Rahm Emanuel and the Magical Obama Deniability
Guess who's already been floated as the guy who made this Blagojevich investigation end in an arrest today instead of, say, late January? Rahm Emanuel! Chicago Fox affiliate reporter Jack Conaty said on the TV today that after Blago "reached out" to Emanuel regarding the Senate seat, Emanuel reached out to US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. Vid below.
Obama comes off mostly clean in the criminal complaint, as he and his staff enrage the governor by refusing to bribe him. Blago wanted the Health and Human Services gig, they quietly gave it to Tom Daschle before making any other cabinet nominations. He wanted something in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett, Valerie Jarrett quietly withdrew from consideration. The Obama people played this beautifully, and while the news will be "Chicago Democrat Corruption" for a couple weeks, the Obama team ought to float above it, unless something goes terribly wrong.