I. Patrick Fitzgerald Really Wants a Job in the New Administration Patrick Fitzgerald is one slick customer. He does not want fame. He does not want glory. He does not want to be Obama’s new attorney general. He does not even want a permanent position investigating Democratic politicians in the new president’s home state of Illinois. All he is asking for is
ninety days to bring the most reviled politician in America to justice.
Surely, President-elect Barack Obama can spare him that? I mean, what will it cost him?
http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Fitzgerald-Wants-Blago-Indictment-Extension.htmlU.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald on Wednesday asked for more time to return an indictment against the governor, saying the time is needed to review evidence and interview more potential defendants in the corruption investigation.
Under law, federal prosecutors normally have 30 days to file an indictment against a defendant. That deadline would have been Jan. 7, and the 90-day extension Fitzgerald wants would give prosecutors until April 7 instead.
Snip
In Wednesday's motion, prosecutors ask for more time to review phone calls intercepted between late October and early December and say they need to interview more witnesses.
"Multiple witnesses have come forward in recent weeks to discuss their knowledge of criminal activity in relation to the ongoing investigation," according to the motion.
The document also hints at the possibility that more individuals could be charged.
Excuse me? I thought that Blago was arrested, because the feds had
already reviewed phone calls intercepted between late October and early December. The media circus which Fitz staged----all that talk about Lincoln rolling in his grave---what did he base that on,if not on the wiretaps?
Is Fitz trying to tell us that when he arrested Blago he did not have a case? Then why the perp walk? Why the public condemnation? Why tell us the man was guilty of the worst political crimes ever?
I want to go back to what Fitzgerald actually said in public about Blago. The
New York Times has a handy summary.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/opinion/13coburn.html?_r=1 Against this backdrop, it is hard to feel comfortable with Mr. Fitzgerald’s remarks in announcing the charges that Mr. Blagojevich’s conduct amounted to a “political corruption crime spree” and “would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” that “the breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” that Mr. Blagojevich “put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States senator” and that his conduct was “cynical” and “appalling” and has “taken us to a truly new low.”
American politics has always been dirty. I have not seen anything out of Illinois to compare to the crimes of the Nixon administration or the current Bush administration or other corrupt Republicans. For instance, did Blago slip LSD to his political opponents? Did he sell our national parks? Did he negotiate a hostages for votes deal? Did he let pedophiles prey on kids in a state facility under his watch? A lot of people at DU assumed that Fitz had the evidence to back those words up. Now, he tells us that he
will have the evidence to back them up---in ninety days. He tells us that lots of witnesses have come forward to rat out Blago, now that he has been labeled the most corrupt politician in America by Patrick Fitzgerald---
People who use their minds sometimes, instead of just their hearts will see where I am going with this. The original indictment of Blagojevich and Patrick Fitzgerald’s over the top condemnation followed by the media trial and conviction were staged for a reason. Once the press convinced the public that Blago’s fall was inevitable, Fitz was able to encourage the governor’s political enemies to step forward to testify against him. Also, people who might not have been willing to get involved in a federal prosecution of a fellow Democrat suddenly decided that it was better to cover themselves by telling everything they knew in advance in order to avoid being named by someone else.
Fitz used the Gang of Four strategy straight out of Communist China.
The original indictment was only half an indictment. It was half a fishing expedition, and the press and even Democrats aided Fitzgerald by falling for his “worse corruptions in the history of mankind” spiel. Fitz made Blago the most hated politician in America---and now he is appealing to the American public to force Obama to let him keep his job on the grounds that the most hated politician in America must not be allowed to walk free---
And only Fitz can bring him to justice.
This is better than a
Will Work for Food sign. This is like a
If You Do Not Give Me Work, Jesus Will Damn You to Hell For All Eternity sign.
II. Why Other People May Want Fitz to Have a Job in the New Administration The parallels between this case and Whitewater continue to grow. While Blago was initially charged with attempting to sell a Senate seat, there are hints that this case may widen to include other people and other charges. In the end, will there be any indictments in the case at all? Or, is this investigation being used for other reasons?
Karl Rove and the Republicans continue to resist the attorney general nomination of
Eric Holder. Even before Patrick Fitzgerald announced that he was going to attempt to make this a never ending investigation, they were tossing around the idea that Holder had a conflict of interest regarding Blagojevich.
http://nalert.blogspot.com/2008/12/would-new-ag-eric-holder-exit-chicago.htmlWe know that Congressional Republicans plan to bring up Elian Gonzales and Marc Rich. Big deal. Blagojevich will be a bigger deal. If Fitz can announce that Eric Holder is one of the people of interest in his investigation, Karl Rove will be able to keep him out of the attorney general’s spot. It does not have to be true. Fitz lied about Blago being the most corrupt politician in the history of America. He could lie about Holder being a person of interest in his investigation. People who lie about one thing will lie about another.
The investigation also helps the GOP in their effort to turn this into a
Republican senate seat. With Franken the likely winner in Minnesota, their party is going to lose its filibuster power (Collins and Snowe are unlikely to obstruct necessary social measures). One more conservative Republican could mean the difference between health care, jobs and social reforms----and none of the above. Note that Fitz announced that he needed ninety more days the day after Blago selected former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill Obama’s vacant senate seat. If Blagojevich stays in office while Fitz drags his heels, neither taking him to trial nor clearing him, he will be unable to appoint a Democrat to replace Obama. Eventually, Illinois will have to hold a special election. With Fitz in the middle of an ongoing fishing expedition in which any Democrat can become a target at any moment simply by expressing an interest in Obama’s seat, we will probably see
no major Democrat run and the Republicans will snatch up the seat. Remember, no matter what you think about Fitzgerald himself, he has a staff, some of whom may be quite political.
Finally, this case could be an end in itself. Whitewater II. Fitz has job security. Under the next Republican administration, he becomes Attorney General or a judge. All he has to do is not look like Ken Starr as he plays the role of greek Fury, giving Barack Obama four years of grief.
III. Obama is NOT Painted Into a Corner President-elect Barack Obama is the boss. He is smarter than Patrick Fitzgerald. He has not been painted into a corner.
Continue to
denounce and reject the most "corrupt" politician in America. Continue to express confidence in Fitzgerald. Tell Holder to recuse himself from the Blago case. Start an investigation into politically motivated prosecutions by the Bush DOJ, beginning with Don Siegelman. Change the federal teams prosecuting all cases of political corruption----Democrats and Republicans---because of the pattern of political bias in the Bush DOJ to ensure that each defendant gets a fair trial. Sure, it will slow things down, but it will make sure that no Dems are being railroaded and no Republicans are being cake walked. Offer Fitzgerald a job prosecuting terrorism cases on the east coast. It is where he started out. He can prosecute Osama Bin Laden once Obama catches him as well as all the Gitmo cases that have to be moved to federal court. He will just love that.
Pay Fitzgerald in pizzas.