Reports and commentary are everywhere regarding the arrest of Illinois Governor Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his chief-of-staff on multiple corruption charges, including the attempted selling of the Senate seat being vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama. Federal Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald emphasized that Obama is not implicated in these charges (and in fact, he refused to go along with the Governor's alleged dealings and was one of many targets of Blago's foul-mouthed tirades recorded by the FBI during the investigation).
ABC's Jake Tapper notes that there is a discrepancy between the accounts by Obama and senior adviser David Axelrod over his contacts with Blago, though there may or may not be any significance there.
Fitzgerald, who prosecuted Scooter Libby and investigated others in the Bush Administration over issues related to the 'Valery Plame affair', has focused much of his efforts as a federal prosecutor investigating corruption in the Chicago area. The incoming president did spend his rising political career in the milieu of Chicago politics, so Fitzgerald's continuing investigation of corruption in Illinois may remain as a shadow during his presidency. Today's developments are only the start of an ongoing story.
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