Rahm Emanuel Was Blagojevich Extortion Target, Official Says

Started by CrackSmokeRepublican, April 04, 2009, 02:22:40 PM

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CrackSmokeRepublican

April 04, 2009, 02:22:40 PM
:shock:  This looks staged to me...

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Rahm Emanuel Was Blagojevich Extortion Target, Official Says
By Andrew M. Harris

April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Rahm Emanuel, a former U.S. House member now serving as President Barack Obama's chief of staff, is the congressman who prosecutors say was the target of an extortion attempt by ex-Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, an Obama administration official said.

Blagojevich, 52, a Democrat, was indicted yesterday by a Chicago federal grand jury on 16 counts including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy and attempted extortion. He was impeached and removed from office in January for abusing his power.

In the indictment is an allegation titled "Attempted Extortion of United States Congressman A." It said that in 2006, when the congressman asked the governor's office about the status of a $2 million grant for a publicly supported school in his district, Blagojevich told his chief of staff to freeze the grant pending further instructions.

When another official asked about the status of the grant, Blagojevich allegedly responded that the congressman's brother needed to hold a fundraiser for the governor. The governor also instructed a lobbyist to inform the congressman of that decision, the indictment said.

A White House official, who asked not to be identified, confirmed today that Emanuel, a Democrat from Illinois, was that congressman. Emanuel, 49, represented a Chicago-based House district for six years until he assumed his Obama administration post in January.

Blagojevich, in a statement yesterday, denied the Justice Department's allegations.

'I Am Innocent'

"I am innocent. I now will fight in the courts to clear my name," he said. If convicted of the racketeering or wire-fraud charges, the former governor could be sentenced to as much as 20 years in prison. In December, he was charged with trying to trade the U.S. Senate seat that Obama vacated upon winning the presidency for campaign cash or other favors.

The White House aide said Blagojevich was asking for Emanuel's brother, Ari Emanuel, to host a fundraiser for Blagojevich. The school for which the $2 million grant was being sought was Chicago Academy High School, the aide said.

Rahm Emanuel, who is with the president at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Strasbourg, France, was unavailable for comment, the aide said. Emanuel succeeded Blagojevich as the congressional district's representative in the 2002 election, in which Blagojevich won the governorship.

The fundraiser was never held, according to the 75-page indictment. Ari Emanuel is the founder of Endeavor, a New York- based talent agency, and serves on the board of the rock concert and theater promotion firm Live Nation Inc. of Beverly Hills.

Randall Samborn, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment.

The case is U.S. v. Blagojevich, 08cr888, in the Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris in the federal court in Chicago at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... refer=home
After the Revolution of 1905, the Czar had prudently prepared for further outbreaks by transferring some $400 million in cash to the New York banks, Chase, National City, Guaranty Trust, J.P.Morgan Co., and Hanover Trust. In 1914, these same banks bought the controlling number of shares in the newly organized Federal Reserve Bank of New York, paying for the stock with the Czar\'s sequestered funds. In November 1917,  Red Guards drove a truck to the Imperial Bank and removed the Romanoff gold and jewels. The gold was later shipped directly to Kuhn, Loeb Co. in New York.-- Curse of Canaan

CrackSmokeRepublican

#2
April 04, 2009, 09:07:28 PM
Great find Satya!

QuoteBut the report is extremely vague about the "one or two" conversations that Emanuel had with Blagojevich and the "about four" conversations he had with John Harris, the governor's chief of staff, who was also arrested at dawn on December 9th and has since resigned.


This makes me wonder if "Harris" is a member of the tribe? A lot of people with that surname are...
After the Revolution of 1905, the Czar had prudently prepared for further outbreaks by transferring some $400 million in cash to the New York banks, Chase, National City, Guaranty Trust, J.P.Morgan Co., and Hanover Trust. In 1914, these same banks bought the controlling number of shares in the newly organized Federal Reserve Bank of New York, paying for the stock with the Czar\'s sequestered funds. In November 1917,  Red Guards drove a truck to the Imperial Bank and removed the Romanoff gold and jewels. The gold was later shipped directly to Kuhn, Loeb Co. in New York.-- Curse of Canaan
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