Jackson, Jr. may have been working with feds (for the past few years) to investigate gov. (Blago)

[sabra]

Source: ABC7 Local - Chicago

Jackson has been fighting for his reputation since the federal complaint revealed his supporters were willing to raise money for the governor, if Jackson was appointed to the Senate.

The new information appears to support Jackson's claim that he was not involved in a scheme to buy a U.S. Senate seat.

ABC7 has learned that since late last summer, the congressman has worked with federal prosecutors, informing on an alleged Blagojevich administration scheme two and half years earlier.

...

And sources tell ABC7 that Jackson has been in regular contact with the feds and has told the government that in 2003 Blagojevich denied the congressman's wife Sandi an appointment as Illinois lottery director because Jackson would not donate $25,000 to the governor's campaign fund.

Hours before Blagojevich and his chief of staff John Harris were arrested, Jackson says prosecutors gave him a 'courtesy call' to let him know he was mentioned in the criminal complaint.

Read more: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6557529

[skooooo]

1. Good to hear this!

I didn't want to see Jackson go down like that.

[goclark]

13. Please let it be so~ K and R

I hated to see the way the media went after him.

He should be a rising star and handled himself so well during the Obama Campaign.

[Dennis Donovan]

2. I hope Rep Jackson becomes a hero out of this mess...

:thumbsup:

[babylonsister]

3. I was just thinking the same thing. I hope this is true! nt

[elleng]

4. Ditto

He's said he wants his 'name' back!

[spiritual_gunfighter]

5. I hope so too

It was disheartening to see Jackson's name caught up in this last week. He is too good for that. I just hope he comes out the hero in this and Pat Quinn appoints him Senator. No special election!

[polichick]

6. Interesting twist!

[cstanleytech]

18. Very, on another forum I visit some pro-bush supporters

on it when we have been talking about the scandal attempted to drag jackson and obama into the scandal, this will hopefuly put a damper on their efforts and shut them down before they have a chance to advance their agenda.

[truedelphi]

24. And of course, pigs could fly! But seriously

Thank you for putting up with them in order to occasionally spread some truth.

[maddezmom]

7. Excellent

K&R

[Alexander]

8. Could this mean Jackson would get the seat after all?

Interesting!

[RiverStone]

20. Hope so - we need this kind of integrity in politics - particularly in ILL!

[ieoeja]

22. If this is true, then he has my vote. n/t

[acmavm]

9. Oh my goodness. This is funny. Really it is. All the repubics

thought they were gonna nail the democratic black man and tie it all to Obama.

This is really really funny.

[CitizenPatriot]

10. and now the msm look like the morans they are

why did everyone prosecute this guy before the facts came out???? they based it on a tape, never even considering that they didn't hear Jackson's voice (from what I gather) or that there may be another explanation.

This kind of Nancy Grace type defiance of the RULE OF LAW has got to stop. Innocent until proven guilty.

Yeah, Jesse. I hoe the seat gets handed to him on a silver fucking platter.

[sellitman]

11. Why the fuck did the Government let him twist in the wind this long?

Never mind I guess we already know the answer to that question.

Obama better clean house ASAP.

[Captain Hilts]

15. That doesn't make sense, does it?

[sellitman]

21. Off topic......

Mookie was one of my favorite Mets of all time.

[Bjorn Against]

12. Good to hear, I had hoped Jackson would come out clean in this

I hope that if this story does turn out to be true that Jackson gets the Senate seat, I had always thought it would be great to have him in the Senate and if he has indeed shown that he will stand up to corruption that would make him an even better pick. I hope he is vindicated, and I hope he gives the media a stinging rebuke for their guilt by association tactics.

[Lugnut]

14. I suspected this all along.

If this is so I'll enjoy hearing what the MSM has to say about it.

[awoke_in_2003]

16. Unlike me...

the media will not admit their mistake. I should have known better than believe them before the full story came out. I am ashamed.

[Ian David]

17. I really hope this is true. n/t

[w4rma]

19. Awesome. Thank you, Senator Jackson, Jr. (nt)

[madrchsod]

23. i love "sources"

"abc has learned"...... i`ll wait till the facts are released by fitzgerald`s office before making any conclusions on jr`s involvement.fitzgerald still has to go to the grand jury with his proof...

[proud progressive]

25. not at all sure about this. before we get too giddy, do not forget about dad and his reputation.

we have a lot to learn on this

[babylonsister]

37. 'Dad' has nothing to do with this. nt

[reggie the dog]

26. If this is true

I hope he becomes my senator

[Betsy Ross]

27. This is such good news. n/t

[yodermon]

28. So he was informing on the very guy who could appoint him as Obama's replacement?

sweet fancy moses, that took some guts. Good on him. (ob: assuming it's good info.)

[BR_Parkway]

36. Back when the article says he was informing - there was no realistic

expectation that there'd be a Senate seat to be appointed to. Hillary was still "inevitable" so it may have been him simply doing the right thing.

[NoGOPZone]

29. Source: Ill. gov nixed job for Jackson Jr.'s wife

Source: Associated Press via Yahoo! News

Shortly after his 2002 election, Gov. Rod Blagojevich told Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. he didn't appoint the congressman's wife as lottery director because he had refused him a $25,000 campaign donation, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Blagojevich went out of his way to say, 'You know I was considering your wife for the lottery job and the $25,000 you didn't give me? That's why she's not getting the job,'" the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing federal investigation.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/illinois_governor_jackson

[LiberalFighter]

30. Unless she had related experience for the job she shouldn't had even been considered.

[Critters2]

31. Maybe where YOU'RE from. In Illinois, we like to keep it in the family.

That's why the woman who's trying to get the courts to call Blago unfit is the daughter of the man trying to get him impeached. 13 million people in this state, and about 5 families have all the power. Ain't Democracy grand?

[mopinko]

39. she can run anything i got. she's a little busy now, tho

http://www.runsandirun.com/biography.html

[tuckessee]

32. The real question is why might have JJJr. been cooperating with the Feds?

What did they have on him?

[Psephos]

34. Good question n/t

[babylonsister]

38. Maybe he was trying to do the right thing, and sick of the criminality

in IL politics. I realize politicians like that are few and far between, but it's possible.

[bluesmail]

33. What a relief if true. ( I had my doubts.)

[donheld]

35. Good God I hope this is true

[kpete]

40. Jackson Jr. went to authorities about Illinois governor

Source: CNN



CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who was cited in a criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich, went to the U.S. Attorney's office about alleged wrongdoers, including the Illinois governor, a Jackson spokesman said Tuesday.
Jesse Jackson Jr. reported in 2006 what he believed was a shakedown by the Illinois governor.

Jackson rejected being labeled with the term "informant" in a message to CNN contributor Roland Martin.

Spokesman Kenneth Edmonds described Jackson's interaction with federal authorities this way: "As a responsible citizen and elected official, Congressman Jackson has in the past provided information to federal authorities regarding his personal knowledge of perceived corruption and governmental misconduct.

"This was completely unrelated to the current investigation regarding the U.S. Senate appointment. And it is absolutely inaccurate to describe the congressman as an informant," Edmonds said in a written statement.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/12/16/blagojevich/index.html

[tblue]

41. Thank you.

Is everybody who ever talked to Blago guilty? I like Jesse Jr., and I hope he is cleared and vindicated asap.

[DCKit]

43. They will if they believe it will damage the Obama Presidency.

Funny story about Congressman Jackson:

I was helping a friend move into my building and she managed to lock her keys inside the truck. We had a coathanger and were working diligently trying to unlock the door when the Congressman came over and asked if we needed any help.

So while Congressman Jackson is working the coat hanger, he says "don't think this is a cultural thing" to which I replied "Don't give me that crap - I know you're from Chicago."

In the end, he did get the door open.

[tblue]

45. Was that you, or a story told to you?

[DCKit]

46. It was me, the Congressman, his wife and three of my friends.

Sorry, I don't remember the date and time of day.

[acmavm]

42. People are so damn happy to believe the worst about Jesse. Now I must

admit that kid thing does qualify under the heading 'scandal', but that doesn't mean he's a crook.

edit: to add, I'm glad he's being cleared so fast so he doesn't get any more flack.

[JDPriestly]

44. Aha! Fitzgerald has far more evidence than he has so far revealed.

This is beginning to get interesting. I didn't think that what he stated in his hasty press conference could possibly be enough to cause him to announce the wiretaps. Let's see what happens next and how many heads will roll in Illinois politics.

The grass roots Democrats (and Republicans) in Illinois need to get much more involved in politics.

Here in California, the grass roots local Democratic clubs are very active. It helps control some (but by no means enough) of the corruption. Note, however, that cheats and incompetents still manage to win elections. A couple of times I have held my nose while voting for the party candidate.

This is why we need real local control of media. This is why we need local reporters who are independent of big money interests. We don't need just the ABCs and MSNBCs and Chicago Tribune and NY Times and WSJ. We need determined investigative reporting at the local level to keep the corrupt officeholders out of office. And that kind of reporting needs to be heard by voters. The current system in which candidates by time on TV to broadcast their lies prevents voters from learning the truth about what goes on behind the scenes and who they are really electing --- until it is way too late.