Newly unsealed FBI interview records from December 2008 reveal that then-President-elect Barack Obama and his incoming Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel discussed the vacant U.S. Senate seat left by Obama, specifically their conversations with the administration of then-Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich regarding potential appointees. Blagojevich, who has maintained his innocence regarding the sale of the seat and claims he was close to appointing Lisa Madigan, daughter of powerful Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, in exchange for legislative support, has pointed to these newly released FBI FD-302 forms as proof. The documents indicate that Emanuel informed Blagojevich’s Chief of Staff, John Harris, about the merits of appointing Lisa Madigan after a meeting with Senator Dick Durbin where she was deemed a suitable candidate. The FBI interviewed Obama nine days after Blagojevich’s arrest in December 2009 and Emanuel two days later, with both interviews kept out of Blagojevich’s trials until now. Obama’s interview notes suggest he was aware of Emanuel discussing Madigan’s potential appointment in exchange for legislation, and that Emanuel had an open line of communication with the governor’s office. Interestingly, Obama initially favored Valerie Jarrett for the Senate seat, but later decided she would join him in the White House, a decision Emanuel reportedly preferred over Jarrett taking the Senate seat due to potential awkwardness. Despite stating he didn’t want to ‘put his thumb on the scale,’ Obama did dispatch Emanuel to convey his interest in a candidate who would be a good senator for Illinois and could win the subsequent election. The revelations come as Blagojevich, who served nearly eight years in prison before his sentence was commuted by President Trump and later pardoned, asserts that the Madigan deal was central to the events and that the ‘crime spree’ described by then-U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was fabricated to justify his arrest. Other names considered for the seat included Tammy Duckworth, Jan Schakowsky, and Jesse Jackson Jr., before Blagojevich ultimately appointed Roland Burris, who did not seek re-election.
Adapted from: Latest Political News on Fox News
