Several ways to block him if he wants Senate

So what happens with President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat now?

Gov. Blagojevich has the power under the Illinois Constitution to name Obama's replacement, and he is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty.

So theoretically, Blagojevich could announce his appointee as senator this morning. And that appointee could be himself.

In the wake of Blagojevich being charged with allegedly trying to sell the Senate appointment, state legislative leaders plan to meet to enable a special election stripping Blagojevich of his appointment power.

But they won't meet until next week. And even then, Blagojevich could wait 60 days before vetoing the bill. A new state Legislature would have taken over by then and the governor's appointee could be sworn in and serving in Washington, D.C.

But the state's other elected officials have a few other tricks up their sleeve if Blagojevich tries to name someone perceived as tainted to Obama's vacant seat. Secretary of State Jesse White could refuse to certify the choice. The U.S. Senate could refuse to seat Blagojevich's appointee.

Obama said he never knew Blagojevich was allegedly trying to shake him down in exchange for appointing a friend to replace him in the U.S. Senate.

Obama's top adviser, David Axelrod, had said in past weeks that Obama had talked with Blagojevich about potential replacements for him in the Senate, but Tuesday night, he backtracked: "I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the president-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discuss the subject."