BY TAYLOR MARSH
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“This is a sad day for government. It’s a very sad day for Illinois government. Gov. Blagojevich has taken us to a truly new low. Gov. Blagojevich has been arrested in the middle of what we can only describe is a political corruption crime spree. We acted to stop that crime spree. … he attempted to sell the Senate seat.” – Patrick Fitzgerald
Early this morning all hell broke loose in Illinois. Not exactly the early birthday present you’d want. Here’s a timeline:
Blagojevich is accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy, including alleged attempts by the governor to try to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. Blagojevich also is accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions. [...]“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said in a statement.
“They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism.”
There’s lots more on this, including an outline of the indictment, and the full indictment, which is stunning.
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