Governor Blagojevich was thinking carefully about how to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama, according to the feds: “I’ve got this thing and it’s fucking golden, and, uh, uh, I’m just not giving it up for fuckin’ nothing. I’m not gonna do it.”
In fact, the governor and top advisers allegedly came up with a list of coveted jobs and favors from Obama, Obama’s allies, or campaign supporters–that might help him make a decision. Among them:
· an ambassadorship
· secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
· secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy
· head of a private foundation, perhaps the Red Cross
· head of a nonprofit funded with $10-$15 million from Warren Buffett or Bill Gates
· head of Change To Win union coalition
· some other kind of job paying $250-$300K a year
· job for wife Patti Blagojevich in Washington or New York
· job for Patti Blagojevich with Change to Win
· corporate board appointments for Patti Blagojevich
Or, if none of this worked out, Blagojevich could always call himself a senator: “And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there.”
“The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave,” U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald [PDF] said a few minutes ago. The governor’s office, he said, is “in the middle of a political corruption crime spree, and we wanted to stop it.”