MSNBC asking questions about Obama and Blagojevich

UPDATE: Illinois high court will not remove Blagojevich.
Surprising to me to see MSNBC report the possibility of 21 calls between Rahm Emanuel and Team Blago. Even MSNBC reporters think Obama could be more transparent and still honor the Federal prosecutor’s request to hold information.

Obama news conference at 11:45am.
UPDATE: First question from CBS News is about Blagogate. Paraphrased: You ran on a platform of transparency, how difficult is it for you to wait until next week to reveal results of your investigation? Obama replied that next week is not that far away and you’ll have answers to all your questions at that time.
He took 3 questions total.
UPDATE 2: Blago might break his silence today or tomorrow. Here is the video:

Sun-Times: Emanuel on 21 calls about the Senate seat

Michael Sneed reports:

Sneed hears rumbles President-elect Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is reportedly on 21 different taped conversations by the feds — dealing with his boss’ vacant Senate seat!

According to the Blago criminal complaint, Blago’s staff leaked several items about the Senate seat to Sneed. It seems entirely possible that she is correct given the contacts she has. It could also be misinformation based on the contacts she has.
If Obama’s account is to be believed, all those calls were conveying appreciation for any consideration Blago might give to Obama’s wishes.
However, Obama still has not addressed important questions in this matter. Politico.com lists 7 questions and this US News & World blog runs down thoughts on where this goes from here.

Questions about the Blagojevich scandal: Name that website

Don’t peek, but at the bottom I will link to the article from which the following excerpts are taken. See if you can guess where this article was printed.

Two top aides to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich resigned this week in the wake of the launching of criminal proceedings against the governor, and there was mounting pressure from state and national Democratic Party leaders for the governor himself to step down.

Ok, nothing unusual there. But then questions begin.

The frenzy to remove Blagojevich from office as soon as possible is also remarkable. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion with the state Supreme Court Friday seeking to have Blagojevich declared “incapable” of performing his office and have Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn installed as acting governor.
In her motion, Madigan argued that, “The pervasive nature and severity of these pending charges disable Mr. Blagojevich from making effective decisions on critical time-sensitive issues.” She sought to invoke a provision in the state constitution allowing for the replacement of a governor on the grounds of “disability,” although the constitutional history suggests that this term was meant to apply to a physical or mental breakdown, not a prosecution.
The traditional constitutional separation of powers would seem to bar the courts from intervening in such a fashion against the executive branch. Madigan conceded that her motion has no legal precedent, remarking at a news conference, “I recognize that this is an extraordinary request, but these are extraordinary circumstances.”
Madigan’s father, Michael Madigan, the Democratic leader in the state House of Representatives, said he would move for impeachment of the governor at a special session of the legislature called for Monday in Springfield if Blagojevich did not resign or was not removed by the court. Impeachment, the traditional constitutional procedure for removal of a chief executive, would take considerably longer, since it would require a trial before the state Senate and conviction.
Neither of the Madigans, nor Lt. Gov. Quinn, nor Republican state legislative leaders who have given their enthusiastic support, explained why it was necessary to remove Blagojevich from office so precipitously, before any trial or even evidentiary hearing on the criminal charges brought against him by the US Attorney.

Hmm, what is the author suggesting? That someone has a suspicious motive for removing Blagojevich? Then the author gets right to the point:

If there is a political motivation in the charges against Blagojevich, however, this could well involve a desire to protect a more important Democrat—President-elect Barack Obama. At least one top Obama aide, Congressman Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Obama’s choice for White House chief of staff, was in contact with Blagojevich about the selection of Obama’s successor in the Senate.
While the Obama transition office refused to release any information on such contacts for several days after the Blagojevich scandal become public, on Friday it confirmed that Emanuel had delivered a list to Blagojevich of a half-dozen prominent Democrats whom Obama could support as his replacement. Any telephone conversations on this topic between Emanuel and Blagojevich or Harris would likely have been tape-recorded by the FBI, which wiretapped the governor’s calls for nearly two months, beginning in mid-October.
The timing of Fitzgerald’s decision to bring charges against Blagojevich suggests that he may have wanted to act before anyone in the Obama camp could respond favorably to the governor’s shakedown effort. This fact is underscored by a report in the Washington Post Saturday noting that “debate raged within the legal community about whether US Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald moved prematurely to bring bribery and conspiracy charges before the consummation of an illegal act.”
In plain language, Blagojevich was arrested before he could make any deal for the delivery of the Senate appointment in return for political and/or financial favors. While he may well be guilty of a series of other corrupt practices, among them selling state contracts for campaign contributions, extortion against the owner of the Chicago Tribune and a Chicago-area children’s hospital, on the most sensational charge, the sale of Obama’s seat in the US Senate, he seems to have engaged only in thinking and talking, with no apparent overt action.
Fitzgerald not only preempted any possible deal between Blagojevich and Obama, he included exculpatory information about Obama in the 76-page document charging Blagojevich, including several quotes of telephone conversations in which the governor cursed the president-elect for failing to offer a quid-pro-quo for the Senate selection. The US attorney—whose job depends on re-nomination by the incoming president—also went out of his way to declare that he was making no suggestion that Obama or anyone in his transition team had acted improperly.

So where was this written? WND? National Review? Maybe it is this guy, writing somewhere else?
Nope.
Here it is.
Surprised?
Additional note – I almost made a new post but thought I could just add this here. Emanuel just doesn’t want to say anything:

ABC News’ Rick Klein and Gregory Simmons Report: Incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel skated past a reporter’s question — just about literally — outside his icy Chicago home Monday morning.
ABC’s Bret Hovell caught up with him long enough to ask whether he plans on meeting with the U.S. attorney about the scandal involving Gov. Rod Blagojevich, D-Ill. — but, in Emanuel’s words, the “sliding” got in the way.
Emanuel is under heightened scrutiny in the wake of published reports that indicate that he was in touch with Blagojevich’s office about possible replacements for President-elect Barack Obama in the Senate.
EMANUEL: “How are you?”
ABC NEWS: “I’m doing well, thank you.”
EMANUEL: “You guys got good holiday plans?”
ABC: “Hopefully yes. Now are you, have you…”
EMANUEL: “Can you hold on one second since I’m sliding? Thanks. Thank you.”
[Gets into the car and starts to shut the door.]
EMANUEL: “Keep yourself warm guys.”
ABC: “Sir do you have any plans to meet with the U.S. Attorney?”
[Shuts the car door.]

Is there pressure on Rahm Emanuel to resign?

Conservative blogs are reporting that there is pressure on Obama’s Chief of Staff selection, Rahm Emanuel to resign. However, a look at the links to the foreign papers finds mixed reporting with one paper taking a more cautious stance.
Patriot Room quotes an Aussie paper saying there is pressure on Emanuel to resign his post. However, clicking the link goes to a story describing vague pressure without mention of resignation.

BARACK Obama’s chief of staff is under pressure over reported contacts with Illinois’s corruption-tainted governor, who faces impeachment proceedings this week.
Rahm Emanuel, a combative congressman from Illinois who will serve as Obama’s political gatekeeper in the White House, was reported to have been in touch with Governor Rod Blagojevich about Mr Obama’s Senate seat.

An (apparently) earlier version of the paper said this:

BARACK Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, was under pressure to resign last night after it was revealed he had been captured on wire taps discussing candidates for the US president-elect’s Illinios Senate seat.
Mr Emanuel’s presence at the heart of the scandal threatens to roil Mr Obama’s administration as a Chicago prosecutor builds his corruption case against Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, The Australian reports.

The UK Times reports the pressure is to resign.

THE bullish, foul-mouthed but effective Chicago arm-twister Rahm Emanuel has come under pressure to resign as Barack Obama’s chief of staff after it was revealed that he had been captured on court-approved wire-taps discussing the names of candidates for Obama’s Senate seat.
Emanuel’s presence at the heart of the scandal threatens to roil the president-elect’s administration as a Chicago prosecutor builds his corruption case against Rod Blagojevich, the Illinois governor.

The UK Guardian says the pressure is to disclose his conversations:

Barack Obama’s choice to be his White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is coming under mounting pressure to make a full disclosure about his contacts with the disgraced governor of Illinois over the billowing Senate “seat for sale” scandal.

On the other hand, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Emanuel may not even have talked directly to Blago.
Obama supporters are correct that no direct deal making has been reported involving Obama, Emanuel and Blagojevich. However, the deal making is not the point given the information available to the public. One issue now is why has Obama taken days to respond to this. Almost a week after the Blago criminal complaint surfaced, Obama has not disclosed a clear picture of what he did. This should be easy. Either he gave Emanuel some names and authorized contact or he didn’t. What is so hard about disclosing which it was? Perhaps one problem is figuring out how to reconcile his initial statements regarding no contact if indeed he directed Emanuel to float some names.

Will Blagojevich resign?

The UK Guardian is reporting that Blago has made a deal.

Blagojevich is expected today to respond to calls for him to quit. According to the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, he will either resign or agree temporarily to step aside in a deal that would allow him to keep drawing his salary.

According to the criminal complaint released last Tuesday, Blago is in need of cash. So if Madigan offers him money to leave, he might take it. He said in the complaint he didn’t want to be Governor any more.
He may get his wish and his money. Something doesn’t seem right about this.