Feds want to have a talk with Blagojevich's brother
PROBE | Chairs gov's campaign fund, but will he cooperate? 'Not a prayer'
The federal corruption probe that has shone a national spotlight on Gov. Blagojevich now has his brother -- who chairs his campaign fund -- increasingly under the microscope.
Law enforcement authorities, who are sifting through thousands of tape recordings in the case, have shown interest in talking with Robert Blagojevich, not only about the governor, but other aspects of the investigation, the Sun-Times has learned.
(AP file)
Asked whether the former U.S. Army commander would sit down with prosecutors, Robert Blagojevich's lawyer, Michael Ettinger, said his client isn't game.
"Would he cooperate and talk to the government?" Ettinger said. "Not a prayer."
Robert Blagojevich took over the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund in August, making about $12,500 a month to manage it.
Defense lawyers say they expect the Friends of Blagojevich fund to be indicted as part of the investigation. Prosecutors have moved to freeze the campaign money but may allow some defense lawyers to tap it for retainers, sources said.
Robert Blagojevich has been captured on more than 30 recordings and is referred to as "Fundraiser A" in the criminal complaint. In one conversation concerning filling the U.S. Senate seat, the governor allegedly tells his brother to send word to an emissary for U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. that the governor wanted an upfront contribution in exchange for the appointment, according to charges.
"Some of this stuff's gotta start happening now ... right now ... and we gotta see it. You understand?" the governor was allegedly recorded telling his brother Dec. 4. "You gotta be careful how you express that and assume everybody's listening, the whole world is listening. You hear me?"
The Jackson associate, referred to as Individual D in the complaint, was Jackson supporter and fund-raiser Raghuveer Nayak, sources said. Nayak is a business associate of Jackson's brother Jonathan and a longtime Blagojevich and Jackson contributor.
The next day, after news reports surfaced that investigators secretly recorded the governor, Gov. Blagojevich tells his brother: "Undo your [Individual D] thing."
"Fundraiser A confirmed that it would be undone," the complaint indicates.
Today, prosecutors will appear in federal court to seek to release four phone calls secretly recorded by the government in its investigation of the governor. Defense lawyers are expected to challenge the legality of the wiretaps against the governor and raise questions over whether federal authorities employed proper procedures while tapping the calls.
"His position is he hasn't done anything wrong," Ettinger said of his client. "He's an honest, hard-working businessman who spent the majority of his life in the armed forces in active duty or in the reserves."
Robert Blagojevich is an accomplished real estate developer who, while on active duty with the Army, held the highest government security clearance, dealing with nuclear missiles. He's a principal in Blagojevich Properties, based in Nashville, which did $40 million in transaction business at six apartment complexes and an office park in recent years.
Earlier this year, he delivered the commencement address at the University of Tampa.
The Blagojevich brothers' loyalty to one another dates back to childhood. In a 2006 Sun-Times interview, Gov. Blagojevich was asked to name the worst punishment he received as a kid. His response: getting spanked by his father for interfering with a spanking his brother was getting.