Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is 'Senate Candidate 5' in Blagojevich criminal complaint
SENATE SEAT | 'I am not a target of this investigation,' U.S. rep says, rejecting claim an 'emissary' offered to help gov raise $1 mil.
Watch the video: Jackson denies knowing of Senate seat "bid"
Secretly recorded conversations between Gov. Blagojevich and his brother have landed U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. in the middle of a federal investigation that could send the governor to prison.
(AP)
Three phone calls -- taped since Halloween -- between Rod Blagojevich and his brother Robert, who is chairman of the governor's campaign fund, discuss how they could get at least $1 million in campaign cash if Blagojevich appointed Jackson to the U.S. Senate seat given up by President-elect Barack Obama.
Blagojevich interviewed Jackson on Monday -- the day before the governor was arrested by the FBI -- and now Jackson has to talk to federal investigators about the selection process the governor was using to replace Obama.
Jackson admitted Wednesday he is the person identified as "Senate Candidate 5'' in the criminal complaint against Blagojevich. But the congressman says he has done nothing wrong and still wishes to replace Obama in the Senate. Jackson, however, called upon the governor to resign and give up his power to pick Obama's replacement.
"I spoke to the U.S. attorney's office on Tuesday," Jackson said. "They shared with me that I am not a target of this investigation, and that I am not accused of any misconduct."
The criminal complaint against Blagojevich discloses that he and his brother discussed picking Jackson over other candidates because an "emissary'' indicated Jackson would help raise money for the governor's cash-strapped campaign fund.
"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,' " the complaint states.
Jackson said he never offered to raise money for Blagojevich.
"I did not initiate or authorize anyone at any time to promise anything to Gov. Blagojevich on my behalf,'' he said. "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. I thought, mistakenly, that the process was fair, aboveboard and on the merits. I thought, mistakenly, that the governor was evaluating me and other Senate hopefuls based upon our credentials and qualifications.''
Besides Jackson, the criminal complaint says Blagojevich has considered other candidates for the Senate seat. Those candidates include Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Deputy Gov. Louanner Peters and businessman J.B. Pritzker.