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* A not-so-friendly note to the national media: When interviewing Rod Blagojevich, instead of asking him about his hair, or his feelings or even the US Senate seat, ask him about how he held up state funds for children’s hospitals so that he could shake down one hospital exec for a gigantic campaign contribution.
And, for crying out loud, this is just nuts…
Blagojevich said that after he is vindicated he is “not ruling myself out or writing myself off as getting back in the business of serving the public.”
Because he was removed from office by the Senate, Blagojevich is now prohibited from running for any state office in Illinois forever. Sure, he could run for a federal office, but nobody here would vote for him. At least, not as long as blood flows through these veins of mine. He’d have to move to another state. Or another country. Maybe Serbia. Yeah. That’s it.
I love the New Yorker, mainly for high falutin’ passages like these…
And yet no sun can melt Blago’s coif, which, despite his many troubles, descends like a silken espresso curtain and then swerves suddenly to the side, revealing a gaze most innocent.
But that sentence is as hollow as Blagojevich’s personality. It means absolutely nothing. Window dressing.
Get a clue, people.
* This conversations now seems like eons ago. But it was just two years ago that Blagojevich and I had this talk. From my syndicated newspaper column…
A couple of years ago, Rod Blagojevich told me during a private conversation that all the talk about how close he supposedly was to indicted fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko was just that. Talk.
Ah, but Christopher Kelly, Blagojevich said, now that’s a real friend, a close friend, a confidante. Blagojevich said he genuinely admired Kelly on multiple levels - his success in business, his family, his abilities to judge people and his uncanny knowledge of all things sports. The two men talked almost every day, Blagojevich said, sometimes several times a day. He said it seemed like he was as close to Kelly as he’d once been to his own brother.
Blagojevich said at the time that he was certain Kelly never would be indicted.
But what if Kelly was popped, I asked, pointing out that the governor’s buddy had been mentioned several times in Rezko’s indictment. If Kelly is so close to you, wouldn’t his indictment mean the U.S. attorney was working his way up the ladder to get the guy at the top? After all, I pointed out, the old saying, “If the feds want you, they’ll get you,” isn’t too far from the truth.
I’ve rarely seen such a dark cloud move so quickly over someone’s demeanor. Blagojevich’s smile suddenly vanished from his face, replaced with what looked almost like a haunted expression.
He had been sitting straight upright, but then Blagojevich’s shoulders hunched forward, his head dropped, and he looked downward and to the right, rested his forearm on his leg, took a few deep breaths and finally said, “If it happens, I’ll have to deal with it then.”
It seemed to me at the time that Blagojevich never had really talked about this subject with anyone. He may have given it some thought, but he didn’t appear to have yet fully intellectualized the dire situation he was in. That Kelly question led to several others, of both him and his wife, about what they had managed to do to themselves. More on that another time. Suffice it to say that it was an all-around emotionally draining day.
Kelly was indicted on tax fraud charges just a few months after my uncomfortable conversation with Blagojevich. So much for Blagojevich’s certainty.
Kelly apparently had used his computer-like brain to make millions of dollars in sports bets and then hid the profits from the Internal Revenue Service, as well as the money-moving to cover his debts. Several months later, with the feds in full pursuit of Kelly, Blagojevich replaced his old friend at the campaign with his biological brother Rob, who was brought in to handle the finances.
One brother out, another brother in. This time, though, Blagojevich chose “real” blood. The kind of blood that one can be sure doesn’t talk to government investigators. Turns out, he didn’t need to worry.
Kelly pleaded guilty to the IRS charges in January, then was indicted a month later on an O’Hare International Airport bid-rigging scheme. Two months after that, he was indicted as part of the charges brought against Rod Blagojevich and Blagojevich’s brother. According to that indictment, Kelly, Blagojevich and others had schemed since the first 2002 campaign to use the governor’s office to pad their pockets.
It was clear as day that the feds were squeezing Kelly for all he was worth to get him to talk about how he ran Blagojevich’s inner circle and how he and his co-defendants had used the governor’s office to enrich themselves, Blagojevich’s campaign fund and Blagojevich’s family.
The federal case against Blagojevich would receive a gigantic boost if Kelly cooperated. Kelly talked to them about it a for a while in May, then stopped. He was sentenced for the IRS plea in June, then pleaded out of the O’Hare contracting charge two weeks ago. He was scheduled to report to prison Friday, but died early the previous Saturday of a reported drug overdose.
“This is tragic,” a distraught Kelly family friend told me shortly after the news broke that Kelly apparently had committed suicide. “Rod does not deserve this kind of loyalty.”
He most certainly doesn’t.
* Related…
* Does government have Kelly’s blood on its hands?: “The pressure comes not from the U.S. attorney. The pressure comes from Kelly having committed the crimes and there being a way to reduce his sentence by cooperating,” Safer said. “Patrick Fitzgerald doesn’t create that pressure. Chris Kelly creates that pressure. Fitzgerald gives him an opportunity that he can exercise or not.”
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 8:59 am
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[Bleeping] golden.
Comment by perplexed & perturbed Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 9:11 am
The time to hold Blago to standards was when he was an elected official, not after he is out of office.
If Illinois / Chicago wouldn’t hold Blago to any standards, why should anyone nationally?
Comment by Fingers in the Till Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 9:33 am
===If Illinois / Chicago wouldn’t hold Blago to any standards===
You must’ve missed the impeachment and removal.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 9:35 am
Cross-eyed take by N Korecki. If blame is to be spread around outside of Mr. Kelly himself, then our deposed Governor should be standing at the head of the line.
After all it was Governor Rod who concocted schemes along with Mr. Kelly to extract money from contractors and constituents to fill the campaign coffers along with a whole spectrum of unusual activities.
Perhaps its me, but I felt that it was in questionable taste for Gov. Rod to attend the funeral.
Comment by Plutocrat03 Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 9:38 am
So, OK journalists out there - why aren’t journalists shoving Rod Blagojevich’s lies into this face to get responses and to expose him?
What is the protocol here? Are journalists just folks who date politicians and try to get them to talk, hoping they may say something newsworthy? Is there some kind of Emily Post of journalism out there that tells you people that it is rude to challenge a dirty politician and call them out? Why do we have to depend on comedy talk show hosts for the boldness needed to demonstrate the lies these people like Blagojevich tell?
Just how long are we willing to have these bland duds play footsie instead of getting the answers people want?
If you are tired of being showed up by the opinionated news programs of the world, then perhaps some non-biased professional journalism could help restore some of the balance we want. I believe folks will eat up real journalism and prefer it to the Becks, Olbermanns, Maddows, and Limbaughs of the world.
But few are serving real meat anymore! Why?
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 9:39 am
Blago’s reference to “the business of public service” is telling, or, perhaps, *bleeping* “golden”…..
Comment by Conservative Republican Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 9:43 am
I just finished the Governor. In one interview, Rod was asked for his opinion of those who he wrote about in the book. His response was “nobody is denying it.”
So my question is have any of those referred to in this book denied the governor’s claims? Some of the things the governor said demonstrate some questionable ethical behavior by a number of people. Lets ignore, for a moment, that it was blago saying this. Shouldnt these accusations be investigated?
I’m not a lawyer, but when blago claims to have talked to all these people about the senate seat, isnt it possiblet that they could all be pulled into this trial as witnesses? The thought of who could be on the stand elevates this to a whole new level of circus.
Comment by Anon Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:06 am
Van asks, “Just how long are we willing to have these bland duds play footsie instead of getting the answers people want?”
This from someone who posted what he did about ACORN last week?
Priceless.
Comment by Rob_N Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:07 am
A noble goal falls short:
If you hear your phone ringing today Professor Levenson it may be Hallmark calling about that job opening.
Comment by Scooby Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:19 am
Good one, Scooby.
Comment by Anon Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:32 am
VM I have been wondering that myself.
While a bit of a generalization, I think it is pure laziness. Gone are the days of the hardworking investigative jounralist. The modern journalist develops contacts and waits for somone to hand them a scoop or unknown piece of information, but few journalists are out there digging
Comment by Ghost Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:39 am
They’re just filling time with the Blago freak show. There’s really no interest if he’s guilty or not. There’s no national interest in his story. They’re just hoping he says something about Obama or Emanuel.
Comment by wordslinger Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:45 am
I also think it took an incredible amount of gall for Blago and his wife to attend the funeral mass…and why in the name of God did he bring his daughters? Haven’t they endured enough trauma?
It was a school day, and that’s where they should have been…I call this parenting at it’s worst and/or using the children for protection from the media…
Comment by Anonymous45 Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:51 am
One thing that stands out in the Kelly situation is that; based on the first two indictments and pleadings, neither has a direct relationship to the State of Illinois; its government, or government operations.
Given that he had plead guilty to both of those indictement’s charges, his pending time in prison was for his own criminal actions which occurred seprately from his alleged involvement in the Blagojevich Enterprise Racketeering Conspiracy, and were not attributable to anything related to Illinois government. As a consequence, I would tend to disagree that Rod, has blood on his hands; to the extent that others might suggest.
I also don’t think Fitzgerald has blood on his hands; in that, any pressure applied by the USAO also came with directions on how to locate the relief valve, and how to operate it once located, in order to relieve any pressure that might be perceived to have built up in the process. Applying pressure is one thing; but doing so without allowing an opportunity for relief is another. In this case I am confident that the opportunity for relief; at least initially and early on was present and available.
The other thing that Rod; and everyone else needs to remember is that a guilty plea; which includes the defendants willingness and ability to cooperate and testify against co-conspirators or others, requires the defendant to tell the truth, which must be in some measure supportable not only by their own testimony, but other corroborating evidence as well.
As a consequence; Kelly could not have plead guilty to the Blagojevich Enterprise Racketeering Conspiracy charges; and cooperated in proving the governments charges against the others, unless they were supportable by other forms of evidence. As a result; he could not just make things up to save his own skin in this situation.
The Blagojevich Enterprise Racketeering Conspiracy Indictment alleged that the individual and collective actions of the co-cospirators were taken in exchange for “financial benefits for themselves and others”; and specifically it indicates that these actions were taken with the knowledge that KELLY and Rezko would use their influence to enrich themselves and their associates. The indictment alleged that in return, KELLY and Rezko provided benefits to ROD BLAGOJEVICH by (a) generating millions of dollars in contributions to Friends of Blagojevich, and
(b) providing financial benefits directly to ROD BLAGOJEVICH and his family members.
It looks on the surface that with respect to the financial benefits to Friends of Blagojevich there was supportable evidence that this occurred. The financial benefits received by the Blagojevich family (other than the real estate commissions; which did not appear to involve Kelly) seems much less clear.
The indictment however does not appear to provide any support for the allegation that Kelly enriched himself. Without the tetimony of at least one other defendant in this case; (CELLINI or Rezko in particular) or perhaps one of the un-named lobbyists (A; or perhpas K) it may have been difficult to convict Kelly on the basis of having enriched himself; even on the basis of testimony from Levine alone, since there was no mention of Kelly in the HFPB activities.
The Blago enterpise seems to have limited Kelly’s role to the TRS situation, and perhaps possibly with the Pesnion Obligation Bond deal, but either one would likely require the testimony of other co-defendants in order to secure a conviction against Kelly.
As a consequence; the question with the last indictment remains; what was in it for Kelly, and I have found very little in the way of answers to that question to date.
I do wonder however if the pressure to which Kelly eventually succumbed, was not attributable to anything applied directly by the USAO per se, but rather based on knowledge of the plea dealings of others (Rezko, Monk, Harris; & perhaps Cellini himself) that lead him to believe that he could no longer avoid conviction himself in this final indictment, even if there was no supportable evidence that he benefitted himself.
At the end of the day; the pressure applied to Kelly, was principally applied by Kelly himself; and not others. He knew where the relief valve was, and had instructions on how to use it, and he chose not to take advantage of that knowledge for his own benefit in the same way others may have chosen to do so, until it was simply too late to help himself.
The extortion allegations also seem to bypass Kelly directly, and would have required cooperation and testimony from others to support these allegations pertaining to Kelly.
Comment by Quinn T. Sential Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:54 am
“They’re just hoping he says something about Obama or Emanuel.” Which explains the interest of ostensibly conservative outlets like Fox News, WLS, etc.
I was never a big fan of the national media to begin with (even though I myself was a journalist by profession for 20 years) but the way they have handled the Blago story has just about destroyed what little respect I had left for them.
Comment by Secret Square Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:57 am
“Because he was removed from office by the Senate, Blagojevich is now prohibited from running for any state office in Illinois forever.”
Does that mean all government authorities which derive power from the state? e.g., could he run for Cook County Commissioner?
Comment by lake county democrat Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 10:58 am
In Illinois, Blagojevich remains relevant because it’s a local story that effects local people and some names may still be pulled in. Nationally, Blagojevich is old news that ranks up there with ‘oh yeah, I remember that’. His story is as old as politics. Money/power corruption, a fall, and possible prison? Sounds like Louisiana. How many example do you need? Without a sex angle he does not hit the soap opera levels of New York or South Carolina, senators with wide stances, or what is coming for Edwards that grabs attention.
As for the interviews, the guy is hawking a political book. The Larry Kings are not going to chew him up because they need future guests from the same publishers and it’s 20 minutes until the segment change and the next topic.
Comment by zatoichi Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 11:03 am
Illinois Constitution is easy to find online…
===Judgment shall not extend beyond removal from office and disqualification to hold any public office of this State.===
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 11:06 am
Rich,
Some fine writing. The comments, in general, add to the depth of a very nice presentation for your readers.
Lou
Comment by Lou Grant Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 11:42 am
There are no public offices for clowns, therefore the public office issue is moot. Blago can’t get elected for anything else, and even clown is not a shoo-in.
Comment by perplexed & perturbed Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 11:44 am
Anonymous45, I see your point; but if Blago and Kelly were as close as Blago claimed, their wives and children almost certainly knew one another and maybe their kids (all girls) played together, slept over at one another’s houses, etc.
When I was 12 or 13 I went to a funeral for the older sister of a classmate of mine (the sister had died in a car wreck). In fact the entire class went — this was a small, rural, public grade school — to show support for the bereaved classmate. Perhaps the older of the Blago girls, and maybe both, WANTED to be there for their friends’ sake. It’s no one’s business but theirs anyway.
Comment by Secret Square Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 11:57 am
Point well taken Secret Square, but given Blago’s past penchant for using children as human shields from the press, the thought did cross my mind that this was just more of the same from a couple that has no shame…(Rhyme unintentional)
Comment by Anonymous45 Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:09 pm
Do the Feds have “blood on their hands” for Chris Kelly?
IMO, some.
Obviously, Kelly put his head out there on the chopping block through his own actions. But the Feds wanted him BAD! I mean, like owned. And I have seen how they get (the AUSA’s and the FBI) when they get totally single minded about pursuing somebody who in their minds would allow them to ‘finish’ the cases.
People may not make the connection, but there’s still memories of what happened when Eddie V. got off with probation. The feds wanted to squeeze him bad, but he was able to tough it out, and there’s a feeling out there (don’t know how widespread, but it exists) that if the Feds had more GJ counts against Eddie V., that when he plead guilty, he would have had to serve some prison time. My guess is that they just figured they weren’t going to make that same “mistake” again.
It’s hard to explain, but until you’ve seen the faces of people who have been put into a box by the Feds and all the sudden they come to the realization that their lives, and probably the lives of their immediate family members, are literally, totally at the tender mercies of the federal prosecutors - well, I’m surprised we don’t have many, many more Chris Kelly’s happening.
Comment by Judgment Day Is On The Way Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:32 pm
Van asks, “Just how long are we willing to have these bland duds play footsie instead of getting the answers people want?”
This from someone who posted what he did about ACORN last week?
Priceless.
Your politics seems to be characatures of real life, so when real life interfers, you consider it hypocritcal since it doesn’t seem to conform to your stereotypes. You are allowing your political ideology to override any common sense or ability to listen to diverse opinions here.
I don’t fit your little stereotypes, and neither does anyone else.
Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 12:52 pm
==I don’t fit your little stereotypes==
Yes, you do.
Comment by Bill Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 1:11 pm
Totally agree with how the national media patty-cakes the scoundrel…if they had to live under his yoke, they might not play to cutesy. “Morning Joe’s Mika Bryzenski is an exception…she clearly dispises the guy and it shows. Its good to hear her say what we feel.
Comment by You Go Boy Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 1:13 pm
I think it is irresponsible to say that the government has blood on its hands in this situation. Chris Kelly did this to himself. If he felt pressure from the feds to rat on his friend and he decided he’d rather leave his kids orphans, that just shows that he was not mentally together at a critical time. I don’t think Rod has blood on his hands either (as Roe Conn has basically said on his radio show), because nobody can truly be responsible for the impetuous and unstable acts of another.
As for Cook County hospital, that’s another kettle of fish entirely. Just how does somebody die of aspirin overdose six hours after being admitted to a hospital. Just two ways, by my count, either incredibly bad luck or malpractice.
Comment by chiatty Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 2:24 pm
=== The pressure comes not from the U.S. attorney. The pressure comes from Kelly having committed the crimes ====
That is eirily similiar to what I posted on the blog.
Comment by Ghost Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 3:29 pm
Blago making Kelly his go to guy on gambling issues tells you everything you need to know about their intentions and how they conducted business in the executive branch. It was not for the common good.
What did you expected the federal prosecutor to do? Kelly had opportunity and choices. He just made bad ones.
Comment by Leave a Light on George Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 6:29 pm
I’ve been meaning to ask for a while now…who is this “Fabio” guy traipsing around with Blago? I’m watching the video of Blago “singing” “Treat Me Right” oh jeez is this bad.
Comment by perplexed & perturbed Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 8:19 pm
Didn’t somebody say last week that “Fabio” is a hired security person/bodyguard… I presume he was not hired at public expense since Blago is no longer a public official.
Comment by Bookworm Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 8:25 pm
Which version of “Treat Me Right” is it, perplexed? Do you have a link?
Thnx.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Sep 21, 09 @ 9:25 pm
Here’s the Treat Me Right Grand Avenue video, in all its gory. http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/2009/09/21/blagojevich/index.html Viewer discretion is advised - persons with low gag reflex threshhold may want to stay away.
Leave it to hambone Blago to have a security guy that looks like Fabio. Fabio was at the Kelly funeral with the Blago family; I saw him in the video going in with them. [self-censored snark was here]
Comment by perplexed & perturbed Tuesday, Sep 22, 09 @ 9:30 am
You didn’t quote the best part of the article, which comes from the mouth of the great one himself. “Just the other day in the airport, Friday night, some woman walks by and says ‘rotten politician,’ ” he said, scanning the bar for gawkers. “Then she comes over and takes my picture. I walked up and I said, ‘Feel free to steal my image without permission, go ahead, but I want you to know that I didn’t do anything wrong.’ And she said, ‘Oh yeah, and I believe in leprechauns.’ ”
Comment by Ann Thursday, Sep 24, 09 @ 7:57 am