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Washington, DCJudicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released its 2009 list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians.”  The list, in alphabetical order, includes: 1. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT):  This marks two years in a row for Senator Dodd, who made the 2008 “Ten Most Corrupt” list for his corrupt relationship with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for accepting preferential treatment and loan terms from Countrywide Financial, a scandal which still dogs him.  In 2009, the scandals kept coming for the Connecticut Democrat.  In 2009, Judicial Watch filed a Senate ethics complaint against...

Well, not that Isaac Hayes, who died last year. Rep. Jackson's Republican challenger could have some fun with campaign slogans invoking his more famous namesake. Tired of getting the Shaft from Washington? Vote for Isaac Hayes. Or: Isaac Hayes -- finally, a Chef who won't spoil the broth. And maybe even: Vote for hot buttered soul.

Bloomberg - headline and link allowed only http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a7Hk3ZEF4QyM

Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise up to $5 million in campaign cash for the ex-governor if he was appointed to President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. The overture came from at least two members of the local Indian community who approached the Blagojevich fund-raising team last fall, sources say. Besides the $5 million to be raised by Jackson, the proposal also included another $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign fund that would come from Indian donors, sources say. This is the first revelation that...

A congressional ethics board has launched a preliminary inquiry into U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill), related to President Obama’s vacant Senate seat and the corruption investigation of ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. The Office of Congressional Ethics, formed just last year, voted in late March to conduct a “preliminary review,” of actions surrounding Jackson’s bid to be appointed to the Senate seat, according to documents released by the office. The committee launched the action Thursday — the same day Blagojevich was indicted on corruption charges. The panel has asked parties in the Blagojevich case —...

Federal authorities have asked U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson (D.-Ill) why former Gov. Rod Blagojevich believed he would get campaign cash in exchange for appointing Jackson to President Obama's vacant Senate seat, sources told the Sun-Times. More than a week ago, Jackson and his criminal defense lawyer sat down for an interview with investigators in connection with the ongoing corruption probe of the now-indicted Blagojevich. Among the areas of interest, sources say, was what Jackson told his representatives to convey to the Blagojevich camp on his behalf last year -- a time Jackson sought the Senate seat appointment. And, in a...

Days before Gov. Blagojevich was charged with trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones. Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Days before Gov. Blagojevich was charged with trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones. Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times. Sources say the Senate majority leader pushed against Jackson and Davis — both democratic congressmen from Illinois — and against Jones — the Illinois Senate president who is the political godfather...

Post any comments about the Blago 2:00 (Central Time) News Conference.

But out of vindictiveness, did Jackson then decide to entrap Blagojevich by getting him to ask for money in exchange for giving Jackson the Illinois Senate seat? Did he intend to report the crime to Patrick Fitzgerald? Or was the price just more than Jackson could pay for the favor, and was he overheard on wiretaps arguing about the price? If Jackson had been fully cooperating with U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in setting up Blagojevich (and Jackson's spokesman says he wasn't), it seems unlikely that he would call a press conference to protest his innocence. More likely he would just...

Illinois Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. has been dropping dimes on his state's disgraced governor and other corrupt local pols for years, a spokesman said Tuesday. Jackson, a longtime congressman and son of the famed civil rights activist, has been pulled into the controversy surrounding Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged attempt to auction Barack Obama's now-vacant U.S. Senate seat. A Jackson spokesman, Kenneth Edmonds, said the congressman had spoken to the feds about Blagojevich and others. He wouldn't provide details, but Chicago's WLS-TV reported the congressman told investigators Blagojevich refused to make Jackson's wife director of the state lottery because Jackson would...

Facing 30 years in prison on corruption charges, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is assembling the best defense team money can buy. The question is, whose money? There has been speculation that Blagojevich will use his expansive campaign war chest, $3.6 million at last count, to pay for his defense. Can he really do that? To paraphrase a fellow Chicagoan: Yes he can! Possibly. State law does not prevent the Democratic governor from tapping his campaign committee's funds to pay legal bills, even though he stands accused of illegally soliciting and obtaining some of the funds in exchange for official actions....

CNN tonight clarifying earlier reports today that Jackson was an informant working with the Prosecutor. Jackson told CNN that in 2002 he was asked for a $25,000 campaign contribution to Hot Rod's 2002 campaign to ensure a job for Jackson's wife at the Illinois lottery. Jackson said he went to the authorities and reported it at that time. Funny thing, that was the year Obama was so proud to be working for Hot Rod's Gubanatorial race! Funny how things work out, eh Democrats?

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) told federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich asked for a $25,000 campaign contribution during Blagojevich's 2002 run for governor and may have exacted retribution when the money did not arrive, a political source close to Jackson said Tuesday. After Blagojevich (D) won, he considered and rejected Jackson's wife, Sandi, for the job of state lottery director, the source said. Later, the governor saw Rep. Jackson at an event in Washington and, according to the source, told him he bet Jackson regretted not paying up. *snip* Impeachment committee members remain uncertain what evidence U.S. Attorney...

A congressman who acknowledged being mentioned in a criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has been sharing information about public corruption with federal investigators for years, a spokesman said. Kenneth Edmonds, a spokesman for U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., told The Associated Press that the congressman had spoken about Blagojevich and others.

CHICAGO – Shortly after his 2002 election, Gov. Rod Blagojevich told Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. he didn't appoint the congressman's wife as lottery director because he had refused him a $25,000 campaign donation, a person familiar with the conversation told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "Blagojevich went out of his way to say, 'You know I was considering your wife for the lottery job and the $25,000 you didn't give me? That's why she's not getting the job,'" the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the ongoing federal investigation. Jackson's name has played prominently ever since Blagojevich...

Bye bye, black Senate seat! The political blackbirds are singing a swan song for the hopes of keeping a U.S. Senate seat in African-American hands. The Rod Blagojevich implosion may have dealt that cause a fatal blow. Last week's stunning pay-to-play charges led to calls around the nation for a special election to choose President-elect Barack Obama's successor. That possibility has provoked outrage among black community leaders and politicians. Not so fast, they are saying. Last month, the Concerned Clergy of Illinois demanded that the governor appoint a "qualified" African American "who can fill this vacancy and who has the...

At least some of his constituents want embattled Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. to resign. About a dozen protesters stood outside his Chicago office today shouting, "Ho ho ho, Jesse Jr.'s gotta go." Protest organizer Harold Davis says he believes allegations that an emissary may have offered to raise money for Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for Jackson being appointed to President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat. Davis says Jackson has tainted the democratic process and his political career is over. Others in the south side neighborhood disagree. Several passersby shouted support for Jackson and one yelled, "Leave Jesse alone."

ABC News CHICAGO – Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report. Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reports in a story for Friday's editions that businessman Raghuveer Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi told attendees at an Oct. 31 meeting that they needed to raise the money for the governor to ensure Jackson's appointment. "Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse...

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) -- U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said Friday that he was fighting to get "my name back" after he was identified as "Senate Candidate 5" in a criminal complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says neither he nor any emissaries offered favors in exchange for a Senate appointment. Jackson, the son of famed civil rights leader Jesse Jackson and a six-term Democratic congressman from Chicago, had publicly sought to succeed President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate. Jackson had talked to Blagojevich, the person with the sole power to make the appointment, on...

fundraiser held by Indian-American businessmen three days before Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was arrested on corruption charges emerged Friday as a potentially key event in the federal investigation into whether he tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. Questions are being raised about last Saturday's event for Blagojevich because Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s brother, Jonathan, was among those attending. The Indian community has a long history of supporting the Jackson family's political aspirations, and the congressman has been clear about his interest in succeeding Obama.

As Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to pick Illinois' next U.S. senator, businessmen with ties to both the governor and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich's campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job, the Tribune has learned. Blagojevich made an appearance at an Oct. 31 luncheon meeting at the India House restaurant in Schaumburg sponsored by Oak Brook businessman Raghuveer Nayak, a major Blagojevich supporter who also has fundraising and business ties to the Jackson family, according to several attendees and public records. Two businessmen who attended...

Pressure grew on two of President-Elect Barack Obama's closest political aides today as new details emerged of the "pay-for-play" allegations against the governor of his home-state. Rahm Emanuel, Mr Obama's new chief of staff, and Jesse Jackson Jr, the co-chairman of his presidential campaign, both faced new revelations about their possible involvement in the scandal. Fox News Chicago reported that Mr Emanuel, a Chicago politician who won the Illinois governor's former Congressional seat, may have been captured on FBI wire-taps discussing the fate of Mr Obama's vacated US Senate seat with Gov Rod Blagojevich. The TV station said Mr Emanuel...

Report: Jackson Backers Sought Cash For Obama Post CHICAGO (CBS) ― Businessmen with ties to both Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade him to appoint Jackson to President-elect Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat, according to a published report. Citing unnamed sources, the Chicago Tribune reports in a story for Friday's editions that businessman Raghuveer Nayak and Blagojevich aide Rajinder Bedi told attendees at an Oct. 31 meeting that they needed to raise the money for the governor to ensure Jackson's appointment. "Raghu said he needed to raise a...

Is there nothing sadder than the loss of innocence? Some of us lose it upon learning there is no Santa Claus. For others it accompanies the death of a close friend or forlorn love. For 43-year-old Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., aka "Senate Candidate 5", loss of innocence came earlier this week when he discovered that there is something called "pay-to-play" politics going on in Illinois. Watching his press conference on Wednesday was difficult. Something in me died that day as I watched a plucky, young, silly heart thrust in front of the callous media glare that had served him so...

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. issued a statement Thursday evening, denying he had anything to do with the Illinois governor's alleged pay-to-play scheme. Jackson Sr. is the father of U.S. Rep Jesse Jackson Jr., the man called "Candidate 5" in the U.S. attorney's complaint against Rod Blagojevich. "Our office has received calls today inquiring about or suggesting that I or a member of my family served as an emissary in Governor Blagojevich's "pay-to-play" scheme, revealed through wire-taps, to fill the state’s open Senate seat," Jackson Sr.'s statement read. " It is not true. Such speculation is unfair, has no basis...

The cookie continues to crumble… Barack Obama has chosen to surround himself with crooks and liars. It was just yesterday that Jesse Jackson Jr. soberly exclaimed that he had not met Rod Blagojevich in 4 years… I mean, that sounds odd considering the fact that Jesse is a member of the Illiniois delegation to the House of Reps, and Rod is the State governor and both come from the same party… Anyway, here’s a video taken in Denver (thanks Ace) during the Democratic National Convention in August which shows the two men not only being in the same vicinity, but...

Most political watchers in Illinois agree that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D), once a leading candidate to succeed President-elect Obama in the Senate, is now a long shot to fill the seat. Jackson, believed to be “Senate Candidate 5” in a criminal complaint filed against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D), did not help his own cause by holding a bizarre press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday during which he left more questions unanswered than answered. In the complaint, Blagojevich said he might be able to “get some [money] up front, maybe,” from Senate Candidate 5 in exchange for appointing him...

I mean, what can you say, folks? Yesterday we found out that Jesse Jackson Jr. is "Senate Candidate 5" in the criminal complaint of Blagojevich. Senate Candidate 5 is the one that would be considered for the senate seat, but only if he could raise $1 million in campaign contributions for Blagojevich. So Jesse Jackson Jr. had a little press conference. He says that he hasn't done anything wrong. And maybe that is true. But will this be enough to ensure that he will NOT be the next Senator from Illinois. I will give Jesse Jr. credit for knowing that...

Jesse Jackson Jr came out swinging today, in an effort to distance himself from the growing scandal surrounding Barack Hussein Obama's Senate seat. Judging from the tone of Jr's press conference, I think it's safe to say that we'll be hearing a lot more about the filthy way the Chicago machine is run. The media is, of course, quick to point out that Obama isn't involved at all (yeah, right). (see video)

Blagojevich scandal ensnares Obama, Jesse Jackson Jr. Kansas City Star, MO By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist The scandal involving Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is spreading. ... http://voices.kansascity.com/node/3036Blagojevich Scandal Could Mean Trouble For Obama Team U.S. News & World Report, DC - Dec 10, 2008 ... ensnared in the scandal." The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, reports Axelrod "lists Mr. Blagojevich on his firm's Web site as one of his clients, ... http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_081210.htmThe Blagojevich scandal http://clivecrook.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/12/the_blagojevich_scandal.phpUnion Linked to Corruption Scandal http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/us/politics/12union.html?ref=us

Corruption to the left of him. Corruption to the right of him. Corruption right in front of him. Yet in spite of all this, Howard Fineman of Newsweek maintains that Barack Obama has been somehow hermetically sealed off from Chicago corruption throughout his political career. Fineman is merely echoing the premise currently being promoted by much of the media in his Newsweek article about Illinois governor Rod Blagovech and Jesse Jackson, Jr.. Fineman starts out by hinting that Jesse Jackson, Jr. was corruptible (emphasis mine): What I know about the South Side of Chicago I know not from Barack Obama,...

We've already seen how the media is covering up for Barack Obama to the extent of removing any information on the web that would show he met with Rod Blagojevich recently as chronicled by NewsBusters editor Tom Blumer. And now we have evidence that Jesse Jackson, Jr. "misspoke" when he claimed yesterday that the meeting he had with Monday Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich was the first time the two had met in four years. It turns out that there is a video of a sobbing Jesse Jackson, Jr. embracing Blagojevich just last August at a breakfast of the Illinois delegation...

Move over, Client No. 9. The capital has a new man of mystery: Senate Candidate 5. Not since Eliot Spitzer did his business at the Mayflower Hotel has there been so much excitement over an unnamed person in a federal criminal case. Client 9 may have paid for sex, but Candidate 5 was willing to pay for a Senate seat -- or so claimed Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, according to the feds. The guessing game didn't last very long yesterday before Candidate 5 more or less outed himself. "I did not know the process had been corrupted," Rep. Jesse Jackson...

Fox news, other news channel, presser coming up.

Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. vehemently denied Wednesday trying to bribe Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich to name him to President-elect Barack Obama's old Senate seat, as Mr. Obama and all 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus called on the embattled governor to resign. Mr. Jackson's attorney acknowledged that his client was the "Senate Candidate 5" mentioned 16 times in a 76-page affidavit laying out the FBI's corruption case against Mr. Blagojevich, but he said Mr. Jackson was not aware of anyone cutting deals on his behalf. The affidavit quotes Mr. Blagojevich telling one of his advisers that he...

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is talking tough in an appearance on FOX News this afternoon, telling the network that he believes Candidate #5 -- later revealed to be Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. -- "will be indicted." QUESTION: OK. So you say -- you say his career is history. But everyone wants to know what is going to happen to Barack Obama ’s Senate seat. He still has the ability to appoint that position. What -- what happens next? KIRK: He does. But if he makes any sort of emergency appointment, that person will be fatally flawed. I already suspect that...

CHICAGO (AP) – A lawyer for U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says the congressman is the “Senate Candidate 5” mentioned in the federal corruption complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Attorney James D. Montgomery Sr. said Wednesday that Jackson never had a “pay-to-play” conversation with Blagojevich. The governor is accused of trying to profit from his authority to appoint a replacement to fill President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat. Montgomery says Jackson “never authorized anyone to seek the governor’s support” for anything of value. And he says Jackson isn’t aware of any associates having made such an overture on his behalf.

On CNN within the last hour, Wolf Biltzer slipped in some interesting and potentially important news about what federal prosecutors might and might not have on Jesse Jackson Jr., who today was all but confirmed by his lawyer to be Senate Candidate 5. Talking to legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, Blitzer said that according to law enforcement sources, Pat Fitzgerald's office does not have recordings of Jackson himself speaking to Rod Blagojevich as part of the US Attorney's investigation into the governor. If true, that would be significant, because the indictment filed yesterday against the governor quotes him telling an aide...

Jackson [Jr] said he openly sought appointment to Obama's seat but denied offering favors in return to Blagojevich. His lawyer, James D. Montgomery Sr., acknowledged the Illinois Democrat is "Senate Candidate 5" in the 76-page federal complaint filed against the governor, who was arrested Tuesday.

...In two other interesting developments Wednesday, NBC Chicago learned that Jackson Jr. was given a phone call from the U.S. Attorney's Office the night before the governor was taken into custody, advising him that the arrest was imminent. Also, the congressman's father, Jesse Jackson Sr., has retained legal council following the Blagojevich arrest.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) on Wednesday denied authorizing anyone to offer arrested Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.) money in exchange for a senatorial appointment. A federal document laying out the corruption case against Blagojevich on Tuesday made reference to a "Candidate Five" for President-elect Obama’s former Senate seat who fits Jackson’s profile. Blagojevich says in federal wiretaps that a representative for the candidate offered to raise Blagojevich $500,000 in exchange for the appointment. Jackson used specific words from the document, including “pay to play” and “emissary,” and denied he had anything to do with such an arrangement. “I’ve rejected pay-to-play...

Jesse Jackson Jr.: ‘I Am Not a Target’ In Blagojevich Probe After being identified as “Senate Candidate 5” in the complaint filed in Tuesday’s arrest of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. held a press conference this afternoon on Capitol Hill, saying he is innocent in Blagojevich’s alleged schemes to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. “Know this: I spoke to the U.S. attorney’s office on Tuesday and they shared with me that I am not a target of this investigation and I am not accused of any misconduct,” Jackson told reporters this afternoon....

If naiveté were a crime, Jesse Jackson Jr. could be looking at a life sentence. Either that, or Senate candidate 5 wasn't being completely candid in his press conference this afternoon. Jackson professed shock that Rod Blagojevich—a man who long before this week's arrest had a Katrina-sized cloud over his head—might have been conducting his Senate-seat search in accordance with anything but the most Mother Teresa-worthy standards. View video here. Excerpts from Jackson's statement:

A lawyer for U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. says the congressman is the "Senate Candidate 5" mentioned in the federal corruption complaint against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

ABC News is reporting that Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. is "Senate Candidate No. 5" mentioned in the FBI Affidavit unveiled yesterday against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. In the video above, Jackson was interviewed today by ABC News and denied as an "impossibility" that he, or anyone on his behalf, offered money to Blagojevich in order to be named the next U.S. Senator from Illinois . . . . . (Watch Video)

Chicago Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL) is the anonymous "Senate Candidate #5" whose emissaries Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich reportedly claimed offered up to a million dollars to name him to the U.S. Senate, federal law enforcement sources tell ABC News. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said today that the FBI wants to interview him as part of the investigation... Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. said today that the FBI wants to interview him as part of the investigation into Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, though he says he's been told he is not a target of the probe. In this 2005 file photo,...

CHICAGO, ILL. -- Now that Barack Obama will be moving to the White House, his seat in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois will have to be filled. That's one of Obama's first priorities today. He's meeting with Governor Rod Blagojevich this afternoon in Chicago to discuss it. Illinois law states that the governor chooses that replacement. There's already been speculation about his selection...from Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. of Chicago's south side who co-chaired Obama's presidential campaign, to recently-retired state senate president Emil Jones, to the governor himself. It's likely the governor will make his decision quickly so the new senator...