of course, it could have come from any of his Dem opponents.
Are any of them former federal prosecutors?