Imagine, you are investigating, let’s say, a Governor of a large midwestern state. Said Governor has sole authority to appoint the Senator who will take the place of the President-Elect, who previously occupied the spot until he won the election. You have the Governor’s phones tapped and he is in the process of taking bids from various politicians to see who will pay the most for the Senate seat. Would you pull the plug on the investigation by arresting the creepy Governor before he actually sold the seat? Or would you wait and see who actually entered the bidding, and most of all, who won? Right now, they have him TALKING about selling the seat. I’m not sure that is even a crime. Sorta like threatening to shoot somebody, if you don’t actually get out a gun and aim it, have you committed a crime? And besides, since he had not actually sold the seat, there may have been higher bidders later. Like when a serious bidder waits until near the end of an auction to step in with the really serious bids, after the wannabes are weeded out. Why arrest him now? Doncha suppose those making the bids will stop bidding? Doncha suppose the Governor’s legal team will argue that he was just talking, privately, venting, letting off steam, and never really gonna go through with this?
And what if said Governor was on tape claiming that the President-elect was an “F[deleted potty-mouth]” if he thinks he can get to dictate who gets appointed to his seat for nothing? Wouldn’t you want to keep up with the investigation to see how the Governor knows the Presidential-elect won’t offer him anything? Especially after the President-elect said he never discussed the seat with the Governor?
Of course, this is not my original thinking, this is just a slight expansion of thoughts that Rush Limbaugh made on the radio today. But love him or hate him: Why arrest the Governor now? Why not keep the investigation going? Why not convene a grand jury, and question some of the participants of the investigation, under oath, and see if some of them commit perjury? After all, this is the same investigator who investigated the Plame leak, and then prosecuted Scooter Libby! After the investigator already knew who the leaker was.
Here is what the Governor said on tape about Obama:
“During a conversation with Harris on Nov. 11, Blagojevich said he knew Obama wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but “they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. (Expletive) them.” (1)
BUT, here is what Obama says about it:
“I had no contact with the governor or his office and so I was not aware of what was happening, ” Obama told reporters today in Chicago. “It’s a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that, I don’t think it’s appropriate to comment.”
Federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said there is “no allegation” that Obama was aware of Blagojevich’s attempt to extract benefits from his authority to appoint Obama’s successor.” (2)
BUT HOW could the Governor KNOW “they’re (Obama) not willing to give me anything except appreciation” if Obama “was not aware” that the Governor and Obama had not discussed it, either directly or indirectly? Oh, He’s the Mess I uh, uh, uh, and we will just have to take his word for it!
(2) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aOLuFlwkoGRs&refer=worldwide
