Probe: Nothing inappropriate

2008-12-24 10:16

Washington - Barack Obama and his aides did not try to cut any deals with Illinois' embattled governor, accused of trying to sell the president-elect's vacant Senate seat for cash or a lucrative job, according to an internal review released on Tuesday.

Obama and two of his top aides also met last week with federal investigators building a corruption case against Governor Rod Blagojevich, according to the report by incoming White House attorney Greg Craig released on Tuesday.

The report, whose release was delayed from last week at the request of US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, supports Obama's insistence that there had been no inappropriate contact with the governor's office by Obama or his staff. Prosecutors had said Obama is not implicated in the case.

"We are satisfied there was nothing inappropriate that took place here, either in terms of conversations or communications or contacts, between transition officials and the governor's office," Craig said after releasing the report.

Obama's Chief of Staff Ron Emanuel was the only Obama transition team member who discussed the Senate appointment with Blagojevich, and those conversations were "totally appropriate and acceptable," Craig said on Tuesday. No one on Obama's transition team discussed any deals or had any knowledge of deals, Craig's report found.

Sources have said Emanuel is not a target in the case.

Nothing but talk

Craig's report identified close Obama friend Eric Whitaker as someone approached by one of Blagojevich's top aides to learn "who, if anyone, had the authority to speak for the president-elect" about the Senate appointment.

The report says Obama told Whitaker "no one was authorised to speak for him" and that "he had no interest in dictating the result of the selection process".

Blagojevich attorney Edward M. Genson, who has said allegations that the governor was trying to sell or trade the Senate seat are built on nothing but talk, said Obama's report proves his point.

"I've said from the beginning that there was nothing inappropriate, and this just corroborates what I've said," Genson said.

Blagojevich was charged on December 9 with plotting to use his governor's authority to appoint Obama's Senate replacement and make state appointments and contracts in exchange for cash and other favors. He has denied any criminal wrongdoing and has resisted multiple calls for his resignation, including one from Obama.

Craig's report states that Emanuel had "one or two telephone calls" with Blagojevich and four conversations with John Harris, the governor's chief of staff who later resigned after being charged in the federal case. Craig told reporters Emanuel said he couldn't be sure it was only one call.

"Mr. Harris did not make any effort to extract a personal benefit for the governor in any of these conversations," the report said. There was no discussion of a Cabinet position, creation of a nonprofit foundation for Blagojevich, a private sector position or of any other personal benefit for the governor, according to the report.

Emanuel left for a long-planned family vacation in Africa on Tuesday and was not available for comment.

The report was released in Washington while Obama was vacationing in Hawaii. The president-elect did not make himself available for questions.

- SAPA