Update: As I was writing this up Gateway Pundit posted as well and reminded us of this video shot last December when Jesse Jackson Jr told reporters he was not a target in the Blagojevich investigation:
Well, well, well it seems that Jesse Jackson Jr may not have been as clean on the Blogo “Pay to Play” scandle as he had lead everyone to believe. Today The Sun-Times reported via Founding Bloggers that Jesse Jackson Jr may have offered $5 Million to secure President Obama’s old Senate seat.
Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise up to $5 million in campaign cash for the ex-governor if he was appointed to President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
The overture came from at least two members of the local Indian community who approached the Blagojevich fund-raising team last fall, sources say.Besides the $5 million to be raised by Jackson, the proposal also included another $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign fund that would come from Indian donors, sources say.
This is the first revelation that a proposal for the Jackson appointment involved an alleged promise that he’d raise campaign cash for the ex-governor.
It’s important to note that there has been no official charge of any wrongdoing by the Congressman:
Sources did not disclose what role, if any, Jackson played in authorizing the offers to Blagojevich. Jackson has denied allowing anyone to make pay-to-play offers to the governor on his behalf. The congressman has been interviewed by authorities but has not been accused of wrongdoing.
The approaches to the Blagojevich camp happened in the final weeks of October — even before Obama vacated his seat, sources say.
But this new revelation could be severely damaging! as the Founding Bloggers said in their piece
This is getting interesting. So far, the government has made it very clear that former governor Blagojevich is the alleged payee in this “pay for play” scandal, but they have not been as clear about who the paying players were. It takes at least two to tango, and if the above article is accurate, it appears as though Jesse Jackson Jr has been tearing up the dance floor.
is performing his role as President. Thirty-two percent (32%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of +2. That matches his lowest total to date (see trends).
