Is Obama hiding something?

Image stolen [from here]


Image stolen [from here]

Is the way the Rod Blagojevich is being handled a giveaway that Obama might have something to hide? Blagojevich is still walking around and is going to appear on a television show with Donald Trump. That is in your face.

From Wikipedia:

Rod Blagojevich corruption charges

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Not to be confused with Rod Blagojevich controversies.

Rod Blagojevich, former Governor of Illinois, has been under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation since 2005 for corruption. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris were charged with corruption by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. As a result of the scandal, Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois General Assembly and removed from office by the Illinois Senate in January 2009. The federal investigation continued after this removal, and Blagojevich was indicted on corruption charges in April 2009.^[2]

The investigation became public knowledge when a federal judge revealed that Blagojevich was the "Public Official A" in the indictment of Tony Rezko. The case gained widespread attention with the simultaneous arrests of Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, on December 9, 2008, at their homes by federal agents.^[3][4] Blagojevich and Harris were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of soliciting bribes. The case involved sweeping pay to play and influence peddling allegations, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for Barack Obama, who had resigned after being elected President of the United States (see bribery).^[5] United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald noted that there had been no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama.^[6]

After the arrest, Illinois elected officials began calling on Blagojevich to resign. The 50 members of the U.S. Senate's Democratic caucus called on Blagojevich to not appoint a senator and pledged not to seat anyone he attempted to appoint. Legislators introduced bills in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly to remove the Governor's power to appoint a senator and require a special election; however, no such bill passed. Blagojevich did eventually appoint Roland Burris to the seat. Despite attempts to keep Burris from taking the seat, he was eventually allowed to take the oath of office. However, he has since become a target for detractors who question whether he has been honest in his filings to attain the seat.

Within days after Blagojevich's arrest, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court seeking to declare the Governor "unable to serve" and strip him of the powers of his office. The court denied the request. Meanwhile, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Mike Madigan (the Attorney General's father) announced that on December 16 he would begin impeachment proceedings. The state House impeached Blagojevich on January 9, 2009, and the state Senate convicted him on January 29, thereby removing him; they also disqualified him from holding further office in the state.

Background

Blagojevich had been under investigation for corrupt activity for several years, as part of a broader federal investigation by Fitzgerald, code-named Operation Board Games, that had been going on for three years.^[7] To date, 15 people have been charged in connection with the investigation.^[3][7] Blagojevich had long been suspected to be a target of the investigation, but it was confirmed by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve that he was the "Public Official A" referred to in the federal indictment of Tony Rezko.^[8] Just before the 2008 United States general elections on November 4, 2008, Federal investigators were granted authority to tape Blagojevich's conversations.^[9] On December 8, 2008, in a press conference, Blagojevich claimed "whether you tape me privately or publicly, I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful and the things I'm interested in are always lawful."^[9] He further stated that "if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it. I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously; and those who feel like they want to sneakily, and wear taping devices, I would remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate."^[9] After a meeting between Blagojevich and Jackson regarding the Senate seat,^[9] when asked his thoughts on being the subject of federal tapings, Blagojevich stated, "I don't believe there's any cloud that hangs over me. I think there's nothing but sunshine hanging over me."^[10]

The public scandal and turmoil began with arrests of Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, and his Chief of Staff John Harris at 6:15 a.m. on December 9, 2008, at their homes by deputies of the United States Marshals Service on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).^[3][4] Blagojevich and Harris were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of soliciting bribes. The case involved sweeping pay to play and influence peddling allegations, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for Barack Obama, who had resigned after being elected President of the United States.^[5] United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald noted that there had been no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama.^[11] The cases are part of a broader federal investigation by Fitzgerald code-named Operation Board Games that had been going on for three years in which 15 people have been charged by Fitzgerald.^[3][7]

Prior to the scandal, Blagojevich considered himself as a contender for the 2016 presidential election, but was willing to pursue an interim position as a United States Cabinet member, United States ambassador, or high profile corporate titan instead.^[12] The governor's statutory power to appoint a replacement for Obama in the U.S. Senate was something that Blagojevich viewed as convertible currency of the form that could assure this future.^[12] Soon after the Presidential election, it became very clear to Fitzgerald from his wiretaps that a sale of the Senate seat was imminent; Fitzgerald immediately pressed for Blagojevich's arrest.^[3] After the arrest, the prosecution began proceedings to obtain an indictment from a grand jury, a process that was granted an extension to April 7, 2009.^[13][14][15]

A federal grand jury in Illinois returned an indictment against Blagojevich and five other defendants on April 2, 2009.^[2] Blagojevich is the seventh Illinois Governor to have been arrested or indicted;^[16] and he could become the fourth, including Daniel Walker, jailed since 1971.^[17] In addition to the allegations concerning the Senate seat, Blagojevich has also been charged with

• attempting to extort the owners of the Tribune Company to fire editors at the Chicago Tribune who criticized the governor's handling of state affairs
• abuse of power concerning release of US$8 million of state funds to Children's Memorial Hospital expecting to obtain a $50,000 campaign contribution.^[3][6]
• seeking graft in the form of $2.5 million in campaign contributions (through 2008) from companies and individuals who have received state contracts or appointments.^[18]

On January 2, 2009 Governor Blagojevich's federal security clearance was revoked.^{[citation needed]} In June 2009 it was determined by the judge overseeing the case that the Blagojevich trial would start on June 3, 2010.^[19]

In the wake of the scandal reform measures are being proposed. Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold, who is the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights, has stated that he will introduce a constitutional amendment requiring vacant Senate seats be filled by special elections, as the House of Representatives requires.^[20]

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[click here] for Has US President Barack Obama morphed into George W. Bush?

Rule By The Rich

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Below video uploaded Jan. 21, 2010:

Rod Blagojevich Uncensored - wearechangechicago.com


Text with video:
Anytime the media crucifies one of their own or a politician, you can be sure there's more to the story than meets the eye. Remember former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich?

Blagojevich threatened to stop the states dealings with Bank of America Corp. over a shut-down factory in Chicago. On December 8, 2008 (the day before his arrest), all state agencies were ordered to stop conducting business with Bank of America to pressure the company to make the loans. Blagojevich said the biggest U.S. retail bank would not get any more state business unless it restored credit to Republic Windows and Doors, whose workers were staging a sit-in. John Douglas, a former general counsel for the FDIC and attorney for Bank of America, called Blagojevich's worker support dangerous.

Reposted from wearechangechicago.com. Please support them or become active with your local wearechange.com organization.

1/11/10 Rod Blagojevich Comments On Quotes In Esquire Magazine


Uploaded April '09. This video might best explain the US banking mess and where we are headed. Banksters are shipping money out of the US. What are they preparing for?


Text with video:
FNC talks with Rep. Kucinich who is furious about the bailout scandal no one is talking about... If your angry about the AIG bonuses you better cover your ears for this next segment here -- everyone. Merrill Lynch knew it was getting ten billion dollars in TARP funds at the same time they were preparing to give three point seven billion dollars in Performance bonuses to their top executives at a time that they were losing fifteen billion dollars in the fourth quarter. It is shocking as you know the White House just put pressure on the head of GM. Two resign is it time for the CEO of Bank of America Ken Lewis to go."

Congressman (D) Dennis Kucinich Grills Ken Lewis on Fed Emails


Text with video:
Former Bank of America CEO, Ken Lewis, testified June 11, 2009 to congress about the BOA's merger with Merrill Lynch. During the hearing Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, challenged Lewis to be more forthcoming about his dealings with the Federal Reserve during the merger. Specifically Kucinich cited emails from Fed officials saying Lewis had asked government officials to provide a letter saying that they had in fact ordered Lewis to merge with the struggling financial firm, Merrill Lynch, because Lewis feared lawsuits from company shareholders if the merger led to company losses. Lewis said he did not recall asking for such a letter. After the hearing Kucinich told reporters that Lewis testimony could put the former CEO in legal jeopardy.

http://thesrv.blogspot.com/2010/01/corporate-thugs.html

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http://thegetjusticecoalition.blogspot.com/