Blago Wants Obama's People To Clear Him

2008 was the year of the Bad Guy.

Lawyers for embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich want two key aides to President-elect Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. subpoenaed, according to Chicago media reports.

Blagojevich's legal team has asked the Illinois House panel that members of Obama's incoming administration testify before the House impeachment committee, including Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett, WBBM-TV and the Chicago Sun-Times reported late Wednesday.

Ed Genson, Blagojevich's chief lawyer, said testimony from the aides will prove the governor's insistence that he did nothing illegal to fill Obama's now vacant U.S. Senate seat.

The news comes days after Obama's team released an internal review that confirmed no "inappropriate" discussions had taken place in the Blagojevich probe.

Update 12-27: Fitzgerald says Obama's aides shouldn't be called into Blago's mess because it would interfere with the investigation.

Blagojevich Could Resign Monday

If he cared about anything, he'd resign today.

Sun Times: Gov. Blagojevich will decide early next week -- perhaps as early as Monday -- whether he should resign, a source close to the governor told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Other Blago-related news:
Rahm Emanuel discussed senate seat but there was no dealmaking.

"He was blindsided by this," the source said. "He needs some time to digest what's going on. He's going to make his position clear shortly."

Jesse Jackson Jr. gets tainted by slime.

Rahm Emanuel Is Not A Target of Blago Probe

Ray Noland's Blago

Update 12-13: 

Chicago Tribune, 'Rahm Emanuel talked with governor's office about who should fill Obama's Senate seat: Chief of staff for Obama had list of names,' By Bob Secter: 'Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama's pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Tribune has learned. The revelation does not suggest Obama's new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat?

What an idiot Blago is. Not only does he do something incredibly stupid and outrageous, but he also brings everyone else down and has the gall to stay in office. He says he'll speak at the "appropriate time." He needs to resign. What a creep. He's in the way of progress for the entire country. He's derailed the conversation. He's taken away from Obama and other people's time.
Anyway, at CNN, they're reporting that Emanuel, Obama's chief of staff, is not a target of the investigation.
Illinois' Lisa Madigan, the attorney general, is asking the court to remove Blago.
Jesse Jackson Jr. needs to be considered for the senate seat. He doesn't appear to have any involvement and guilt by association has got to stop.
Jackson is not forcing it. He says it's important to let the investigation play itself out. After the process is over, he says he hopes he'll have his name back.

Obama Calls on Blago To Resign and So Much More

With my foolish Internet down today -- you'd think Internet networks wouldn't go on the blink as much as they do -- here is a rundown of some of the stuff I'm catching up on:
Chicago Tribune calls on Blago-- the potty mouthed birthday boy-- to resign.
Can Blago plead insanity? It certainly appears that he's insane.
Obama calls on Blago to resign.
Memo to media: Obama is clean. He better be. I would quit blogging tomorrow with a broken heart and a deep disappointment if Obama had anything to do with Blago. My question is: Was Obama bribed? If he was, did he say anything?
An explainer.

Rahm Emanuel was NOT the whistle blower. 
Jesse Jackson Jr., a supporter of Obama, and vice versa, is supposedly senate candidate No. 5 in the famed criminal complaint.
Jackson denies any wrongdoing, vehemently.

Obama played a role in Blago's fall:

Mr. Obama placed the call to his political mentor, Emil Jones Jr., president of the Illinois Senate. Mr. Jones was a critic of the legislation, which sought to curb the influence of money in politics, as was Mr. Blagojevich, who had vetoed it. But after the call from Mr. Obama, the Senate overrode the veto, prompting the governor to press state contractors for campaign contributions before the law’s restrictions could take effect on Jan. 1, prosecutors say.

Tipped off to Mr. Blagojevich’s efforts, federal agents obtained wiretaps for his phones and eventually overheard what they say was scheming by the governor to profit from his appointment of a successor to the United States Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Obama. One official whose name has long been mentioned in Chicago political circles as a potential successor is Mr. Jones, a machine politician who was viewed as a roadblock to ethics reform but is friendly with Mr. Obama.

The miserable day in 100 seconds:

It appears that the insanity of one person is tainting innocent people. Jackson responds: full transcript.

Jesse Jackson Jr. Convention Video

Jesse Jackson Jr. has been a staunch supporter of Obama, often disagreeing with dad, Rev. Jesse Jackson. Jackson Jr. gave a strong speech last nigh.