Rod Blagojevich Contacted Dick Durbin About Obama’s Senate Seat

  We learned from the Rod  Blagojevich FBI tapes that were released last week that Roland Burris is guilty of trying to pay for the seat that he now owns even if he never did make his payment. Now we have learned that Blagojevich was actually in contact with Dick Durbin about the seat.

  Rod Blagojevich floated the name of  Lisa Madigan to Senator Durbin in return for federal money for his pet projects. Dick Durbin, according to two of his aides, was pleased and offered to help. Durbin also offered to get the ball rolling on a possible agreement but was told not to bother by Blagojevich, according to those same aides.

  It sounds like Lisa Madigan was never a serious contender for this seat and that Blagojevich threw the name out there as a feeler to Dick Durbin to see if Durbin would be willing to work with him. It now seems like he was. If given the chance Dick Durbin would have entered the Illinois senate seat sweepstakes that Roland Burris won.

  This is damning even if Durbin never was afforded the opportunity to broker a deal for the senate seat that was up for sale. This shows us a willingness to broker a deal for the seat, a willingness to join the pay to play scheme with Blagojevich. This is almost as serious as if he had indeed tried to work on a deal with the disgraced governor of Illinois because it was not Durbin who refused to play the game, it was Blagojevich who told him not to bother. The intent was there.

  It Blagojevich hadn’t stopped the possible nomination of Lisa Madigan to the vacant senate seat dead in its tracks Dick Durbin would have moved forward and attempted to negotiate a deal.

  These charges need to be taken as seriously as if Dick Durbin had actually been negotiating a deal for the Illinois senate seat. His intent was there as was a willingness to break the law in order to get a senator that he approved of sent to Washington.