Obama urges Illinois governor to step down

- Seeking to distance himself from an evolving scandal causing political headaches even before he takes office, president-elect Barack Obama on Wednesday called on Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to resign over allegations he tried to sell the state's vacant Senate seat for personal profit.

"The president-elect agrees . . . that under the current circumstances it is difficult for the governor to effectively do his job and serve the people of Illinois," Obama's chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said in a statement.

But even as Obama joined others calling for Blagojevich to relinquish his power to appoint the state's next U.S. senator, the case further disrupted a presidential transition that had been proceeding smoothly since the Nov. 4 election.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich faces charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.

Republicans seized on the corruption charges against Blagojevich, a Democrat, to demand a more fulsome explanation from Obama about the relationship he and senior members of his inner circle had with the disgraced politician.

In particular, the scandal on Wednesday ensnared Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., Obama's national campaign co-chairman during the presidential election and the son of Rev. Jesse Jackson.

Several U.S. news organizations identified Jackson as the "Senate Candidate 5" who Blagojevich referred to in private conversations taped by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to an affidavit sworn by FBI agent Daniel Cain, Blagojevich claims an emissary of "Senate Candidate 5" approached him with a "pay to play" scheme in which the congressman would contribute $1 million to Blagojevich in exchange for being appointed to Obama's vacant Senate seat.

Jackson, who has served in Congress since 1995, has publicly lobbied to replace Obama but on Wednesday adamantly denied any wrongdoing in his quest to become a senator.

"I did not initiate, or authorize anyone at any time to promise anything to Gov. Blagojevich on my behalf," Jackson said at a Capitol Hill news conference. "I never sent a message, or an emissary, to the governor to make an offer, to plead my case or to propose a deal about a U.S. Senate seat, period."

Jackson confirmed he personally met with Blagojevich to discuss the Illinois Senate seat on Monday, prior to the governor's arrest. It was their first meeting "in four years," Jackson said.

"I thought mistakenly that the governor was evaluating me and other Senate hopefuls based upon our credentials and qualifications," he said. "I presented my record, my qualifications and my vision . . . Despite what he may have been looking for, that's all I had to offer, and that's what we discussed."

Jackson said he has spoken to federal prosecutors and was told he was "not a target of this investigation and that I am not accused of any misconduct."

Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, were charged Tuesday with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and solicitation of bribery.

Prosecutors allege Blagojevich sought to sell or trade the Senate appointment in exchange for a position in Obama's cabinet, an ambassadorship or high-paying union or corporate jobs for him and his wife.

U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has cautioned journalists and the public against concluding Blagojevich's taped remarks about other individuals as truthful representations of their actions.

Obama has said he had "no contact" with Blagojevich or his office about the vacant Senate seat, and prosecutors say they are not alleging any wrongdoing by the president-elect.

Obama's statement, however, has not satisfied Republican party officials. They pointed to a Nov. 23 statement by senior Obama adviser David Axelrod, who told a Chicago television statement the president-elect had "talked to the governor and there are a whole range of" potential Senate candidates. Axelrod released a statement late Tuesday saying he was "mistaken" and Obama had no communication with Blagojevich.

"President-elect Barack Obama's carefully parsed and vague statements regarding his own contact and that of his team with Gov. Rod Blagojevich are unacceptable," Mike Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said Wednesday.

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