Obama had NO CONTACT with Blagojevich and was NOT AWARE of the situation:

[jenmito]

He just put out a statement saying he's saddened by this corruption case re: Blagojevich but he was NOT AWARE of his alleged attempts to sell his Senate seat. Video coming soon.

ETA statement: "I had no contact with the Governor or his office so I was not aware of what was happening. As I said, it is a sad day for Illinois and beyond that, I don't think it's appropriate for me to comment at this time."

[firedupdem]

1. On CNN now...after that statement started talking about Energy

with Al Gore. Smart Move!

[jenmito]

3. Thanks. Yup, I'm watching it now. Thanks. n/t

[ErinBerin84]

2. answered extra question at end as he tried to walk away,

Said he had no contact with gov's office over the Senate seat, so he was unaware of the going ons.

[SuperTrouper]

4. Norah reporting the same thing on MessNBC

[jenmito]

5. Yup. That's where I got it. n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

6. We feel your pain, Mr. President.

[jenmito]

7. I DON'T feel the pain of the few people trying to start trouble here. This should put their

"concerns" to rest.

[AspenRose]

8. Nah, they're just getting started....

[jenmito]

11. Yeah, I guess they'll NEVER stop-just like the Birth Certificate doubters.

[H2O Man]

16. There will always be

a few lost minds, inhabiting the shadows of reality.

[jenmito]

17. Very poetically put.

:)

[H2O Man]

9. Nominated.

[jenmito]

12. Thanks!

:hi:

[H2O Man]

13. In time,

this will be viewed as a good thing by all democrats who oppose corruption.

[jenmito]

15. I agree. Blagojevich clearly hated Obama for NOT taking part in the corruption.

The transcripts tell the story.

[whippo]

29. Who was Blago communicating with that he knew that he

would only get "gratitude"?

[ProSense]

34. Who do you think it was? Let's hear it. n/t

[jenmito]

37. Enjoy your stay.

:hi:

[cdb]

10. That won't stop the RW scum-mongers

This morning as the story was breaking I heard Glen Bleck try to link Obama to the Chicgo Corruption machine or some such crap.

Also he couldn't pronounce Blagojevich. Dumb fuck.

[jenmito]

14. I agree. But the worst part is the pretend Dems. who are "concerned" about this...

and posting about it here on DU.

[democrattotheend]

18. Was this the right move?

He and his transition team obviously did nothing wrong and in fact did everything right by refusing to play ball. But in order to refuse they had to know what was being demanded...so how is it that he did not know? Perhaps he did not know personally, but people close to him obviously did, as evidenced by the fact that Blago said on the tape that they refused to play ball. Even if Obama did not personally know about it, saying he did not know makes him look suspicious, unless I am misreading this. If in fact Rahm was the one who tipped off the FBI they should make sure people know about it. Why hide doing the right thing?

[jenmito]

20. Just because Obama refused to "play ball" doesn't mean he knew about all that went on.

It could've been as simple as him asking Obama ONE question a long time ago.

[jberryhill]

24. You are reading to much into Blago's statement

Blagovich may have wanted a quid pro quo. He may have believed "that's the way the game is played". Hence, him expressing scorn at not having been offered one doesn't imply that he asked. Additionally, any suggestion on his part "requesting" one may have been veiled to the point where whomever was on the other end of the discussion, and didn't have it in mind, may not have picked up on it.

Have you "refused" to send me ten dollars?

No, you haven't.

I never asked you, and you never offered it to me.

In that context, for me to say that you "refused" to send me ten dollars is something of a loaded word.

You see, I posted this comment thinking you'd send me my customary ten dollars that I usually shake out of people who read my comments. So while I'm sitting here saying "The cheap bastard wouldn't pay me the ten dollars", you are sitting there blissfully unaware of my initially unstated assumption that you would pay me the ten dollars.

[jenmito]

26. Well put!

:toast: (I'll have your $10 later tonight.) :D

[tblue37]

31. Where's mine? nt

[jenmito]

38. Didn't I give you my bank account #? I thought you get it automatically. n/t

[DevonRex]

30. I would say that Fitz has undoubtedly made it clear what could and should

be said by anybody.

[olkaz]

19. **I** was aware of the situation. How could Obama not be?

This has been going on a long time, and Obama has consistently kept himself distanced from Blagojevich. He knew.

[jenmito]

21. You don't know he knew what was going on. Knowing someone's not "above board" and knowing

they've been accused of doing so many illegal things are not the same thing.

[DevonRex]

22. I'm guessing his statement was carefully worded for good reason.

It's what he didn't say that is important.

[stillcool]

39. You knew about the Senate seat?

I knew that Blagojevich has been up shit's creek for a long time now, but I didn't know he was selling the Senate seat.

[Hippo_Tron]

42. If you knew that Blagojevich was selling a senate seat, the US Attorney may want to speak to you

[Whisp]

23. I know that there are some here dissapointed to hear that

but I guess they'll just have to wait for the Big One.

:rofl:

[jenmito]

25. Maybe they're hoping the S.C. will look into Obama's "involvement" while they look into

his "non-citizenship." :rofl:

[Whisp]

41. search features could tell... 2 birds with one stone.

or one bird with those 2 stones you mentioned.
but I can't be bothered, don't even know I can.

I just know who they are.

:rofl:

[Name removed]

27. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[BREMPRO]

28. the Obama peeps might have been the ones that dropped a dime on Blago.

They knew he was trying to extort money and favors to get their preferred candidate (Valerie Jarrett) and refused to play ball. Perhaps they turned over evidence to the feds?

[wildonion]

32. What are some good articles on Illinois politicalcorruption?

I found

this

and

this


Any others?

[LaydeeBug]

33. except that David Axelrod said on Nov 23rd that Obama HAD been in contact with the governor. nt

[DevonRex]

35. Two things wrong with your post. 1. David Axelrod, not Barack Obama.

2. November 23rd, 3 weeks ago.

[ErinBerin84]

36. An aide is claiming that Ax misspoke, for what it's worth.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1208/Aide_Ax_misspoke.html

[FrenchieCat]

40. I'm sure if that is the case, they'd have him on tape......

[Hippo_Tron]

43. Bingo

If Obama or his aides had spoken to Blagojevich then Fitzgerald would have it on tape and he would not have said that "The President-Elect is not involved whatsoever."