US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has asked for a 90-day extension to bring an indictment against Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.

In a motion filed today in U.S. District Court, Fitzgerald said that the length, scope, and complexity of the investigation, combined with the intrusion of the holiday season, has prevented him from meeting the January 7 deadline. The probe, writes the prosecutor, began in 2003 and "involves multiple potential defendants" and thousands of intercepted phone calls.

The move means that we likely won't learn much more from Fitzgerald about Blagojevich's alleged crimes until at least March. So speculation is likely to continue.

We'll have the motion for you soon...

Late Update: Here it is.

Looks like Jesse Jackson has been cooperating with Pat Fitzgerald's probe of Rod Blagojevich for longer than we knew.

The Associated Press reports:

A spokesman for Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. tells The Associated Press the congressman has been talking to federal investigators about his dealings with Gov. Rod Blagojevich (bluh-GOY'-uh-vich) since summertime.

Spokesman Rick Bryant wouldn't give details of those discussions Tuesday morning.

But a report from WLS-TV in Chicago cites unidentified sources as saying Jackson has told investigators Blagojevich wouldn't appoint Jackson's wife as state lottery director because Jackson wouldn't donate $25,000 to the governor's campaign fund.

Jackson has admitted to being "Senate Candidate 5" identified in the charging document against the Illinois governor. Blagojevich says in a recorded conversation that an "emissary" from Candidate 5 proposed a "pay to play" deal for Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat.

Late update: In fact, Jackson's cooperation may have gone on for much longer than that. CNN reports:

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. has served as an informant to the U.S. attorney's office in Illinois, two sources close to Jackson tell CNN.

Jackson has served as an informant for more than a decade and has relayed information relating to embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich since 2006, the sources said.

Since the complaint against Rod Blagojevich was made public Tuesday, we've been wondering about the identity of the "Tribune Financial Adviser" who is said to have met with John Harris, the governor's then chief of staff, about the possibility of firing Tribune editorial writers who had been critical of Blagojevich.

Now the Tribune itself is reporting that it's Nils Larsen, a Tribune exec and managing director of the Equity Group, a private investment group started by Tribune CEO Sam Zell. Larsen has been interviewed by the FBI, adds the paper.

Larsen had been at the top of our list of suspects. The complaint says that the person is someone mentioned in media reports as a top financial adviser to Zell, who played a major role in Zell's purchase of the Tribune Company.

And Larsen appears to fit the bill. Consider this paragraph from a profile in Chicago Business last year:

Mr. Larsen, 37, is a managing director at Equity Group Investments LLC, Chicago billionaire Sam Zell's private investment firm -- and the company that will lead Tribune Co. when it goes private later this year. He's been Mr. Zell's point man in arranging and negotiating $11.2 billion in financing for the deal, scoping the future of Tribune's 23 television stations and running the sale of the Chicago Cubs.

We called Larsen yesterday to ask if he was the financial adviser named in the charging documents, but he didn't respond. He didn't respond to the Tribune either, and neither did Zell.

The paper adds that the feds have also issued a subpoena to the Tribune Company (probably wasn't hard for them to get the scoop!), seeking memos that might shed light on the governor's apparent efforts to get the editorial writers fired.

Did Rahm Emanuel speak to Rod Blagojevich about the governor's plans to fill the Senate seat left open by Barack Obama?

That's what a Fox affiliate in Chicago has reported, based on "a source familiar with the investigation" into the Illinois governor.

Fox Chicago News reports that Emanuel, the Chicago congressman who was appointed shortly after the election to be Obama's White House chief of staff, had "multiple conversations" about the issue with the governor himself and with Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris -- who this week was charged along with his boss.

The source said it was likely that these conversations were recorded, since they took place after the federal wiretaps had begun.

Of course, it would not be surprising if Emanuel had spoken to the governor about options to fill the seat. Fox Chicago said that the source didn't say whether those conversations involved any quid pro quo or dealmaking.

Obama yesterday pledged to canvass his staff about conversations with Blagojevich's office over the seat, and disclose what he finds out soon. Obama said that none of his staff had discussed any kind of deal for the seat.

Looks like David Axelrod is trying to push back against talk that Valerie Jarrett, a close friend and adviser to Barack Obama, may have abruptly pulled out of the contest for the president-elect's Senate seat because she had an idea of how the governor was approaching the task of filling the seat.

Bloomberg reports that Axelrod, Obama's top strategist, told an audience last night at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government:

[Obama'] preference was always that she serve in the White House, and ultimately he expressed that to her and said look, 'I just need you,' and that's why she made that decision.

Jarrett withdrew from contention days after a Nov. 10 conference call where, according to charging documents filed by prosecutors, Blagojevich talked about appointing "Senate Candidate 1" in exchange for his wife getting a corporate board appointment. Soon afterwards, Jarrett was announced as a White House adviser to Obama.

The Chicago Tribune has identified Jarrett as Senate Candidate 1.

Axelrod added:

No one in their wildest imagination could have imagined the scenario that ensued. There's a vacancy, the governor, apparently, in the complaint of the government had some ideas about what to do with it. We were not involved in that discussion or any discussion of that nature.

This doesn't look great for Jesse Jackson Jr.

The Chicago Tribune reports:

As Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to pick Illinois' next U.S. senator, businessmen with ties to both the governor and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich's campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job, the Tribune has learned.

At a luncheon meeting on October 31, Nayak and Rajinder Bedi told many of the attendees that they were organizing a fundraiser for Blagojevich, and that the purpose of the event was to get Jackson named to the Senate seat, two sources tell the Trib.

The meeting led to a fundraiser last Saturday which was attended by Jesse Jackson's brother, a former business partner of one of the businessmen, Raghuveer Nayak.

One source told the paper that he overheard Nayak and Bedi discussing plans with another politically active Indian-American businessman.

Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse got the seat," the second businessman said. "He said, 'I can raise half of it, $500,000.' The idea was that the other two would help raise the rest.

Nayak and Bedi are politically active in Chicago's Indian-American community. Nayak has raised money for Blagojevich and contributed to Jackson. Bedi is an aide to Blagojevich, who the governor is said to call "my Sikh warrior."

Speaking to a local Fox affiliate outside his home this morning, Jackson responded to the Trib's report.

He called Nayak a "great man" and a" family friend, but then said: "I'm confident that no one on my behalf made a single offer to anyone for anything. I wouldn't accept the position if it were offered under those circumstances."

Jackson continued:

I had not met with Governor Blagojevich in four years until I was granted a meeting on Monday, where I presented the governor with my credentials. What I was unaware of was that the governor was pitting Candidate 1 against Candidate 5, against Candidate 2, against Candidate 3, trying to exact (sic) something out of everyone in the process.

Jackson's own lawyer has all but confirmed that Jackson is Candidate 5. In the charges filed Tuesday against Blagojevich, the governor says he was approached by an "emissary" from Candidate 5, proposing a "pay to play" arrangement for the Senate seat.

If any of Barack Obama's aides talked to Rod Blagojevich about the Senate seat the president-elect left open, we may be about to find out who it was, and what was said. And that's a lot better than we've been used to over the last few years.

At an appearance moments ago to announce his healthcare team, Obama led off by telling reporters that he has asked his team to gather the facts about contacts with the governor on the subject. "What I want to do is to gather all the facts about any staff contacts that may have taken place" between the governor's office and the transition team, he said. In response to a question, he added that he would present the findings publicly in the next few days.

But Obama said he is "absolutely certain" that if such contacts took place between his team and the governor's office, they would not have included discussion of any kind of "deal" for the seat.

Obama also repeated that he himself never spoke to the governor about the seat. "I did not speak to the governor about these issues," he added.

It's worth noting that Obama's pledge to canvass his staff and present what he's found stands in contrast to the approach taken by President Bush after news reports suggested that a member of his team had improperly leaked the name of a covert CIA operative. Bush at first pledged to get to the bottom of the matter, but soon appeared uninterested in quickly doing so, or in disciplining those members of his administration -- Karl Rove, Scooter Libby, and Richard Armitage -- who were ultimately found to have been the culprits.

We should wait to see if Obama fully delivers on his pledge to reveal what he's found, but so far, he seems to be approaching the issue with greater openness than his predecessor.

On CNN within the last hour, Wolf Biltzer slipped in some interesting and potentially important news about what federal prosecutors might and might not have on Jesse Jackson Jr., who today was all but confirmed by his lawyer to be Senate Candidate 5.

Talking to legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, Blitzer said that according to law enforcement sources, Pat Fitzgerald's office does not have recordings of Jackson himself speaking to Rod Blagojevich as part of the US Attorney's investigation into the governor.

If true, that would be significant, because the indictment filed yesterday against the governor quotes him telling an aide that an "emissary" from Jackson approached the governor and proposed a "pay-to-play" deal in regard to the open US Seante seat that Blagojevich has the power to fill.

If Fitzgerald doesn't have evidence of Jackson himself talking about any such deal, it would appear to lessen the chances that Jackson will be charged.

Of course, there are some caveats here. We've been unable to get more details on Blitzer's report, and haven't seen it corroborated elsewhere.

And even if true, Blitzer's report doesn't exlcude the possibility that Fitzgerald has a recording of an aide to Jackson -- perhaps the "emissary" to whom Blagojevich referred -- talking about the alleged deal.

Still, this is worth trying to learn more about...

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. just gave a press conference adamantly denying any wrongdoing in connection with the Blagojevich charges.

"I reject and denounce pay-to-play politics, and have no involvement whatsoever in any wrongdoing,"Jackson said.

He added: "I did not initiate or authorize anyone at any time to promise anything to Governor Blagojevich at any time."

Jackson continued: "I spoke to the US Attorney's office and they shared with me that ... I am not accused of any misconduct."

Jackson said he met with the governor Tuesday (he meant Monday, it appears) to discuss the Senate seat, as was reported at the time, but that he believed he was in consideration on the merits.

He closed with an effort to associate himself with civil-rights history, saying he wanted to be judged "on the content of my character."

Earlier today, Jackson's lawyer all but admitted that Jackson is Senate Candidate 5. In the indictment filed against Blagojevich, the governor claims that an "emissary" from Candidate 5 approached him about a "pay to play" deal for the open Senate seat that Blagojevich has the power to fill.

In a televised press conference this afternoon, Jesse Jackson Jr.'s lawyer all but confirmed that his client is Senate Candidate 5 -- as we suspected from the start.

Asked whether he believes that Jackson is Candidate 5, James Montgomery said: "I do." He added: "He did not specifically tell me that, but I can assume it from our conversation."

Montgomery said that Jackson is guilty of no wrongdoing, and that both Montgomery and Jackson have been told by law enforcement that Jackson is not a target of the investigation. And he said that he and Jackson are scheduled to meet with US Attorney Pat Fitzgerald on Friday or Monday.

Just to remind you, in the indictment filed against Rod Blagojevich, the governor claims that an "emissary" from Candidate 5 approached him about a "pay to play" deal for the open Senate seat that Blagojevich has the power to fill.

ABC News is reporting that Rep. Jesse Jackson is "Senate Candidate 5". The report is attributed to "federal law enforcement sources."

The charging documents in the Rod Blagojevich case quote the governor telling an aide that an "emissary" from Candidate 5 contacted him and proposed a "pay to play" arrangement in regard to the US Senate seat left open by Barack Obama, which Blagojevich has the authority to fill.

The governor also says he thinks he might be able to get something "tangible, up front" from Candidate 5 in return for the appointment.

Jackson Jr. said this morning he was contacted by federal prosecutors who "asked me to come and share with them my insights and thoughts about the selection process."

Asked whether he was Candidate 5, Jackson Jr. said "I don't know," but added that he had been told he was not a target of the investigation.

We suggested yesterday that Jackson Jr. might be Candidate 5.

Rod Blagojevich's lawyer has said the governor has no plans to resign and will be vindicated, Politico reports.

The attorney for Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor will be vindicated and he has no plans to resign.

"He didn't do anything wrong," attorney Sheldon Sorosky told reporters after Blagojevich was arraigned. "A lot of this is just politics."

Blagojevich should be in the office Wednesday, Sorosky added.

So, reporters asked, he does not intend to resign?

"Not that I know of, no," said Sorosky, who added that the governor was "surprised" by the day's events.

In what is likely the start of a trend, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the DC-based good government group, has released a statement calling on Blagojevich to resign as Illinois governor.

It's fair to say that if the allegations in the charging documents are true, the governor has shown neither responsibility nor ethics.

We don't know for sure who Senate Candidate 5 is. But we'll likely find out. So it's worth understanding what his or her (though it appears to be his) alleged role in the affair is.

For Candidate 5, the most damaging passage in the document is this:

On December 4, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke to Advisor B and informed Advisor B that he was giving Senate Candidate 5 greater consideration for the Senate seat because, among other reasons, if ROD BLAGOJEVICH ran for re-election Senate Candidate 5 would "raise money" for ROD BLAGOJEVICH, although ROD BLAGOJEVICH said he might "get some (money) up front, maybe" from Senate Candidate 5 to insure Senate Candidate 5 kept his promise about raising money for ROD BLAGOJEVICH. (In a recorded conversation on October 31, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH described an earlier approach by an associate of Senate Candidate Five as follows: "We were approached 'pay to play.' That, you know, he'd raise me 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator.")

That last part, in which the governor says he was approached by an "emissary" from Candidate 5 proposing a pay-to-play deal for Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat, is the key. Though it's worth noting, of course, that Blagojevich hardly has a reputation for honesty.

There is also this passage:

Later on December 4, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH spoke to Fundraiser A. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated he was "elevating" Senate Candidate 5 on the list of candidates for the open Senate seat. ROD BLAGOJEVICH stated he might be able to cut a deal with Senate Candidate 5 that provided ROD BLAGOJEVICH with something "tangible up front." ROD BLAGOJEVICH noted he was going to meet with Senate Candidate 5 in the next few days. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A to reach out to Individual D, an individual who ROD BLAGOJEVICH is attempting to obtain campaign contributions from and who, based on intercepted phone calls, ROD BLAGOJEVICH believes to be close to Senate Candidate 5. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that Senate Candidate 5 was very much a realistic candidate for the open Senate seat, but that ROD BLAGOJEVICH was getting "a lot of pressure" not to appoint Senate Candidate 5. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that ROD BLAGOJEVICH had a problem with Senate Candidate 5 just promising to help ROD BLAGOJEVICH because ROD BLAGOJEVICH had a prior bad experience with Senate Candidate 5 not keeping his word. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that if Senate Candidate 5 is going to be chosen to fill the Senate seat "some of this stuffs gotta start happening now . . .right now. . . and we gotta see it. You understand?"

ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A that "you gotta be careful how you express that and assume everybody's listening, the whole world is listening. You hear me?" ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D if there is "tangible political support (campaign contributions) like you've said, start showing us now." Fundraiser A stated he will call Individual D on the phone to communicate ROD BLAGOJEVICH's message. ROD BLAGOJEVICH responded that "I would do it in person. I would not do it on the phone." ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Fundraiser A to communicate the "urgency" of the situation to Individual D.

So it certainly seems clear that the governor believed Candidate 5 would play along -- though that's not proof that he was correct in that assumption.

Senate Candidate 2 appears to be Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

From the charging document:

On November 6, 2008, ROD BLAGOJEVICH talked with Spokesman. ROD BLAGOJEVICH told Spokesman to leak to a particular columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, that Senate Candidate 2 is in the running for the vacant Senate seat. According to ROD BLAGOJEVICH, by doing this, he wanted "to send a message to the [President-elect's] people," but did not want it known that the message was from ROD BLAGOJEVICH.

Thereafter, ROD BLAGOJEVICH and Spokesman discussed specific language that should be used in the Sun Times column and arguments as to why Senate Candidate 2 made sense for the vacant Senate seat. A review of this particular Sun Times column on November 7, 2008, indicates references to the specific language and arguments regarding Senate Candidate 2 as a potential candidate for the Senate seat, as discussed by ROD BLAGOJEVICH and Spokesman.

So let's look at that November 7 item. Written by Michael Sneed and headlined: "Tipsville", it reads (via Nexis):

The latest from Blagoville: Is Gov. Rod Blagojevich toying with tossing Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who wants Blago's job?
- It's his pick . . . and it would get rid of a rival.
- It may endear him to powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan, Lisa's dad, who is Blago's political foe.
- It would enable Gov. Blago to choose a new Illinois attorney general.
- Hmmm: Even though this sounds like looneyville . . . stay tuned.

It's worth making clear: Candidate 2 is not accused of wrongdoing.

An FBI agent just said at a press conference that when Blagojevich was woken by a phone call from the FBI this morning, informing him that agents were coming to arrest him, he asked: "Is this a joke?"

Here's the video:

At a press conference to announce the charges against Blagojevich, Pat Fitzgerald said:

But the most cynical behavior in all this -- the most appalling -- is the fact that Governor Blagojevich tried to sell the appointment to the Senate seat vacated by President-Elect Obama. The conduct would make Lincoln roll over in his grave.

Here's the video:

It's good to have America's favorite prosecutor back on the scene.

Is Senate Candidate 5, who appears to have been particularly willing to play ball with Blago, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr?

The unnamed candidate appears to be a man. From the charging documents:

Rod Blagojevich told Fundraiser A to tell Individual D that Rod Blagojevich had a problem with Senate Candidate 5 just promising to help Rod Blagojevich because Rod Blagojevich had a prior bad experience with Senate Candidate 5 not keeping his word. (our itals)

That rules out Valerie Jarrett -- already assumed to be Candidate 1 -- Tammy Duckworth, Lisa Madigan, and Rep. Jan Schakowsky.

There's also this from the charges:

On December 4 ... ROD BLAGOJEVICH noted he was going to meet with Senate Candidate 5 in the next few days.

Now look at this from the Chicago Tribune on December 6:

Jackson, the South Side and south suburban congressman, said Blagojevich's office is looking to set up a meeting between him and the governor, who has the sole power of filling the vacancy.

"Every indication, I believe, is in the next four or five days a meeting will take place," Jackson said.

And indeed, Jackson and Blagojevich met yesterday.

And as of December 3, National Journal reported at the time, he had already met with Rep. Luis Gutierrez as well as some of the female candidates.

That's a long way from proof that Candidate 5 is Jackson. But it's at least suggestive.

From page 44 of the Blagojevich charges, about the deal the Tribune company was seeking on behalf of the Cubs:

During the call, Rod Blagojevich's wife can be heard in the background telling Rod Blagojevich to tell Deputy Governor A 'to hold up that fucking Cubs shit ... fuck them'"

Guess she's a White Sox fan.

Is Sam Zell, the Tribune Company owner, implicated in the charging documents of Rod Blagojevich?

From Fitzgerald's statement:

According to the affidavit, intercepted phone calls revealed that the Tribune Company, which owns the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Cubs, has explored the possibility of obtaining assistance from the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA) relating to the Tribune Company's efforts to sell the Cubs and the financing or sale of Wrigley Field. In a November 6 phone call, Harris explained to Blagojevich that the deal the Tribune Company was trying to get through the IFA was basically a tax mitigation scheme in which the IFA would own title to Wrigley Field and the Tribune would not have to pay capital gains tax, which Harris estimated would save the company approximately $100 million.

Intercepted calls allegedly show that Blagojevich directed Harris to inform Tribune Owner and an associate, identified as Tribune Financial Advisor, that state financial assistance would be withheld unless members of the Chicago Tribune's editorial board were fired, primarily because Blagojevich viewed them as driving discussion of his possible impeachment. In a November 4 phone call, Blagojevich allegedly told Harris that he should say to Tribune Financial Advisor, Cubs Chairman and Tribune Owner, "our recommendation is fire all those [expletive] people, get 'em the [expletive] out of there and get us some editorial support."

On November 6, the day of a Tribune editorial critical of Blagojevich , Harris told Blagojevich that he told Tribune Financial Advisor the previous day that things "look like they could move ahead fine but, you know, there is a risk that all of this is going to get derailed by your own editorial page." Harris also told Blagojevich that he was meeting with Tribune Financial Advisor on November 10.

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."

In other words, the Tribune company wanted a deal that would save them millions. Harris, the governor's aide, told them that if they removed the paper's ed board, the governor would play ball. In response, Harris got the impression that Zell had received the message and would do what Blagojevich wanted. The governor was pleased.

Late Update: Here's a statement from the Tribune Company, denying the charge.

From Fitzgerald's statement:

In a conversation with Harris on November 11, the charges state, Blagojevich said he knew that the President-elect wanted Senate Candidate 1 for the open seat but "they're not willing to give me anything except appreciation. [Expletive] them."

Looks like Obama wouldn't pay to play.

From the Fitzgerald statement:

On November 12, Blagojevich spoke with SEIU Official who was in Washington. This conversation occurred about a week after Blagojevich had met with SEIU Official to discuss the Senate seat, with the understanding that the union official was an emissary to discuss Senate Candidate 1's interest in the Senate seat. During the November 12 conversation, Blagojevich allegedly explained the non-profit organization idea to SEIU Official and said that it could help Senate Candidate 1. The union official agreed to "put that flag up and see where it goes," although the official also had said he wasn't certain if Senate Candidate 1 wanted the official to keep pushing her candidacy. Senate Candidate 1 eventually removed herself from consideration for the open seat. (itals ours)

Both Valerie Jarrett, a friend and adviser to Barack Obama, and Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq vet who runs the Illinois Veteran Affairs Department, have been mentioned as candidates for the seat.

There appears to be no allegation of wrongdoing by Senate Candidate 1.

Late update: The charges themselves say:

By this time, media reports indicated that Senate Candidate 1, an advisor to the President-elect, was interested in the Senate seat if it became vacant, and was likely to be supported by the President-elect.

A great nugget from the Fitzgerald statement:

Later on November 5, Blagojevich said to Advisor A, "I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I'm not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there."

More from Fitzgerald's statement:

Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.

Here's a bit more from the statement, which goes some way to explaining why Blagojevich might have been reckless enough to put a Senate seat up for sale even while knowing that he was under federal investigation:

The charges focus, however, on events since October when the Government obtained information that Blagojevich and Fundraiser A, who is chairman of Friends of Blagojevich, were accelerating Blagojevich's allegedly corrupt fund-raising activities to accumulate as much money as possible this year before a new state ethics law would severely curtail Blagojevich's ability to raise money from individuals and entities that have existing contracts worth more than $50,000 with the State of Illinois. Agents learned that Blagojevich was seeking approximately $2.5 million in campaign contributions by the end of the year, principally from or through individuals or entities - many of which have received state contacts or appointments - identified on a list maintained by Friends of Blagojevich, which the FBI has obtained.

More from Pat Fitzgerald's statement on the Blagojevich charges:

A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois' U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:
- a substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;
- placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;
- promises of campaign funds - including cash up front; and
- a cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.

Just last week, on December 4, Blagojevich allegedly told an advisor that he might "get some (money) up front, maybe" from Senate Candidate 5, if he named Senate Candidate 5 to the Senate seat, to insure that Senate Candidate 5 kept a promise about raising money for Blagojevich if he ran for re-election. In a recorded conversation on October 31, Blagojevich claimed he was approached by an associate of Senate Candidate 5 as follows: "We were approached 'pay to play.' That, you know, he'd raise 500 grand. An emissary came. Then the other guy would raise a million, if I made him (Senate Candidate 5) a Senator."

Who's Senate Candidate 5? Sounds like we'll find out...

From a statement from US Attorney Pat Fitzgerald...

Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois' U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife.

It's also alleged that Blagojevich wanted to purge Chicago Tribune editorial board and in return help them sell Wrigley Field.

After the jump is the full statement...

Read more »

Beleaguered Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was taken into custody by law enforcement authorities at his home this morning, reports the Tribune Company, sourcing a US Attorney's office spokesman. The governor's chief of staff, John Harris, was also arrested.

Hours earlier, the Chicago Tribune reported that the federal probe of pay-to-play politics in the Blagojevich administration had expanded to include the question whether the process of filling Barack Obama's US Senate seat -- for which the governor is responsible -- had become tainted.

Earlier this week, the same (also beleaguered!) paper reported that the feds had secretly taped Blagojevich as part of their investigation.

Yesterday, the governor told reporters: "I don't believe there's any cloud that hangs over me. I think there's nothing but sunshine hanging over me".

Late Update: Prosecutors have filed a criminal complaint.

Federal agents recently worked with one of Rod Blagojevich's closest former aides to secretly tape the Illinois governor as part of a wide-ranging probe into corruption in his administration, reports the Chicago Tribune.

Says the paper:

The cooperation of John Wyma, 42, one of the state's most influential lobbyists, is the most stunning evidence yet that Blagojevich's once-tight inner circle appears to be collapsing under the pressure of myriad pay-to-play inquiries.

Wyma has made frequent appearnaces in the scandal. Adds the Tribune:

Indeed, Wyma's and the Blagojeviches' relationship has always been both personal and professional. The governor routinely reported exchanging personal gifts and often appeared at Wyma-sponsored fundraisers where Wyma's clients hobnobbed with the governor before turning over checks for his campaign fund.

Blagojevich, who will decide on Barack Obama's replacement in the U.S. Senate, has been under federal scrutiny for over three years, but has not been formally charged with wrongdoing.