* Press release…
As a follow-up to an interview earlier this week, today, Scott Drury, Democratic candidate for Illinois Attorney General, began releasing on Twitter (@Drury4IL) documents and records of his interactions with Mike Madigan and his leadership team. Today’s records relate to a dinner meeting in October 2016 when Madigan requested approximately $60,000 from Drury, as Drury sought to pass child protection legislation that had stalled in the House.
During a radio interview on Sunday, Drury provided details of the dinner meeting, including Madigan’s request that Drury funnel the contribution through an entity known as LIFT PAC – a super PAC to which Madigan had no nominal connection. Madigan’s spokesman later claimed he could not verify the accuracy of Drury’s account. Drury believes he can assist with that. “Like James Comey, I, too, thought it wise to keep records of interactions with a power hungry leader used to getting his way,” said Drury.
According to Drury, he refused to be part of what he viewed as a money-laundering scheme and did not contribute to LIFT PAC. Undeterred, Madigan later proposed that Drury make the contribution through an array of Democratic candidates under Madigan’s control. For similar reasons, Drury refused.
So far, Drury has released an October 7, 2016 voice message from Madigan to Drury which led to the dinner meeting.
* Not much here except Madigan asking for a call back…
By the way, I asked the Daniel Biss campaign this morning to respond to Drury’s allegations of a “money laundering scheme” at the LIFT PAC. Biss, you will recall, ran that political action committee. So far, no response.
*** UPDATE *** From the Biss campaign…
“Daniel was as committed to defeating Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner and their right wing agenda in 2016 as he is today. You’d think all Democrats would feel the same.”
- ILPundit - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:33 pm:
House Speaker leaves message for member of legislator.
STOP THE PRESSES!
- Boone's is Back - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:33 pm:
Why stop at @JamesComey? Why not @MotherTheresa or an array of other martyrs?
- ItsMillerTime - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:36 pm:
Drury and Kennedy are working hard to win Rauner’s favorite Democrat award.
- Sue - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:36 pm:
The Comey analogy may be premature. In a few weeks the comparison may no longer be complementary
- Just Observing - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:38 pm:
Daaaaaammmmmmnnnnnnn…. Scott Drury is playing chess while Mike Madigan is playing checkers. I think we can all agree that Madigan is toast now.
- ArchPundit - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:39 pm:
So, is he alleging coordination here? I’m not sure that qualifies.
Madigan asking him to donate to other Democrats is a job duty of the Party Chair.
Drury needs to be clear what he’s alleging because right now he’s saying that Madigan never promised legislation for money and that Madigan asked a member for donations to help the Democratic Party.
Most of this is what Madigan should be doing–the selling legislation would be a major crime, but all we have is Drury’s feelings about what was going on. I don’t trust Drury’s feelings on these issues.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:39 pm:
Look out for the shark below, Fonzie.
- Thomas Paine - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:40 pm:
Drury = Comey
Jones = MLK
Kass = Royko
Rauner = Lincoln
Apparently those weren’t hummus hors douerves at the last Rauner cocktail party, but hubris rollups.
- Dome Gnome - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:43 pm:
“Scott, this is Mike Madigan. Come pick up your engraved desk clock.”
- Grand Avenue - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:43 pm:
Good for Mike Madigan on being able to get the phone number 773-THANK-YOU
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:43 pm:
Power hungry? He already has the power.
- ArchPundit - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:44 pm:
=== money-laundering
While I would love to see significant reforms to campaign finance laws in Illinois, this is in no way money laundering. A FORMER ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY should certainly know this.
Money laundering is cycling illegally gotten money through legal businesses to make it appear to be legal. Everything he is claiming Madigan wanted him to do is taking legal money and donating it through legal channels.
Word–I’m beginning to think Drury is played by Ted McGinley.
- Grand Avenue - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:44 pm:
I hope he stays on the ballot so that we can have 7 more weeks of this level of entertainment.
- comey_murashko_drury - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:44 pm:
murashko and drury should start an illinois group #BeLikeComey
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:46 pm:
It would be interesting to find out the circumstances of his leaving the U.S. Attorney’s office.
- wordslinger - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:49 pm:
–The Comey analogy may be premature. In a few weeks the comparison may no longer be complementary–
Yeah, like Trump and Sessions wrote, Comey was out of line in that number he did on Clinton before the election, what with the Congressional testimony and press conferences and such.
They were really mad about the way he treated her.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/09/politics/fbi-james-comey-fired-letter/index.html
- Moist von Lipwig - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:50 pm:
Mike Madigan called a member of his caucus, left his name and phone number. Scott Drury calls it corrupt. This is dangerous for a potential Attorney General.
- Retired Educator - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:55 pm:
Drury is really out there. Maybe we now see why he helped Rauner by running out on the RTW vote. Somebody took the reverse card out of this guys Uno deck.
- Abraham Obama - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:56 pm:
==Drury needs to be clear what he’s alleging ==
On the radio Drury said he was meeting with the Speaker regarding his bill and “all of a sudden, there’s just this, this shady juxtaposition of campaign contributions and my legislation.”
It’s pretty clear what he’s alleging. The problem for him is he cant prove the solicitation of a bride nor can he prove money laundering.
- Buford - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:57 pm:
-Archpundit-
Woah woah you’re saying Scott Drury was a FORMER ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY? I never knew!
- Back to the Mountains - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:58 pm:
When did desperate flailing become so en vogue?
- Roman - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:01 pm:
“Drury compares himself to Comey”
True, they are both Republicans.
- Saluki - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:01 pm:
Hot News! Mike Madigan left a voicemail!
- SAP - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:04 pm:
Burying the lede here. The real news is that Speaker Madigan used a telephone. I thought he still sent messages by raven.
- Gooner - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:04 pm:
He actually saved a VM saying return my call? He’s like a disgruntled girlfriend clinging to memories.
“Remember that time that you called me? Remember those times?”
I can just imagine Drury replaying those messages, wondering what could have been.
It is really sort of sad.
- former southerner - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:06 pm:
He would make the perfect running mate for Ives if he would officially switch parties.
It wouldn’t be quite as entertaining as a Ted Cruz/Sarah Palin presidential running mates pairing but it would have definite entertainment value as long as it didn’t become too scary.
- Under Influenced.... - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:10 pm:
Drury continues his best effort to scoot himself off the ledge.
- @misterjayem - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:21 pm:
“Like @JamesComeyFBI”
Two arms?
Two legs?
Yep, checks out.
– MrJM
- don the legend - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:25 pm:
Drury should know better.
“Paulie hated phones. He wouldn’t have one in his house.
- SinkingShip - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:29 pm:
I don’t know what’s crazier: Drury’s claim that an innocuous voicemail is evidence of money laundering, or Ives’s claim that she is trying to be a unifier and create a coalition to pass her agenda.
- walker - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:31 pm:
Ever since reports have circulated that Trump and Kushner are being investigated for possible “money laundering,” the right wing commentaria has been awash in misuse of that inflammatory phrase.
Someone with Drury’s background should know better.
- Redraider - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:44 pm:
No matter what happens in November, we will all be better off knowing that Scott Drury and Jeannie Ives will no longer be in the Statehouse
- Al - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:52 pm:
After listening to the six second phone message twice, it is apparent the Supeonas and indictments are gonna written themselves./s
- Andercursed - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:56 pm:
=Ives will no longer be in the Statehouse=
Are we positive she will not return to her current seat when she loses? I don’t know much about elections, but I’m hearing that when she loses she will return to her seat in the House. Something about how the current candidate will step aside. Hopefully, the rumor has no merit to it.
I found it laughable when she touted “asking tough questions and treating advocates tough in committee were her greatest accomplishments since coming to Springfield in 2012.
- Commonsense in Illinois - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 2:58 pm:
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Oh, excuse me. Great work, Scott! You’ve got him now…
- #UnionVoter - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:00 pm:
who keeps that voice mail longer than it takes to write down the number unless they are really excited to have received the call?
- wolf - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:04 pm:
Now if only Scott could’ve tagged Comey’s actual twitter handle and not a parody account.
- A guy - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:12 pm:
Now, if the Speaker said “call me back on my cell”, you might have something here.
- ArchPundit - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:26 pm:
===It’s pretty clear what he’s alleging.
What he says he’s alleging, but
1) That isn’t money laundering. In no way shape or form.
2) Bribery–but no actual quid quo pro besides a feeling.
It’s fair for him to say business shouldn’t be done like that, but he’s just randomly throwing out money laundering for a story that has even a suggestion of money laundering.
- ArchPundit - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:27 pm:
—-Woah woah you’re saying Scott Drury was a FORMER ASSISTANT US ATTORNEY? I never knew!
He doesn’t like to talk about it you know. Very modest that Scott Drury.
- TominChicago - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:28 pm:
Well, I do believe that both Comey and Drury were former federal prosecutors.
- TominChicago - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:32 pm:
- Sue - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 1:36 pm:
The Comey analogy may be premature. In a few weeks the comparison may no longer be complementary.
You just keep on believing those Sean Hannity fever dreams Sue. It’s kind of cute in a sad sort of way.
- Anon - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:41 pm:
If Dan were “committed to defeating Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner” he wouldn’t have launched the first negative ads of the Democratic primary campaign.
- Arsenal - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 3:54 pm:
I mean, I can kinda see it- if the conversation was something along the lines of-
“Mr. Speaker, I’d like you to support my bill.”
“Scott, I need you to give LIFT PAC some money.”
-then I can see an implication. But unless and until that’s proven, just asking legislators to donate to LIFT PAC is pretty meaningless.
- TominChicago - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 4:02 pm:
Does anyone with even a surface understanding of how Madigan operates believe that he made an express quid pro quo demand of SCOTT DRURY???
- Anon - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 4:13 pm:
I mean, I think I would rather hear Scott Drury compare himself to Jim Comey than ever again listen to Kwame Raoul compare himself to Barack Obama.
They ain’t shy.
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 4:21 pm:
Comey… hmmmm? Will he take classified information and give it to the media instead of a senate committee?
- Sue - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 4:33 pm:
DOJ- I hate spell check
- Anonymous - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 4:48 pm:
This happened right after the conversation where the Speaker told Bruce that all he cares about is money and power snort.
- Arthur Andersen - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 5:48 pm:
Search as I may, can’t find “shady juxtaposition” anywhere in the criminal code.
- Conn Smythe - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 6:00 pm:
I’m tempted to make that my text message alert sound
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 11:44 pm:
I think I know about Drury’s “child protection” legislation. Lol.
There weren’t enough votes for that bill to get out of a committee. Even if Madigan pledged to vote for it, and even if it got to 3rd reading, that bill was so poorly conceived, written and managed that is was a certain Century Award winner.
Drury could have donated $1,000,000 to one of Madigan’s political funds and that bill would have never become law.
- 47th Ward - Wednesday, Feb 7, 18 @ 11:47 pm:
Scott Drury isn’t James Comey. He’s Devin Nunes.