A publicist for Rod Blagojevich says the former Illinois governor has signed a six-figure deal to write a book about the dark side of politics.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted at his impeachment trial and thrown out of office Thursday, ending a nearly two-month crisis that erupted with his arrest on charges he tried to sell Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Blagojevich becomes the first U.S. governor in more than 20 years to be removed by impeachment. – from MSNBC

The former governor had refused to take part in the trial, but he surprised everyone by asking to make a closing statement in which he insisted that he should not be tossed out of office on what he called incomplete evidence. “You haven’t proved a crime, and you can’t because it didn’t happen,” Blagojevich pleaded with state senators. “How can you throw a governor out of office with insufficient and incomplete evidence?” – from Foxnews

According to state law, Pat Quinn, the lieutenant governor, assumed chief executive power upon the vote and was expected to take the oath of office for ceremonial purposes before the end of the day. – from NYtimes

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich made his appeal to the Illinois Senate at the closing of his impeachment trial.

Illinois’ beleaguered Gov. Rod Blagojevich said today that when he was deciding who would take President Obama’s Senate seat he considered appointing talk show queen Oprah Winfrey, a suggestion that Winfrey says left her “amused.” Blagojevich made the revelation to Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” on the day his impeachment trial is set to begin. That trial is expected to toss him out of office. – from ABCnews

“She was obviously someone with a much broader bully pulpit than other senators,” he said. But he said Ms Winfrey “probably wouldn’t take it” and that it would have been hard to offer the seat to her in a way that “didn’t look like it was some gimmick and embarrass her”. – from BBC

Oprah Winfrey said she was surprised to learn Wednesday from her best friend Gayle King that Governor Blagojevich was considering her for Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat. Blagojevich confirmed on Good Morning America that he was considering Winfrey. She said she was meditating when she got the news. “If I had been watching from the treadmill I probably would have fallen off the treadmill,” Winfrey told King on King’ Sirius satellite radio program. – from Suntimes

President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a deeper involvement in pressing for a U.S. Senate seat appointment than previously reported, the Sun-Times has learned. Emanuel had direct discussions about the seat with Gov. Blagojevich, who is is accused of trying to auction it to the highest bidder. Emanuel talked with the governor in the days following the Nov. 4 election and pressed early on for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett to the post, sources with knowledge of the conversations told the Sun-Times. There was no indication from sources that Emanuel brokered a deal, however. – from Suntimes

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is going to make a statement to the media in downtown Chicago. His office says the statement is scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m. at the James R. Thompson Center. It would be the embattled governor’s first substantial public comments since his arrest last week on federal corruption charges. – from Suntimes

Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Obama’s chief of staff, had direct discussions with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about Obama’s vacant Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Sources with knowledge of the conversations told the Sun- Times Emanuel spoke with the governor and pushed for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett in the days after the presidential election and asked that it be done by a certain date. The sources said Blagojevich told aides about conversations with Emanuel and sometimes gave them directions afterward. Some conversations between Blagojevich and Emanuel were likely caught on tape, the sources said. – from Foxnews

Mr. Obama was certainly more assertive in his condemnation of the Illinois scandal than he had been a couple of days ago, and he stated flatly that he had no involvement with the selling of his Senate seat.

The U.S. attorney had also said there was no indication that Mr. Obama was in any way involved. But Mr. Obama did note that his staff was still gathering facts about whether anyone on his team might have been involved, leaving the door open that some inconvenient news could emerge. It seems unlikely that Mr. Obama’s statements today will put these questions to rest.

And poor Mr. Daschle! Like Al Gore on Monday, Mr. Obama’s co-stars were overlooked as reporters questioned Mr. Obama about the scandal. Still, in the health-care question, Mr. Obama indicated quite clearly that the Bush tax cuts may not be rolled back as fast as he had promised, if at all. In the end, of course, dealing with health care and the rest of the economic emergency in this country will have a more lasting effect on his presidency than the current scandal in his home state. – from NYT

President-elect Barack Obama said Thursday morning that he is “confident” no one representing him took part in any pay-to-play dealings with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich over filling Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, and pledged to release details of contacts between his team and the governor’s office in the next few days.

“I have never spoken to the governor on this subject. I am confident that no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat. I think the materials released by the U.S. Attorney reflect that fact,” Obama said at a Chicago news conference. “I’ve asked my team to gather the facts of any contacts with the governor’s office about this vacancy so that we can share them with you over the next few days.”

Obama said he personally wasn’t interviewed by the federal prosecutors and suggested no one on his transition team was either – but did not answer a specific question about what role, if any, his transition team played in the investigation.

“I have not been contacted by any federal officials, and we have not been interviewed by them,” Obama said. “As is reflected by them, we were not perceived by the governor’s office as amenable to any deal-making.” – from Politico

President-elect Barack Obama attempted Thursday to clear himself and his staff of any taint connected with charges the Illinois governor put Obama’s Senate seat up for sale, saying Thursday he was “absolutely certain” there was no involvement with the alleged dealmaking.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday, accused of trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat for campaign cash or a lucrative job inside or outside government. The governor has ignored calls for his resignation and retains the power to appoint Obama’s replacement.

Obama said he was “as appalled and disappointed as anybody” by the allegations. And he said that neither he nor his transition team have been a part of the continuing federal investigation.

- from Yahoo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 5, 2008

Governor Blagojevich Congratulates President-elect Obama and Discusses U.S. Senate Seat
To fill President-Elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat, Governor will use deliberate process to select suitable replacement
CHICAGO – After congratulating President-Elect Barack Obama on his decisive victory, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich announced today that he will take his time and use a diverse senior staff made up of key members of his administration who will assist him in selecting a suitable replacement for Obama.

“Last night’s victory was bittersweet for Illinois – as we gain a great President, we lose a great Senator. And it goes without saying that our next Senator has big shoes to fill. Because it’s important that the best person for Illinois is selected, I want to be clear that the calendar won’t dictate our search. Instead, I want to ensure that Obama’s successor will understand and fight for the needs of average Illinoisans,” Governor Blagojevich said.

Governor Blagojevich will be looking for candidates that will:

Support the President-Elect’s agenda for the people;
Effectively represent the interests of the state of Illinois in the U.S. Congress;
Work with my administration to achieve our shared goals of ensuring access to affordable healthcare, rebuilding Illinois’ infrastructure, improving the economic security and livelihoods of Illinois workers, and caring for our most vulnerable; and,
Prioritize the average Illinoisan who is too burdened by taxes and economic hardship.

The U.S. Constitution, 17th Amendment, provides that a state legislature may empower the executive of the state to make the appointment.

Amendment XVII to the United States Constitution gives the Governor the authority to fill a vacancy in a Senate seat. See text below:

United States Constitution: Amendment XVII
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislatures.

When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, that the legislature of any state may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.

This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.

- from Ill.gov

President-elect Barack Obama and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich clashed over whether to appoint a senior Obama adviser to replace him in the Senate, according to a criminal complaint filed with a federal district court.

The adviser at the center of the dispute appears to have been Valerie Jarrett, whom Obama has tapped to serve as White House senior adviser and assistant to the president for intergovernmental relations and public liaison.

When contacted Tuesday, Obama’s transition team said they were not prepared to comment on the complaint just yet.
Obama’s advisers declined to give in to Blagojevich’s demands, prompting angry outbursts from the Illinois governor behind the scenes.

Blagojevich in a conversation intercepted by federal agents calls Obama a “motherf—-r” and dismisses Obama’s unwillingness to strike a deal: “F—k him.” – from the Hill