Giannoulias subpoenaed for greasing the wheels
Prior to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s trial resuming today, word came that Illinois Democratic Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias had been subpoenaed to testify. Will Giannoulias finally be forthright about his involvement with Blago?
In today’s testimony, Blago’s former chief of staff John Harris explained wiretapped conversations between himself and the former governor, as they discussed possible candidates for the Senate seat. One name that echoed across the courtroom was that of the queen of daytime TV, Oprah Winfrey. Blago believed obtaining Winfrey’s support would be very beneficial to his political career because she was so instrumental in helping Obama ascend to the presidency. And, if anyone still doubted the former governor was not acting in the best interests of the people of Illinois, the tapes revealed he even considered appointing several out-of-state individuals including California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Harris also spoke about a meeting between Blago and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. to plot out a possible alliance between the two. At the end of the meeting, Blago told Jackson, “I’m glad someone’s thinking about me and how they can help me.” Nothing mentioned about if anyone in his Democratic administration was thinking about the people of Illinois and how to help them.
