Over at TPM Muckraker, Zachary Roth has a good catch from the section of the complaint dealing with Blagojevich's attempt to bribe the "Tribune Owner" (Sam Zell) to give him favorable coverage in editorials:
In a November 11 intercepted call, Harris allegedly told Blagojevich that Tribune Financial Advisor talked to Tribune Owner and Tribune Owner "got the message and is very sensitive to the issue." Harris told Blagojevich that according to Tribune Financial Advisor, there would be "certain corporate reorganizations and budget cuts coming and, reading between the lines, he's going after that section." Blagojevich allegedly responded. "Oh. That's fantastic." After further discussion, Blagojevich said, "Wow. Okay, keep our fingers crossed. You're the man. Good job, John."
If this pans out, it would certainly warm the hearts of a lot of Tribune Company employees who were the main victims of Zell's disastrous takeover of the company. With yesterday's announcement that the company is filing for bankruptcy, it's really not a good day to be Sam Zell.
--Sam Boyd
Update: During his press conference, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald just pointed out that the guy Blagojevich was trying to get fired still has his job, which probably means Zell is off the hook.
