Even as Team Obama has remained silent during the ongoing Rod Blagojevich trial, questions remain about its connection to insider deal-making as the former Illinois governor’s corruption trial drones on into a hotly watched second month.
Critics have decried the lack of transparency in the matter despite the administration’s stated goal of making itself more open and accountable. But as the circus-like criminal proceedings continue—a kookily confident Blagojevich entered the courthouse this week blithely asking a TV reporter ‘How’s the suit?’—one question remains: What role did the President have in what has been described as an illegal trade-off between Blagojevich and filling Obama’s empty Senate seat?
The President has said that he knew nothing of a deal, but trial testimony has shown that there were discussions via surrogates, including a powerful union leader friend, Tom Balanoff of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), about appointing White House adviser Valerie Jarrett to the Senate post, which eventually went to Roland Burris.
A judge in the Blago trial halted questioning about the Obama relationship and ruled that a 2008 interview on the matter that Obama, as President-elect, gave to the FBI, would not be turned over as evidence as the defense requested.
Just as the White House distances itself from the legal hoopla in Ilinois, the British paper, the Telegraph, described Obama as Blagojevich’s “reluctant co-star” in the corruption trial, which could send the former governor away for decades if convicted on charges of racketeering and bribery. He has staunchly proclaimed his innocence.
Rahm Emanuel, the President’s chief of staff as well as Jarrett have been subpoenaed in the case. Blagojevich’s attorneys sought to question Obama himself, but the judge has not allowed it.
Obama and Blagojevich’s political relationship goes back to the President’s time in Illinois before his trajectory to the state Senate and later Congress propelled him to the White House. Blagojevich took the helm as governor in 2002 before being ousted in January 2009 as Obama took presidential office amid much hype. With his Senate seat open, Mr. Blagojevich sought to curry favor for himself by holding it out in a backdoor quid pro quo, trial testimony suggests.
FBI tapes played in the trial show Blago as a scheming and jealous dealmaker, intent on taking care of his own interests at all costs. But evidence thus far seems to also double-back to the White House and what role insiders there had in influencing Blago to make a Senate pick that would benefit the Democratic administration.
Obama’s then White House Counsel Greg Craig reviewed the matter and issued a statement in December 2008 that exonerated the incoming President. “The President-elect had no contact or communication with Gov. Blagojevich or member of his staff about the Senate seat,” Mr. Craig said. He has since left the administration.
But Michelle Malkin, the author and columnist, noted in a recent TV interview with Sean Hannity that trial testimony now has contradicted Craig’s statement.
“When Greg Craig issued this self-exonerating review of Team Obama’s dealings with Blagojevich, they were not forthcoming,” Malkin said. “They were not forthcoming in December 2008 and they are not forthcoming now about how closely they forged relationships with all the cast of characters in this long, hot summer of corruption in the Blagojevich trial."
