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Feds want to force Quinlan to testify against Blagojevich

Thursday, Apr 8, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The US Attorney’s office filed a motion yesterday to force Rod Blagojevich’s former general counsel to testify at the upcoming trial. You can read the motion by clicking here. Bill Quinlan has refused to fully cooperate so far, citing concerns over attorney-client privilege…

Prosecutors said the discussions are relevant to the charges against Blagojevich and want the judge to decide if they are fair game for the trial. In a court filing Wednesday, the government cited a 2002 decision in which the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals found that the attorney-client privilege does not apply in conversations between a public official and a taxpayer-provided attorney, as Quinlan was at the time.

Prosecutors contend Blagojevich may already have waived the attorney-client privilege when he allowed the government’s trial team access to the undercover tapes last fall. Before that, a “filter team” in the U.S. attorney’s office had kept the recordings at arm’s length from the prosecution team that will put the former governor on trial beginning June 3.

A lawyer for Blagojevich, Sheldon Sorosky, maintained Wednesday that the former governor did not fully waive the privilege and said the defense will argue in court Friday that talks between Quinlan and Blagojevich should remain private.

Quinlan says he wants to cooperate, but can’t…

Quinlan’s attorney Jon King said the former counsel general is ready to cooperate with the government, but not until he gets a specific waiver of attorney-client privilege.

“Blagojevich’s counsel has told me repeatedly that there’s an applicable attorney-client issue here,” King said. He said Quinlan has no intention of hiding anything from the government but merely wants to make sure that he is in accord with fundamental legal ethics.

Quinlan was caught on federal wiretaps, including during a key conference call about the alleged selling of Barack Obama’s US Senate seat. A look back…

On Nov. 10, Blagojevich, his wife, Harris, the governor’s chief counsel William R. Quinlan and several Washington-based advisers conducted an extraordinary two-hour conference call.

Blagojevich conceded he probably wouldn’t get the HHS job or an ambassadorship because of so much negative publicity surrounding him.

Using several expletives, Blagojevich said he was reluctant to give Obama “his senator” without anything in return; he said he’d appoint a deputy governor before giving the job to Candidate 1. He also considered appointing himself to the job to avoid impeachment.

During the next 36 hours, the governor grew angry and suggested Obama’s camp was not interested in making a deal.

“They’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. (Expletive) them,” Blagojevich told Harris in an intercepted call Nov. 11.

For years, Quinlan helped Blagojevich build a brick wall around his administration. They denied FOIA after FOIA under the slimmest of pretenses. Eventually, some of those denials were overturned, including a raft of requests for copies of federal subpoenas. There ain’t much sympathy for Quinlan around here.

* In somewhat related news, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. said earlier this week he was “concerned” about what he wasn’t hearing from Gov. Pat Quinn and Democratic nominee for Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle…

“I don’t see them speaking to the needs of taxpayers and fairness for taxpayers at all.”

The congressman made his criticisms during his endorsement of Forrest Claypool’s independent bid for assessor. Yesterday, he walked the comments back…

In a statement emailed from his government office, the congressman writes that he recognizes his “comments may have come across as being critical of the platform and message” of the Quinn and Preckwinkle campaigns. “Simply put,” Jackson writes. “I misspoke.”

The statement says both Democrats “have laid out visions and platforms that will restore the tax-payer’s trust in government, will root out corruption, and get our county and state governments working once again.” Jackson adds that he’s “stood alongside” Quinn and Preckwinkle his “entire career.”

Forget about the walk-back for a moment. Take notice, instead, that Jackson is once again using his federal government e-mail service to send out a campaign statement. You’d think he’d have learned a lesson by now, but nope.

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More on the Kirk-Obama kerfuffle

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Congressman Mark Kirk said far more at that event earlier this week than previously reported.

As we’ve already discussed, media coverage has mostly focused on Kirk’s referring to President Obama as “this guy” when talking about how Obama could be made a one-termer and then his health insurance reform bill could be repealed…

“This is a good example of why Washington is broken. You have Congressmen like Mark Kirk who are more interested in disrespectful name calling than in going to work in Washington and getting things done like passing financial reform and healthcare reform.”

But as I wrote yesterday, the substance of his remarks are probably more important. Kirk began his presentation thusly…

“I’m Mark Kirk and I can’t wait to vote against the health care bill next week.”

That got some loud applause.

And he summed up this way…

“As your senator, I would lead the effort to repeal this bill.”

In between came the rationale…

“I will just say, if it goes through, there is one thing about the bill not commonly known, all of the pain of the bill is upfront, and all of the gain is later. The bill includes ten new federal taxes, and dramatic cuts for senior healthcare under Medicare between 2010 and 2014. The actual benefit of the bill doesn’t start until 2014.

“In between this time and then, is a presidential election. If we can win in the White House, and we’re on the way to making this guy a one termer.

“If we move to repeal this bill in 2013, all you’re doing is removing the pain and not a single American would have benefited from it yet.”

You can listen to the full audio by clicking here.

David Axelrod responded…

“As for health insurance reform, people across Illinois and the country will have greater security this year, once the President signs this law.

“Small businesses will receive tax credits to help them afford health coverage for their workers.

“People with pre-existing conditions will finally have access to coverage they can afford.

“The lifetime caps on coverage that insurance companies impose today will be banned, and they will no longer be allowed to throw people off their coverage, just because they become seriously ill.

“The gaps in Medicare prescription coverage will be filled in, saving seniors across our state hundreds of dollars our of pocket.

“So if Congressman Kirk wants to travel our state and explain why he wants to take all that away and put insurance company bureaucrats back in the driver’s seat, he should.

“It may titilate a roomful of partisans, but I don’t think it’s going to impress the people of Illinois,” Axelrod said.

* Kirk also provided yet another explanation for why he flip-flopped on the cap and trade issue…

“I am against the cap and trade bill because I am for increased employment in the state of Illinois.”

In the past, Kirk used national security and cost as reasons for voting for the bill…

Kirk was the only member of the GOP’s Midwest delegation to vote for the bill. He told the Daily Herald he backed the plan because he wants the U.S. to end its reliance on foreign oil, especially the fuel produced in unfriendly nations such as Iran.

“They are arming against us with money we send them,” Kirk said. “We (must) defund the terrorists and the unstable regimes.”

Kirk also said he discussed the proposal with officials from Midwest Generation, which operates a coal-burning power plant in Waukegan. To his surprise, they supported the legislation.

The energy- and building-code regulations included in the bill actually are less stringent than those already in place in Illinois, Kirk said.

But when he decided to run for Senate, he got such an earful that he changed his mind and came up with this excuse…

“I voted for it because it was in the narrow interest of my Congressional district. But as your representative… representing the entire state of Illinois, I would vote no on that bill coming up.”

Kirk also addressed the “flip-flop” charge the other day…

“If you’re going to change your view on an issue, do it up-front, do it in public, do it on YouTube.”

The problem with Kirk’s “openness” comment is that Kirk rarely allows reporters to cover his events. The YouTube video of the first instance of Kirk’s flip-flop was taken by somebody who fed it to the national Democrats. Reporters weren’t invited to the event. Lynn Sweet…

Kirk’s staffers refuse to release Kirk’s campaign or governmental schedules in order to discourage routine press coverage, so remarks Kirk makes on the stump are rare. During the primary campaign Kirk’s political operation declined–even after the fact–to release any details of where he went to speak or raise money.

You can listen to the full cap and trade Kirk audio by clicking here.

* In reply to all of this, Kirk is trying to change the subject back to Alexi Giannoulias. From a press release…

Kirk Campaign Launches “Giannis Watch”

Online clock will track how long it takes Alexi Giannoulias to explain $1.2 million loan to Nick Giannis in 2002 despite criminal record;

Giannis arrested last week for bank fraud, contributed nearly $115,000 to Giannoulias campaigns, convicted on gun charge in 1996

* Related…

* Obama Skirts Illinois Visits So Far as Democrats Battle Scandal: “He is going to get tarred with the outcome in Illinois whether he comes here or not,” [David Yepsen] said. “It is going to be portrayed as a referendum on him.”

* Illinois Senate Candidate Mines Health Care Opposition

* Kirk takes shot at health care legislation

* A tough stretch for Giannoulias

* Running for Obama’s Old Seat, and Set on Derailing His Plans

* Illinois GOP borrows Brown’s strategy in bid to grab Obama seat

* Charged Chicago Donor Also Gave to Obama’s Campaigns

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*** UPDATED x5 *** Gitmo prisoners on the way soon

Tuesday, Dec 15, 2009 - Posted by Rich Miller

*** UPDATE 5 - 2:35 pm *** Fox Chicago is carrying a live presser by Quinn and Durbin. Click here to watch it live. UPDATE: End. Not much new info.

*** UPDATE 4 - 2:30 pm *** From AFSCME…

Following today’s developments regarding a possible sale of the Thomson Correctional Center to the federal government, AFSCME Council 31 executive director Henry Bayer issued the following statement:

“The governor’s rush to sell Thomson ignores serious questions about the dangerously overcrowded, understaffed Illinois prison system. How can state prisons function safely with more than 45,000 inmates jammed into facilities built for 32,000?

“Events of this week underscore these concerns. Just yesterday, an employee was held hostage for hours by an inmate at a Southern Illinois prison, a standoff that ended with the inmate shot to death. The day before, news reports revealed a secret program that let hundreds of inmates, including violent offenders, walk free after serving just days of their court-ordered sentences.

“Illinois has an oversight process to review the sale. That process should be followed, not short-circuited.”

*** UPDATE 3 - 2:16 pm *** From Dan Hynes…

“As I said at the outset, I have full faith that President Obama would weigh this decision carefully and would never endanger the safety of the people of Illinois, so I trust him to do the appropriate thing regarding Thomson Correctional Center. At this point, however, the process has been ill-served by Governor Quinn.

“At the same time the Governor is asking the people of Illinois to trust him on this difficult issue, which understandably causes some unease, it turns out his administration is secretly releasing criminals, some violent, from prison early, and worse, the Governor didn’t seem to know anything about it. Governor Quinn’s bungled handling of and obfuscation on this program does nothing to instill a climate of competence and confidence that the people of Illinois need at a time and situation like this.

“As the Thomson sale moves forward, we are still waiting for the Governor to give answers to the many questions raised by his secret early release program, and he ought to level with the people of Illinois immediately.”

*** UPDATE 2 - 1:03 pm *** One of the criticisms that Mark Kirk had about the proposed move of the Gitmo prisoners to Thomson was that their trials would be held in Rockford or Chicago, which would “endanger” citizens there. But, like so much else with this hype, it’s not to be…

The Obama administration is planning to hold military commission trials at the Thomson Correctional Center, in addition to housing former Guantanamo detainees there.

Also, don’t expect “hundreds” of prisoners…

Under a plan officials will unveil in the coming days, the administration plans to send some of the detainees to their home countries and others to third countries, some of which operate rehabilitation programs for suspected terrorists.

The Thomson prison could house between 35 and 90 of the Guantanamo detainees, said one source familiar with the discussions.

And Jim Ryan responds…

“Slow down, Governor Quinn. Moving al-Qaeda terrorists into Illinois should not be done after only a single public hearing three days before Christmas.

Governor Quinn, be true to your word and let the people speak. If citizens are really in charge in Illinois, then give them an opportunity to speak their mind on this important issue. Schedule a series of real public hearings after the ﬁrst of the year to allow us to have our say…”

*** UPDATE 1 - 11:53 am *** Gov. Quinn and Sen. Durbin have released a statement…

Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn today praised the decision by the Obama Administration to proceed with the acquisition of a state of the art correctional facility in Thomson, Illinois. Senator Durbin and Governor Quinn issued the following statement:

“Thomson Correctional Center – a high security prison – has been sitting empty for eight years. The Obama Administration has put forward a plan to make it the safest prison in America and we are pleased that they have made this decision. This move will have a tremendously positive impact on the local economy — creating more than 3,000 jobs and injecting more than $1 billion into the local economy. This is an opportunity to dramatically reduce unemployment, create thousands of good-paying jobs and breathe new economic life into this part of downstate Illinois.”

In a letter to Governor Quinn, sent by the U.S. Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretaries of State, Defense and Homeland Security, the federal government has signaled its intention to purchase and operate the prison.

They write: “We write to inform you that the President has directed, with our unanimous support, that the Federal Government proceed with the acquisition of the facility in Thomson. Not only will this help address the urgent overcrowding problem at our nation’s Federal prisons, but it will also help achieve our goal of closing the detention center at Guantanamo in a timely, secure, and lawful manner.”

The letter also addresses security concerns that have been raised about transferring Guantanamo detainees to the Thomson facility: “The security of the facility and the surrounding region is our paramount concern. The facility was built in 2001 to maximum security specifications, and after acquisition it will be enhanced to exceed perimeter security standards at the nation’s only “supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado, where there has never been an escape or external attack . . . The President has no intention of releasing any detainees in the United States. Current law effectively bars the release of the Guantanamo detainees on U.S. soil, and the Federal Government has broad authority under current law to detain individuals during removal proceedings and pending the execution of final removal orders.”

[ *** End of Updates *** ]

* Gov. Quinn is in DC today for a White House meeting on transferring Guantanamo Bay prisoners and other hardcore cons to the state’s empty Thomson facility. The decision apparently came late yesterday…

Quinn’s office had released his schedule for today shortly before 8 p.m. Monday, saying he would be in Chicago for the day. A revised version was released 2 1/2 hours later, saying he would be in Washington “to be briefed on the acquisition of Thomson Correctional Center.”

Not all elected officials were notified as quickly. A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, the Republican who represents the Thomson area, said Monday night the congressman had not received any official confirmation from the White House regarding an announcement.

* After backing away a bit from his over the top rhetoric against the prisoner transfer, US Senate candidate Mark Kirk is once again in “in full throated opposition,” a Politico writer opines. Check out Kirk’s campaign website and you’ll see this on the front page…

Clicking the “Join us” link leads you to an online petition addressed to President Obama…

As citizens of the State of Illinois, we urge you to put the safety and security of Illinois families first and stop any plan to transfer Al Qaeda terrorists to our state.

* Almost all of the Republican candidates for governor again voiced strong opposition last night during a candidates’ debate. Jim Ryan…

“I think it’s a very bad idea to bring the mastermind of 9-11 to Thomson,” said Ryan. “I have no doubt we can keep him there and he’ll never get out. But no one can tell me there’s no risk.”

Bill Brady…

“I think that we’ve got an investment in Guantanamo Bay, and that’s where international terrorists ought to be held, tried and kept,” said state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington. “Thomson (Correctional Center) is a facility we cannot give up right now, particularly in light of the fact the governor is releasing violent inmates.”

Kirk Dillard…

“I think al-Qaida terrorists ought to stay in Cuba,” said state Sen. Kirk Dillard of Hinsdale during a debate among GOP hopefuls Monday night. He called the potential move a “pathetic” example of how desperate the Democrat-run state is for money.

Bob Schillerstrom said he’d consider talking to the feds about it, but he was very critical of the administration…

Still, he criticized the state management that has allowed a state-of-the-art prison to sit unused because Illinois lacks the money to open it.

“It’s just amazing, the level of incompetence,” Schillerstrom said.

* The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability will hold a hearing next week in Sterling to discuss the proposed closure. Illinois Review reports that a protest is planned…

Opponents to the prison sale, including Tea Party supporters and a group called “Moms of Soldiers,” are planning a protest outside Madigan’s hearing.

* I wonder if it has occurred to the Quinn administration that this is probably not the best time for a controversy over a “secret” early prisoner release program…

“That is crazy,” said state Rep. Mike Boland of East Moline.

Quinn has shutdown the early release program in question after revelations in the media that prisoners were being cut loose after serving just few days of sentences for crimes like repeat drunken driving, drug possession and weapons violations.

Quinn says the program is now under review. […]

Other lieutenant governor candidates to criticize the early releases exposed by the Associated Press Monday were state Sen. Terry Link of Waukegan, Chicago businessman Scott Cohen and Elmhurst electrician Thomas Castillo.

And Gov. Quinn tried to fend off an attack by Dan Hynes over the program…

“When Dan Hynes slings mud he loses ground,” said Quinn.

The governor brushed aside Hynes’ attack. The Quinn campaign was buoyed by the latest Chicago Tribune survey showing the incumbent leading the challenger by a wide margin.

“The voters have made it pretty clear they like my approach to government. I don’t think they like the comptroller’s negative approach to government,” said Quinn.

“Is there something positive about this story? I’m missing that. People are pretty concerned. Eight hundred and fifty people released including some violent criminals. I’m like every other citizen in the state who wants some answers,” said Hynes.

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