« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

FRONT PAGE CONTRIBUTOR

Burris promised a campaign contribution to Blagojevich.

By: Moe Lane (Diary)  |  May 26th, 2009 at 06:02 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Ace of Spades (H/T, by the way) has kindly given me permission to use the Flaming Blagojevich Skull for this, so I shall:

Sun-Times exclusive: Burris promised Blago campaign a check by mid-December

In a November conversation caught on an FBI wiretap, Roland Burris promised Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother that he’d write the governor a campaign check by mid-December, Burris’ lawyer said today.

That was about a month before Rod Blagojevich appointed Burris to the U.S. Senate.

But lawyer Timothy Wright told the Chicago Sun-Times today that his client never sent the check because he believed it wasn’t a good idea given Burris’ interest in the U.S. Senate seat appointment. Wright said Burris’ decision not to send the check had nothing to do with Blagojevich’s Dec. 9 arrest.


Why, no, this planned contribution was not mentioned in any previous narrative about what was going on about Burris’ Senate appointment. It got completely overlooked, in fact. But that’s actually a distraction from the real question, here, which is: what in God’s name was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid thinking when he seated this guy?

Heck, does Senator Reid think?

OK, that’s two questions. Sue me.

Moe Lane

PS: If you’re wondering why Illinois Democrats haven’t picked a successor for Burris yet, it’s almost certainly because they have to wait to see who’s getting indicted in the next six months.

Crossposted to Moe Lane.

Tags: , , ,

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • farstar99

    That’s the Democrat pronunciation for LIAR.

    Remember that, people, when he claims the check was going to be for a said amount, or when he attributes motives to actions months after the fact.

    Bottom Line:
    The truth was not disclosed under oath.
    Burris lied.
    Wright is lying.
    We don’t know what the amount was going to be, only what Wright is saying the amount was going to be.

    Don’t be fooled or misdirected.

  • jeffreywturner

    We should wait until the day after the Democratic primary for this seat next year.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    They’ll get rid of this guy somehow.

  • http://www.fredsnews.com Fred Maidment

    …as Blago had yet to be impeached when he made the appointment. As such, Blago had every right to make the appointment and Reid had a responsibility to seat Burris.

    Now, if the GOP would just put up a reasonable, capable candidate, they could really attack the Democratic majority in Illinois.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    …telling Blago that none of his choices were going to be acceptable to the Senate. The one that Blago more or less shoved down Reid’s throat in response.

    I repeat: *does* Harry Reid think?

  • http://www.fredsnews.com Fred Maidment

    Harry Reid has proved on multiple occasions that the Rule of Law means little to him. Seems to prefer Mob Rule: Whatever is popular, that is where we stand.

    He is a caricature of a politician. Everything a pol is but exaggerated in all its features…

  • smitty

    They said they were concerned Blago was about to sell the seat but then he eventually gave the seat to the guy who was going to buy it anyway. I don’t get it. At least there is something entertaining to watch now that shows are in re-runs

  • dsfiscool

    “Now, if the GOP would just put up a reasonable, capable candidate, they could really attack the Democratic majority in Illinois.”

    If a Republican won in Illinois, ie. Chicago, the next morning’s headlines would read: “Dead Voters Decided To Stay Home.”

  • molybdanthan

    That this mess goes all through the IL Dem ranks. Not nearly enough heads have rolled thus far.

  • smitch61

    does this in anyway affect the makeup of the senate should he have to step down?

  • naraht

    If the Senate doesn’t manage to throw him out in the next year, the Democrats have a couple of options to make sure he doesn’t end up as the Democratic Nominee for Senator. The *only* way that Burris becomes the nominee is if a) he can play the race card (thus getting the *entire* black community behind him) *and* b) if there are at *least* 4 other serious candidates who have been in congress or who have held statewide office.

    To stop a) from happening, Jesse Jackson III* will get a great deal of pressure to support one of the other candidates. To stop b), either President Obama will pressure enough to get out to get it down to 3 or 4 candidates or the State Legislatures will allow for Primary Run-offs.

    *Assuming JJIII doesn’t get dragged into the court case…

  • naraht

    The new Governor of Illinois, who was Blago’s Lt. Governor isn’t touched by the scandal at all (Illinois has separate primaries for Gov & Lt. Gov who *then* run as a ticket) and they just flat didn’t like each other.

    If Burris were to step down tomorrow, the Dem Governor would appoint a replacement, probably within the week and he’d be sworn in by the middle of June. Harry Reid would love that, because it would make the headache go away…

  • naraht

    The Illinois Democratic party has some significant factions. A good number of them were quite happy to see him impeached on general principles including his former Lt. Gov. (They just flat didn’t like each other, according to one source they had gone more than a year without exchanging more than a few pleasantries).

    As long as this scandal remains in Blago’s extended political family and Burris’s extended political family, both the new Governor and DailyKos will be happy to compare popcorn brands with Redstate. OTOH, if Jesse Jackson III or Rahm Emanuel are pulled in, things change significantly.

  • naraht

    I think even if Blago had waited until after his impeachment, he still doesn’t lose that right until he’s convicted…

    My guess is that Rep Kirk will try for Statewide office soon, the question is Senate or Governor.

    I think that Burris (presuming he makes it to the General) would want to face Jim Oberweis…

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    Even if both are, there’s some hope for a nice cascade of indictments anyway.

    Moe Lane

    PS: As to popcorn brands, I can live with dKos enjoying watching corrupt Dems go to jail. But they had better circle the wagons around Quigley; that guy’s going to get hammered by the Illinois Combine next year.

  • Justin_Case

    Didn’t he just get beat again? I’m pretty sure he lost Hastert’s district.

    Burress versus Oberweis: Clash of the titans.

  • 6eorge Jetson

    DY-NO-MITE!!!

  • 6eorge Jetson
  • naraht

    Which took work. And you figure the Illinois Republican Party decided that they were better off with importing Keyes from Maryland than letting Oberweis take on Obama back in 2004 after the Republican Nominee dropped out.

  • naraht

    But it was a few days between the Decision in the House and coming up in the Senate. The bizarre thing is that the Illinois Constitution doesn’t put any limitations on what he could be impeached on. They could have impeached and convicted him for a hideous toupee.

  • naraht

    But I think that Quinn and Madigan disliked him enough that they wouldn’t have gone in on a lot of underhanded stuff with Blago for personal reasons. While there may have been things, its less likely they were connected.

    I agree that there is a better than even chance that Quigley will get primaried in IL-5 next year, but Quigley’s no shrinking violet.

    And of course by 2011, you’ve got redistricting as well. Unless the Republicans can take the Governor’s chair, its not going to be pretty.

  • http://moelane.com/ Moe Lane

    …is not the connections between Quinn, Madigan, and Blagojevich: it’s the connections between their people and everybody else’s people. If it’s as bad as it looks from outside the state, at some point the magic word “RICO” gets intoned and everybody goes to jail.

    Bear in mind that I expect it to happen to both parties. Illinois politics seem… cozy.

  • http://www.ssce.net/Web-Articles/Web-articles-indexed-authors.html#authors-l JLenardDetroit

    or the other Chicago way…. send them to prison for Tax evasion….. oh wait… with the Obama “Tax evasion exemptions” for everyone in the cabinet, it would be hard to do that….

    Sorry, couldn’t resist. ;-) lol Thing is that it might be funny if not so true.

  • molybdanthan

    Anyone who falls on their sword will have that to look forward to.

    Clinton pardoned Susan McDougal, and her silence helped Hillery become Senator and Secretary of State. Maybe kept Bill in office during the impeachment. She accomplished this prossibly because they couldn’t water board her. Think of the ‘dirty bombs’ she knows about.

    Some brave President of the future should do away with the pardon system, or at least prevent them from invoking executive privilege in conjunction.

    Investigators are using shovels to sift through this Illinois sludge. It goes deep. They need heavy equipment.