Illinois House Panel Recommends Blagojevich Impeachment

[babylonsister]

:applause::applause:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123142924729464641.html?mod=googlenews_wsj


Illinois House Panel Recommends Blagojevich Impeachment


By DAVID KESMODEL

CHICAGO -- A draft report by an Illinois legislative committee recommends the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who faces federal charges of corruption and bribery.

The 21-member House special investigative committee said in the report released Thursday that "the totality of the evidence" provides cause to impeach the governor.

The House panel resumes deliberations today. If it approves the draft report to recommend impeachment, which could happen later today, then the full House would vote on the matter as soon as Friday. If the House approved impeachment, the matter then would move to the Senate, which would conduct its own trial.

Mr. Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 and charged with widespread corruption, including allegations that he tried to sell his choice of the successor to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for a high-paying labor-union job or Obama cabinet position. Mr. Blagojevich has denied any wrongdoing, refused to leave office and vowed to aggressively fight the charges.

The House investigative panel, among other conclusions, said many statements intercepted by federal agents using wiretaps "indicate that the governor was aware that the plans he was considering with regard to the Senate seat were illegal and improper."

The panel said in the 69-page report that the secretly taped conversations "show that his principal concern in making an appointment to the Senate seat was not" the people of Illinois, "but rather his own personal agenda."

The panel said "it is notable that the Governor never testified to rebut any of the allegations concerning his conduct" in what is a non-criminal proceeding.

[spanone]

1. i hope this guy goes down hard....

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. How far can they push the idea of crimes of "intent"?

[babylonsister]

3. Hopefully far enough to impeach the bastid. nt

[Cha]

4. The ongoing slow

saga of blago. Can you imagine if this were a repub gov and his repub appointee? Not that blago didn't act like a repub when he was in congress voting for the War On Iraq as the only Dem(?) from Illinois to do so.

[undeterred]

5. Whats their hurry?

:sarcasm: