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Questions Arise About the Obama/Blagojevich Relationship — “Obviously like the rest of the people of Illinois I am saddened and sobered by the news that came out of the US attorney's office today,” said President-elect Obama this afternoon in Chicago, speaking of the criminal complaint …
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Chicago reporter suggests Rahm Emanuel may have ‘tipped’ off federal investigators about Blagojevich.» — Marcy Wheeler catches local Chicago press reporting that Rahm Emanuel may have tipped off federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was engaging in corrupt acts.
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Emptywheel, TPM Election Central, CNN, Gawker, Wizbang, Don Surber, Wonkette and Minnesota Independent

Attorney: Blagojevich has no plans of resigning — CHICAGO— The attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor will be vindicated and he has no plans to resign. — “He didn't do anything wrong,” attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters after Blagojevich was arraigned.

Blago calls Obama “motherf—er” — The tapes reveal a two-term governor who no longer wants his job, badly wants cash and is determined to leverage a financial benefit out of his appointment powers. — He also appears to think little of the president-elect, whom he calls a “motherf***er” at one point.

Illinois' top lawmakers to strip Blago of senate pick power — (Crain's) — The state's top two legislative leaders Tuesday said they will move fast to seize control of the process of selecting a replacement for Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, taking that power away from Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Aide: Ax ‘misspoke’ — An Obama aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, took back David Axelrod's remark last month that Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich had spoken recently. — “What the president-elect said today is correct, David Axelrod misspoke,” the aide said.

Blago Complaint: Who Is Senate Candidate 5? — Gov. Blagojevich's own words make it clear that he did not believe that Barack Obama wanted a person called “Senate Candidate 5” to be appointed to the Senate. … In other words — if Blago doesn't get what he wanted, then he'd stiff the PEOTUS …
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Illinois Governor in Corruption Scandal — CHICAGO — Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested by federal authorities on Tuesday morning on corruption charges, including an allegation that he conspired to effectively sell President-elect Barack Obama's seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.

Details Of Complaint Against Blagojevich — CHICAGO (CBS) ― Full release from U.S. Attorney's Office: — Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging …


Durbin wants special election to replace Obama — (CNN) — Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said Tuesday he wants a special election called to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. — At a press conference with reporters on Capitol Hill, Durbin said he wants the Illinois legislature …

Source: ‘SEIU official’ was Stern — A Democratic source confirms that SEIU President Andy Stern is the “SEIU official” referred to in the federal complaint against Rod Blagojevich. — There's no allegation that the SEIU official did anything wrong, and what appears to be a wiretap transcript …


Alleged: Blago Hoped To Shake Down Warren Buffett!
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DealBook

Blagojevich arrest could send Jewish rep to Senate
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Sunlight Foundation

A tip from Rahm? — Jack Connaty, of Chicago's Fox affiliate, reported this morning:

Note to President-Elect Obama: just tell the truth
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Political Punch

‘Senate Candidate 5’ — Capitol Fax's Rich Miller updates …
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The Capitol Fax Blog

A GUIDE TO THE CANDIDATES. — There are six candidates named …
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TPMMuckraker, Kevin Drum, Chicago Sun Times, ATTACKERMAN, The Volokh Conspiracy, NO QUARTER and The Capitol Fax Blog

What the transition knew
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The Hill, Associated Press, Marc Ambinder, The New Republic, JustOneMinute and The Politico

Joe the Plumber: McCain ‘appalled me’ — Joe Wurzelbacher lashed out at former GOP presidential nominee John McCain Tuesday, the man who made Wurzelbacher famous as “Joe the Plumber.” — Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Glenn Beck that he felt “dirty” after “being on the campaign trail …
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Little Green Footballs


Favreau's Sexist Photo Is No Laughing Matter — Oh, what to do. An incredibly talented young aide, to an impossibly idealistic new president, gets caught doing something indefensibly stupid and undeniably sexist. Everyone is uncomfortable. But should anyone be held accountable? Apparently not.
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Tennessee Guerilla Women

O'Reilly And Rove Agree: Reports On The Bad Economy Are Part Of A Media Cabal To Help Obama — Yesterday on Fox News, Bill O'Reilly and Karl Rove went on a tirade against the media for hyping the struggling state of the economy. They claimed that it's not as bad as reports are making it out to be …
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danieldrezner.com


Workers win a big round in Chicago factory sit-in — CHICAGO - The creditor of a Chicago plant where laid-off employees are conducting a sit-in to demand severance pay said Tuesday it would extend limited loans to the factory so it could resolve the dispute, but the workers declared their protest unfinished.
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MyDD
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Who Needs Republic's Window Manufacturing Workers? The Whole Country.
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Chicago Breaking News

The Case For Caroline? — After allowing that her head tells her to “recoil from political dynasties,” Ruth Marcus lets her heart make the case for Senator Kennedy of New York: … I don't know about Jesse Ventura, but I find Schwarzenegger and Sonny Bono's pre-political careers as self …
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A Fighter Jet's Fate Poses a Quandary for Obama — Two of President-elect Barack Obama's stated goals — cutting wasteful spending and saving or creating millions of jobs — are on a collision course in a looming decision over whether to keep building the F-22 fighter jet.