Blagojevich, a Democrat, called his sole authority to name Obama’s successor “golden,” and he sought to parlay it into a job as an ambassador or secretary of Health and Human Services, or a high-paying position at a nonprofit or an organization connected to labor unions, prosecutors said.
He also suggested, they said, that in exchange for the Senate appointment, his wife could be placed on corporate boards where she might earn as much as $150,000 a year, and he tried to gain promises of money for his campaign fund.
If Mr. Blagojevich could not secure a deal to his liking, prosecutors said, he was willing to appoint himself.
“If I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself,” the governor said in recorded conversation, prosecutors said.
Beyond reprehensible. But guess what? He can still fill the slot from his jail cell.
Several Democratic operatives from Illinois say the state legislature will likely move as quickly as possible to hold impeachment proceedings against Gov. Blagojevich, in attempts to prevent the jailed governor from appointing President-elect Barack Obama’s successor in the Senate.
The Illinois General Assembly would be tasked with holding impeachment hearings, and the state Senate would vote on a conviction.
Illinois law allows Blagojevich to make an appointment while in jail. While the decision would be a disaster for Democrats politically, no one is ruling out that prospect. Any candidate appointed by the jailed governor would be immediately tainted, and would face immense hurdles winning on their own in 2010.
This kind of corruption -- in fact the sheer venality of it -- needs to be dealt with swiftly and harshly. This guy needs to be stopped from any further influence of any kind.
You felt "stuck as governor", pal? Well, you're unstuck now.
