Blagojevich Accused Of Pressuring Chicago Tribune To Fire Editorialists (phone call excerpt)

[DeepModem Mom]

Source: Editor&Publisher

Federal authorities who arrested Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich Tuesday accuse him and his chief of staff John Harris of threatening to derail Tribune Co.'s sale of the Chicago Cubs Wrigley Field stadium unless certain members of the Chicago Tribune editorial board were fired. The allegations are contained in a 78-page criminal complaint by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago that led to the stunning arrest of the sitting governor on charges that include soliciting bribes in connection with filling Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat and other acts of official corruption.

The complaint alleges that last month Blagojevich, through his chief of staff Harris, repeatedly threatened to withhold "substantial state financial assistance in connection with Wrigley Field, which assistance ROD BLAGOJEVICH believed to be worth at least $100 million to the Tribune Company, for the private purpose of inducing the controlling shareholder of the Tribune Company to fire members of the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, a newspaper owned by the Tribune Company, who were responsible for editorials critical of ROD BLAGOJEVICH."...

The complaint names one member, Deputy Editorial Page Editor John McCormick, as a specific target of the conspiracy. Blagojevich allegedly sent the message through Harris and an unnamed Tribune executive to Sam Zell demanding the firing, and suggesting it could come amid the layoffs of the past weeks.

The complaint is occasionally R-rated as Blagojevich and his wife, Patti, are heard on wire taps complaining about the newspaper. The Tribune and the rival Chicago Sun-Times have published investigative articles about Patti Blagojevich's real estate business in the past....

*

Here's an excerpt from the complaint: "During the call, ROD BLAGOJEVICH's wife can be heard in the background telling ROD BLAGOJEVICH to tell Deputy Governor A 'to hold up that fucking Cubs shit. . . fuck them.' ROD BLAGOJEVICH asked Deputy Governor A what he thinks of his wife's idea. Deputy Governor A stated that there is a part of what ROD BLAGOJEVICH's wife said that he 'agree(s) with.'

"Deputy Governor A told ROD BLAGOJEVICH that Tribune Owner will say that he does not have anything to do with the editorials, 'but I would tell him, look, if you want to get your Cubs thing done get rid of this Tribune.'

"Later, ROD BLAGOJEVICH's wife got on the phone and, during the continuing discussion of the critical Tribune editorials, stated that Tribune Owner can 'just fire' the writers because Tribune Owner owns the Tribune. ROD BLAGOJEVICH's wife stated that if Tribune Owner's papers were hurting his business, Tribune Owner would do something about the editorial board. ROD BLAGOJEVICH then got back on the phone. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Deputy Governor A to put together the articles in the Tribune that are on the topic of removing ROD BLAGOJEVICH from office and they will then have someone, like JOHN HARRIS, go to Tribune Owner and say, 'We've got some decisions to make now.' ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that 'someone should say, 'get rid of those people.'"

Read more: http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003920683

[cboy4]

1. I hope he rots in prison. I have zero sympathy for any

Democrat that behaves in this manner.

None. :puke:

[trollybob]

3. I guess you're willing to accept statements of multiple hearsay and conclusions of some F.B.I. agent

who's made it his full-time job for the past six months to fuck with Blagojevich as the god's honest truth, let alone admissible in court. Should give your name to the U.S. atty. You'd be his first choice for jury foreman. Nothing like shit-canning presumption of innocence.

[cboy4]

4. Obviously, I would have an open mind and listen to all of the

evidence if I was on the jury.

But this is a message board.

And I think it's pretty clear what this guy was up to.

[Alexander]

7. Some people here don't want to believe a Democrat could be corrupt.

These people typically have little understanding of politics.

[cboy4]

11. Yea. These people are living on the moon.

on edit...typo

[Triana]

2. what a prick - his wife too. n/t

[cstanleytech]

5. Just wondering exactly what law is he charged with breaking when it comes to the

Chicago Tribune thing? Blackmail?

[DBoon]

6. not too different from what Rove tried

or the nonsense Nixon tried to pull 30 years ago.

At least this time the politician gets busted

[fla nocount]

8. Blogo, a real pit-bull, bred and reared in Chicago too.

It must be the water.

[The_Casual_Observer]

9. What's the charge here? Being a bastard? If that's the case

might as well start fencing in whole towns & cities.

[cboy4]

13. Conspiracy to commit fraud and solicitation to commit

bribery.

You're justifying his unlawful behavior because you insinuate its every day politics practiced in every municipality around the country?

That's ridiculous, and even if it were true, there's no excuse.

[cstanleytech]

14. Mind you this is based solely on what little bit of the tapes I've heard but

people in political office regardless of party or nation make political deals all the time so unless they can prove he meant a cash wise payoff for the posting I don't think any reasonable jury can convict this governor let alone I don't see a reasonable nonpartisan judge allow it to provide even that far.
It'll be interesting in these coming weeks to see and hear what other evidence they have to back up these charges.

[The_Casual_Observer]

17. If this is a conspiracy then any thought one has in their head is a

conspiracy. This is headed in the wrong direction, lead by a J Edgar Hoover wannabe.

[DeepModem Mom]

18. I posted this from Editor&Publisher primarily on the subject of interference with the press. That...

I think was the primary purpose of the piece, given its source, and was mine in posting it. There's an update to the piece, which indicates that Sam Zell, the owner of the Tribune Company, or someone at the Company, may actually have indicated that the editor in question would be fired, as Blagojevich demanded, so the Wrigley deal could go forward. That would be, to me, guilt focused in a different direction.

[BunkerHill24]

10. Bully maybe, but I don't see anything there that can convict him in a court of law...n/t

[cboy4]

12. You're kidding right? Conspiracy to commit fraud,

which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and solicitation to commit bribery, which is punishable by up 10 years.

[cstanleytech]

15. Yes, those are the charges however it does not = being automatically guilty

[Thorandmjolnir]

19. Fraud?

What fraud?

Here are the elements for fraud:

(1) Defendant made a false statement regarding a material fact;

(2) Defendant knew or should have known the representation was false;

(3) Defendant intended that the representation induce plaintiff to act on it; and

(4) Plaintiff suffered damages in justifiable reliance on the representation.

I don't really see how that squares with the conversation. It might be criminal, but I don't think its fraud.

[robcon]

16. This is what he is accused of...

"Beginning no later than November 2008 to the present, in Cook County, in the Northern District of Illinois,
defendants ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH and JOHN HARRIS, being agents of the State of Illinois, a State government
which during a one-year period, beginning January 1, 2008 and continuing to the present, received federal benefits
in excess of $10,000, corruptly solicited and demanded a thing of value, namely, the firing of certain Chicago
Tribune editorial members responsible for widely-circulated editorials critical of ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH,
intending to be influenced and rewarded in connection with business and transactions of the State of Illinois
involving a thing of value of $5,000 or more, namely, the provision of millions of dollars in financial assistance by
the State of Illinois, including through the Illinois Finance Authority, an agency of the State of Illinois, to the
Tribune Company involving the Wrigley Field baseball stadium; in violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Sections 666(a)(1)(B) and 2."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/acrobat/2008-12/43789434.pdf