Anyone who has read JJP for awhile knew my feelings about the Governor: he was going to be outfitted for an orange jumpsuit. What surprised even me was that the arrest was about stuff that was RECENT. You’d think that if the corruption cloud was swirling around you, you’d learn to STFU. But, not my Governor.

From The ChicagoTribune:

Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents for what U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald called a “staggering” level of corruption involving pay to play politics in Illinois’ top office.

Blagojevich is accused of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy, including alleged attempts by the governor to try to sell or trade the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by President-elect Barack Obama in exchange for financial benefits for the governor and his wife. Blagojevich also is accused of obtaining campaign contributions in exchange for other official actions.

FBI agents served a search warrant on his office at the Thompson Center this morning, said Frank Bochte, an FBI spokesman.

Blagojevich was taken into federal custody at his North Side home this morning—one day shy of his 52nd birthday.

A Blagojevich spokesman said he was unaware of the development. “Haven’t heard anything—you are first to call,” spokesman Lucio Guerrero said in an e-mail. Blagojevich, who has maintained he committed no wrongdoing throughout his 5-year tenure as governor, said Monday that any discussions he has had were “always lawful.”

The stunning, early-morning arrest came amid revelations that federal investigators had compiled secret recordings of the governor with the cooperation of a longtime confidant. In recent days, the focus of federal investigators turned to the possibility that Blagojevich’s appointment to the Senate had become tainted by pay-to-play politics.

Rest of article at link above.

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