Jack Kelly Sunday

Let's get the important stuff from Jack Kelly's column out of the way:

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald went to great lengths to make it clear that Mr. Obama is not a subject of the investigation into the charges for which Mr. Blagojevich was arrested Tuesday. Mr. Obama, moreover, had to be heartened by the obscenity with which Hot Rod described him in a taped telephone conversation Nov. 11, which made it clear that the Obama camp would offer Mr. Blagojevich nothing but thanks if he appointed the candidate Mr. Obama preferred to succeed him, Valerie Jarrett. [emphasis added]

Actually USAttorney Fitzgerald said this:

At one point, [Blagojevich] proposed a three-way deal -- that a cushy union job would be given to him at a higher rate of pay where he could make money.

In exchange, he thought that the union might get benefits from the president-elect, and therefore, the president-elect might get the candidate his choice. I should make clear the complaint makes no allegations about the president-elect whatsoever -- his conduct. This part of the scheme lost steam when the person that the governor thought was the president-elect's choice of senator took herself out of the running. But after the deal never happened, this is the governor's reaction. Quote, "They're not willing to give me anything but appreciation. Bleep them," close quote. And again, the bleed (sic) is a redaction.

My best guess (and this is ONLY a guess) is that the Governor said, "They're not willing to give me anything but appreciation. Fuck them." It could have been, of course, "To Hell with them" but "Fuck them" just sounds more "Chicago" doesn't it? Especially when the complaint says on page 63:

ROD BLAGOJEVICH said that the consultants (Advisor B and another consultant are believed to be on the call at that time) are telling him that he has to “suck it up” for two years and do nothing and give this “motherfucker [the President-elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him.”

Note to the historians, I think that's the most obscenity I've ever used on this blog.

It's interesting to watch the right wing noise machine try to tie Blagojevich to Obama. Especially when the term "motherfucker" is thrown around so much.

By the way, this is not the first time Jack Kelly's written about USAttorney Fitzgerald. Here he is in June of '06:

Mr. Fitzgerald is a sloppy prosecutor who rushes to judgment, and then has to backtrack, charged Washington, D.C., lawyer Clarice Feldman.

In one recent high-profile case, Mr. Fitzgerald's staff mistakenly sent 16 cartons of classified documents to attorneys for the terror suspects he was prosecuting, she said.

In another, Mr. Fitzgerald charged the victim in a financial fraud case instead of its perpetrators.

"Fitzgerald is good at creating elaborate facades which tart up the ramshackle huts to which they are affixed," Ms. Feldman said. "Once those facades are removed, it is obvious the cases behind them are rickety."

True to form, Clarice Feldman isn't just a "D.C. lawyer. She also writes for the conservative website "The American Thinker." Maybe Jack should have mentioned that back then.

But back to the column.

Jack weaves:

But how does this differ materially from Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., killing a tax bill after the CEO of a company that would have been adversely affected donated $1 million to the Charles B. Rangel School of Public Service at the City College of New York?

And how does it differ materially from the pardon President Bill Clinton issued to fugitive financier Marc Rich after Mr. Rich, through his ex-wife, contributed massive sums to the Democratic Party and to the Clinton library?

Yet Mr. Rangel is still chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Eric Holder -- who was excoriated by a congressional committee for his role in granting the Rich pardon -- is Mr. Obama's attorney general-designate. Rod Blagojevich is just the tip of a very large iceberg, one that encompasses local, state and national governments.

We've fact-checked Jack on Marc Rich before. He continually fails to mention that Marc Rich's attorney was that darling of the right - Scooter Libby.

As for Representative Rangel, Jack seems to indicate that nothing's going on that he's "still chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee." But did you know that there's an ethics investigation going on?

Yep:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in a statement just released by her office, said a House ethics committee investigation into Ways and Means Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) will be completed by early January 2009, which is officially the end of the current 110th Congress.

“In September, I called on the House ethics committee to look into issues raised by news reports on Chairman Rangel. This followed up on the chairman’s own request for an investigation by the committee," Pelosi said in her statement.

“I have been assured the report will be completed by the end of this session of Congress, which concludes on January 3, 2009. I look forward to reviewing the report at that time."

Not that Jack would have ever told you - no, he wants you to think that Rangel's getting a pass and that it's all one big left wing conspiracy.

But the point is clear - for the right wing noise machine, even if there's no evidence, they're gonna be pounding away at this.

For the record, if Blagojevich is found guity (and it looks real real bad for him right now) throw the motherfucker in jail.

Sorry this is so short today, my friends - going Christmas shopping with the wife.