Blagojevich impeached, awaits trial in Senate
By David Neiwert Friday Jan 09, 2009 11:35am
SPRINGFIELD---In a historic vote, the Illinois House has impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich, directing the Senate to put the state’s 40th chief executive on trial with the goal of removing him from office.
The vote by the House was 114-1 and marks the first time in the state's 190-year history that a governor has been impeached, despite Illinois' longstanding reputation for political corruption.
Meanwhile, it appears that Roland Burris may have been less than forthcoming about his contacts with Blago:
For the first time, Burris indicated that he asked Blagojevich's former chief of staff and college classmate, Lon Monk, to relay his interest in the Senate seat to the governor last July or September.
"If you're close to the governor, you know, let him know I'm certainly interested in the seat," Burris said he told Monk.
That testimony appears to differ from an affidavit Burris submitted to the impeachment panel this week in which he stated he spoke to no "representatives" of the governor about the Senate post prior to Dec. 26.
What else would you expect from a guy who would take this appointment under these circumstances anyway?
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Right now, I don't know what to think of any of the people involved. Seems there must be something in the water up there. Obama was wise not to drink any of it.
Obama didn't drink any of it. It seems there might still be a problem with Rahm Emmanuel.
Well, now that everyone knows Burris is a fucking liar, I think it best that the Senate try it's best not to seat him.
I can't believe the day would ever come when I might actually agree with Harry Reid.
OMG.
I realize the last few days I have been kind of wishy washy on seating Burris. I have a feeling he's going to be seated just to try to make the stench of all this go away.
I'm of the opinion that he should be seated because that what the law says should be done (rule of law and all that); if it turns out he's guilty of something, he can be expelled rather easily. I've seen NO evidence for Burris' guilt, however. The way I see it, Burris is just an overly ambitious fellow who wants to be in office at whatever cost, and Blago is taking advantage of that ambition to try to embarrass the Dems in Congress. No need for impropriety to explain this, just standard politics.
I'm hoping they seat him before the Inauguration, so that Obama's first week in office will push the story to the back burner.
what about his hair? was that impeached too?
His hair could afford a better defense attorney.
John Edwards Defense.
Bush/Cheney rape the constitution, launch an illegal war based on lies, along with numerous other instances of illegal behavior. No impeachment.
Blagojevich engages what is probably standard politics and gets impeached.
Nice priorities.
left hand, so the right hand can steal your wallet.
...When you and your party won't be implicated as well ... that's why the illegitimate bush and cheney along with the rest of the elite war criminals aren't being impeach or indicted for war crimes ... what Blagojevich did was far more serious than the deaths of over a million ... what are you people thinking? He simply has to be impeached ... especially since it won't implicate his impeachers of war crimes ... make them look like they are doing their jobs ... ha!
Filthy Harry
Very good observation. It should also be noted that Obama has said that when he becomes president his administration will not prosecute one of the worst administration's in the history of the presidency. Apparently the rule of law will not become a top priority [make that any priority] for the next administration. Perhaps this is why Bush and Cheney did what they did as they seemed to recognize that they would be able to get away with their high crimes and misdemeanors without suffering any consequences from Obama and the rest of the pusillanimous Democrats.
Your opinion is noted, which has no basis in current reality except to be your opinion. Nice try, though. And the "pusillanimous" Democrats are just getting started, and your pals Cheney and Bush are not exactly off the hook. Suffice it to say the Demos have a lot of work to rebuild the stuff your Neocon cronies tore down.
BMW 528
Another one of your bizarre and incomprehensible statements. As it is stated here, it is indeed true that Obama has gone on record as saying that he and his administration have absolutely no intention of prosecuting my 'pals', as you absurdly put it, as this article clearly notes.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/08/04/...
I realize that this may be difficult for you to comprehend but many on the left [the true left that is, not poseurs like Obama] have serious reservations about your hero such as his desire to bail out Wall Street instead of Main Street, his wish [despite his being portrayed as an alleged peace candidate] to leave American soldiers and mercenaries such as Blackwater in Iraq, his willingness to send troops from Iraq into Afghanistan, where they can inflict more misery and suffering upon the Afghan people, his claim of "deep concern" for Israeli and Palestinian deaths despite the fact that the overwhelming number of casualties have been the citizens of Gaza and not the Israelis, his sucking up to the insurance and pharmaceutical industries in order to avoid giving the citizens of this country [unlike other major industrialized countries] universal single payer health care, etc, etc.
I realize that this will be like shouting into the wind but, as I had mentioned before in the past to you, it is extremely doubtful if a Neocon would put forth these criticisms of the sainted Barack Obama, especially in view of the fact that not one of Obama's selections for a major cabinet post is a genuine anti-war voice. Barack Obama-agent of change? More like More of the Same.
standard politics? STANDARD POLITICS?
GIVE ME A FUCKING BREAK
you'd be screaming for Bush's head if he did this. You know it.
.
Dear John CONyers,
See how easy that is?
Enforcement of the law only counts if your a Repugnican't pressing Democrappers bad deeds. Screw it, going the other way.
.
....do you think he'll give Bob's Big Boy his hair back??
Impeachment this jerk!!!!! Just think if he started a war on lies,(2 wars) or he was wire taping the people of Ill,(no warent) or he ran the state of Ill in a trillion dollar hole, or he trashed the state constitution, or he waterboarded people, or other crap, he would be OK. But selling a US senate job for money, hell that bad!
Thinkin the same damn thing.
That fucker joined the wrong party to get away with that shit.
he never actually 'sold' the seat. had he been successful in selling obama's seat, he would not have been impeached, just joined the ranks of the scads of successful 'power brokers' *cough*
he is being punished for his failure to close the deal.
/snark.... ?
just jealous of his hair, that's all!
I'm not trying to be snide here, but just exactly on what grounds was he impeached? I mean I heard the transcripts and everything, but he didn't actually do it, sell the seat, I mean. Is there more stuff on his record that is dirty?
political grounds? the you-are-embarrassing-us clause of impeachment?
i agree. what did he do? feels like a 'minority report' sort of situation, where he is being impeached BEFORE he commits a crime.
the whole thing is a jumbled mess
how many pols (i'm looking at you RNC) out there are wiping the sweat from their brow thanking jah that their phones haven't been tapped.
The attempt/willingness to sell Obamas' seat was simply the straw that broke his political back. He has been under investigation for three years for other things. Mostly concerning pay-to-play issues, illegal hiring and firing practices (abuse of power) and questionable campaign contributions. He was in his second term, so I am sure the list is formidable. In Illinois you couldn't open a newspaper without seeing something negative or inflammatory about him. This has been a long time in coming and very welcomed for most of us who live in Illinois. We can only hope the Lt. Governor doesn't turn out to be cut from the same cloth.
Impeachment isn't punishment; it's the start of a trial. There is enough evidence suggesting crime that it needs to be investigated; that's what's going to happen in the next three weeks.
After Blago's tapes became public, he lost his ability to conduct the
state's business and Impeachment became necessary.
While he should have resigned right then and there, the fool didn't.
He could have said that his words were bluster and not
actions, but he, also, recognized how these tapes prevented him from
conducting business and resigned. If only, he had done so.............
The criminal charges are up to the Feds and he will get his day in court.
Our Gov had a 4% approval rating BEFORE this mess became public.
IL Republicans are gleeful and hoping to bring themselves some power
from this mess but we shall have to wait and see. It isn't likely.
Congressman Mark Kirk is their choice and he made the statement, he
would help clean up IL politics.
I have a suggestion for him to do so.
He should visit Felon George Ryan, our former Republican Governor, currently sitting
in prison and ask George, how he got away with his crimes for so many
years before being caught?
Mark Kirk is my Congressman and is not worthy of his Congressional
seat and barely won re-election in November.
I recommend the GOP look around for a better candidate if they hope
to make any progress but then again look at the RNC's list of
candidates to become their new Chairman. Unbelievable!!
Laughable and totally lacking in leadership.
THE GOP IS DEAD FOR SEVERAL GENERATIONS.
Innocent until proven guilty. "we have an ongoing investigation"...
He "probably" is slime. He probably did the crime, but he hasn't been found guilty yet. Shouldn't he get the same treatment Scooter got? Why do "our" scumbags get hung out to dry while the republican weasels get to keep their jobs? Ronny's tearful defense was the start, Hunten Duckher in CA cried, Foley is "clean", Craig is still sitting in the senate, (and the airport restroom) But Democrats get booted?
If (when) he is fond guilty he should be impeached, but if he gets found innocent (god forbid) then doesn't he have grounds for wrongful firing and could sue!
It's good to see Democrats unwilling to tolerate such a corrupt politician in this case; the typical political response (usually GOP, recently, although William Jefferson is a counterexample for the Dems) in such circumstances is often to pretend ignorance, hide behind words like "alleged", etc. Reid has been foolish in this whole escapade, but at least it's miles away from the coverup which has been SOP for the outgoing administration.
Also, in cases of impeachment, the Senate acts as a jury; if they find him guilty, then he will be guilty-- no appeal, no "wrongful firing", etc.
The basis of the impeachment article is official misconduct which was uncovered by taped conversations made by the FBI and others. It is now up to the Senate to consider the facts and decide whether he is innocent or guilty. They are looking for the Feds to release four taped conversations that would help implicate Blago. As of yesterday I understand that this release had been blocked by a Federal court for the moment. we'll have to see what happens with that issue. The rules for conducting the impeachment trial are not well defined by the IL Constitution and in any case, standard trial rules don't necessarily apply. Pat Quinn thinks he will be gone by mid February. Let's hope so.
Impeachment is similar to an indictment, it is only an accusation so that there may be a trial, not a final determination of guilt or innocence. The trial in the Senate determines that.
As for Burris, it's Harry Reid's problem now since the Supreme court unanimously said that Jesse White's signature was not required to authorize this appointment. We'll see if macaroni spine Reid is inclined to tolerate the inconsistent story Burris has offered so far.
... is from Rep. Melvin Paterson, who has not issued an official statement on the matter at this time.
One other bonehead from Chicago voted "present." Paterson and this dolt should resign from public service. What an insult.
I don't quite see the contradiction in what is quoted here. Lon Monk is a *former* chief of staff and college roommate; I wouldn't consider him to be a "representative" of Blagojevich in those circumstances. Maybe I'm missing something? A representative is someone who is authorized to speak on behalf of another to some extent or another; I wouldn't call my friends "representatives", nor would I consider a former employee to be a representative. I don't even think Burris lied in spirit: asking Monk to drop a hint to Blago if he sees him isn't quite the same thing as actually contacting the governor's office.
It does no good to toss around flimsy charges of perjury against Burris or Blagojevich; the truth will be enough to take down the latter, and as for Burris, chances are good that he's completely innocent of anything other than ambition and an overly good opinion of himself.
Burris' stories have not been perfectly consistent but I would agree with you that assuming his statement to Monk checks out there is nothing wrong with what he did in making the request. We have to watch this guilt by association stuff.
Blago is a flake and probably the usual crooked Illinois politician. But so are everyone of those assholes in the Illinois House of Representatives. Unfortunately it comes with the turf, culture, way of life in the Sucker State. (I'm not making Sucker up. That is their state nickname for Illinois. Only problem is that the people are the true suckers not the Illinois politicians.) Anyway I would challenge any and all of these high minded and upstanding Illinois House members to take a lie detector test that they have never taken a kick back or payoff. Any bets on how many takers I would get?
What do you have against the House members here? You know something that us citizens here in IL don't? Just what do you hope to accomplish with your useless stunt?
You are missing a bit of Illinois history regarding the Sucker State. Some hold with the belief
that in the 19th century, people used long reeds as straws to get water........"Suckers."
Another refers to Mississippi mine workers traveling north each year to work in Illinois
Iron Mines who were given the nickname "Suckers" after one of the most plentiful fish in the river.
Due to Illinois geographical cartography , the Prairie State is the state's acceptable nickname.
While we, Illinoisans suffer with our idiot Governor, we can hold our heads high because
when we find a crooked politician, we take care of them and put them in prison.
Political parties are not considered.
Felon, former Republican Governor of Il, George Ryan is currently serving his
prison sentence. Hopefully he will have to serve out his term and Bush will
not commute his sentence.
Anyway, while not at all proud of any crooks in our government, we do
take care of them.
Where do you live and how's your state doing in this regard?
doesn't blogjanovich or whatever realize the damage he has caused to the liberal side. i'm not a conservative, far from it, but i want to see this guy get time. it's not that he doesn't realize, it's that he doesn't care. he cares only in how much is in it for me. just another fu...g politician.
If you weren't so stupid, it would be fairly obvious to you. But, that is why you and the rest of the "suckers" in your state vote in the type of politicians that you have. Don't act so high and mighty because the country is well aware of what goes on in Louisiana oops, I mean Illinois.
.
Well,
At least Governors are still held accountable...
.
Not defending Blago at all but why the fuck...how in the hell did Bush remain president for 8 LONG corrupt, raiding the Treasury, outing a CIA agent, lying America into war, torturing, spying on Americans ect. ect., years?!!
There once was a guvnah named Blago
Who thought he was smart, like Iago
When impeached for his crimes
He defended with rhymes
'Cuz dat's how dey roll in Chicago.
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