Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Blago Attorney Confirms He's Eying Jackson's Congressional Seat

The attorney who insisted his client, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, was totally innocent of the public corruption charges leveled against him, including an attempt to sell the Senate seat of Barack Obama after he was elected President, confirms he would like to take a shot at the congressional seat now held by embattled U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. Rumors of a plea agreement between federal prosecutors and Rep. Jackson that would require Jackson to resign his seat have still not been officially confirmed, but that's not stopping Sam Adam, Jr. from publicly expressing his interest in his seat. Adam told the Chicago Sun-Times Tuesday he is considering a run for U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s seat. “My wife and I are thinking about it,” Adam told the Sun-Times. “I am a fighter. They may have said I wasn’t qualified, but they can’t say I don’t fight.”

The move is interesting given that Jackson was at the center of the federal investigation that led to charges against Adam's former client. Jackson made overtures to former Gov. Blagojevich expressing his interest in Obama's Senate seat, and his supporters approached the governor and his associates about possible campaign contributions in consideration for Jackson's appointment to the seat. Federal prosecutors ultimately did not charge Jackson in connection with that investigation; however, news reports indicate he will be charged with misappropriating campaign funds for personal use, including a mistress. Observers have questioned why Adam has remained quiet after a new book published by two Chicago Tribune reporters, who were given unprecedented access to wiretapped conversations of his client that have not been made available to the public, disputes his claim that if he had been allowed to present all of the recorded conversations at trial, they would have proved his client's innocence. Some have speculated that Adam and his client have remained quiet in hope of President Obama using his executive authority to reduce the 14-year prison sentence Blagojevich received. Perhaps it has more to do with Adam's only political ambitions.

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