Transition Delaying Release Of Blago Review At Fitzgerald's Request

[babylonsister]

http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/at_fitzgeralds_request_obama_t.php

At Fitzgerald's Request, Obama Team Delays Release Of Blago Review
By Greg Sargent - December 15, 2008, 2:55PM

The Obama transition team has completed its internal probe into any contacts the Obama team has had with the Blagojevich camp over Obama's Senate seat -- but the results won't be released until next week.

Here's the statement, just out from Obama spokesperson Dan Pfeiffer:

"At the direction of the President-elect, a review of Transition staff contacts with Governor Blagojevich and his office has been conducted and completed and is ready for release. That review affirmed the public statements of the President-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the President-elect's staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as US Senator.

"Also at the President-elect's direction, Gregory Craig, counsel to the Transition, has kept the US Attorney's office informed of this fact-gathering process in order to ensure our full cooperation with the investigation.

"In the course of those discussions, the US Attorney's office requested the public release of the Transition review be deferred until the week of December 22, in order not to impede their investigation of the governor. The Transition has agreed to this revised timetable for release."

So the Obama team is claiming that its internal review has found that no Obama staff engaged in any inappropriate discussions of any dealmaking around the seat. But at Fitzgerald's request, the details as to what contacts did take place won't be released until next week.

[BOSSHOG]

1. Redundancy

for accuracy sake. Great idea, let Fitz's boys and girls scrub the information one more time. It works in submarines.

[babylonsister]

2. I think Fitz needs the info to go to court and might not want it getting

out before he's ready.

State of Shame
By SCOTT TUROW
Published: December 10, 2008

snip//

In his news conference Tuesday, Mr. Fitzgerald indicated that he hadn’t planned to indict Governor Blagojevich until next spring, meaning that the prosecutor was going to wait until his own fate was decided. Instead, with wiretap evidence piling up that showed that Mr. Blagojevich was intent on selling the Obama seat in exchange for a substantial personal benefit, like a high-paying job for himself or his wife, Mr. Fitzgerald was forced to make the arrest. He decided that he could not even wait for the grand jury investigating Mr. Blagojevich to meet on Thursday and indict him.

Bypassing the grand jury and proceeding through a criminal complaint instead effectively puts the case against Mr. Blagojevich on the express route. Mr. Fitzgerald will now have only 20 days to either give the governor a preliminary hearing — which would amount to free discovery for his defense lawyer — or return an indictment. Given Mr. Fitzgerald’s frank appeal for information from the public at his news conference, it’s obvious that his case is not fully buttoned up, and that Mr. Blagojevich forced the prosecutor’s hand.

[BOSSHOG]

3. Also

I do like the way Fitz acts, so if he says (in his authoritarian, lawerly manner) that the Obama Office gave him the info and we have confirmed its accuracy, then those on right wing radio will have to start making up other lies.

[pnwmom]

4. You're saying that you trust Fitz more than Obama.

Not me. Fitz came on like gangbusters at the beginning the the Plame case, but in the end he dropped the ball, it seems to me.

[BOSSHOG]

6. I'm saying

that double checking is a good thing. It has nothing to do with trusting humans.

[babylonsister]

5. I think Fitz knows what Obama knows, before Obama knew it.

They supposedly taped a lot of info on Blago.