Because it will likely be difficult for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald to convict Governor Rod Blagojevich on the charge of solicitation of bribery in connection with Barack Obama's former Senate seat, some people speculated that Fitzgerald went public with the investigation when he did so as to prevent Blagojevich from appointing anyone to the seat. It does not appear to have worked. Lynn Sweet reports:
I've learned that Gov. Blagojevich is poised to name former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to replace President elect Barack Obama in the Senate on Tuesday afternoon. The embattled Blagojevich, fighting impeachment charges in the Illinois House, just called a press conference for 2 p.m. Chicago time at the Thompson State of Illinois Center.Burris was the first African American to win statewide office in Illinois when he was elected comptroller, serving from 1983 to 1991. He served as Illinois Attorney General from 1991 to 1995. Burris previously ran and lost bids for the U.S. senate and governor.
Of course, the first question on everyone's minds is bound to be, what did Burris promise Blagojevich in exchange for the seat, which is why many people assumed that the appointment was too tainted for anyone to really accept. As Sweet notes, if elected, Burris would be the only black senator in the upper house of our color-blind racial utopia.
UPDATE: Josh Kalven points out that a few weeks ago, Burris didn't think much of Blago:
Burris announced his interest in the seat at a December 13 press conference. And he didn't pull any punches with regards to the governor. He described Blagojevich's alleged efforts to sell the Senate appointment as "pretty appalling" and "just reprehensible." He also endorsed Attorney Gen. Lisa Madigan's effort at the time to get the Illinois Supreme Court to remove the governor from office, describing Blagojevich as "incapacitated."Interesting.
-- A. Serwer
