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Criminal Law Keyed to Osler
United States v. Blagojevich
Citation:
794 F. 3d 729 (7th Cir. 2015)Facts
When Barack Obama won election for President in November of 2008, the defendant, then-governor of Illinois, got to select Obama’s replacement in the United States Senate. The defendant was already being investigated before the election, and the FBI had warrant to intercept some of his phone calls during this time period. These calls revealed that the defendant this opportunity as a way to generate money and income for himself. He attempted to get president-elect Obama a favor in exchange for nominating Valerie Jarrett. President-Elect Obama did not agree to that deal. Defendant then turned to supporters of Jesse Jackson Jr., and offered the position to him for $1.5 million in campaign contributions. This is even more deceiving because the defendant was not seeking another term as governor so they money would be for his own personal use. Defendant broke off negotiations after learning about the wiretaps and was arrested before he could negotiate with anyone else.
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