INNOCENT !
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Obama's team has been investigating itself !
Yesterday, they released the report of their investigation...
Surprise surprise, the report - read it here - completely exonerates everyone in the Obama camp !
Innocent... Everybody is innocent...
The prophet Obama investigated himself and - are you sitting down- cleared himself!!!
No, it is not a joke...
This is happening in a country which claims to be a model of democracy...
This is happening in the country of checks and balances...
- How was this investigation carried out ?
As we said earlier, the report is based on the Obama team investigating itself, and was conducted by interviewing staff and taking their answers about any contacts at their word. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said this was consistent with the instructions given by the president-elect to Greg Craig, incoming White House lawyer who researched and wrote the report.
- What does this report conclude ?
Noone close to or working for Obama was involved in the scandal.
. The results of that review are as follows:
The President-elect
The President-elect had no contact or communication with Governor Blagojevich or members of his staff about the Senate seat. In various conversations with transition staff and others, the President-elect expressed his preference that Valerie Jarrett work with him in the White House.
He also stated that he would neither stand in her way if she wanted to pursue the Senate seat nor actively seek to have her or any other particular candidate appointed to the vacancy.
(...) At no time in the discussion of the Senate seat or of possible replacements did the President-Elect hear of a suggestion that the Governor expected a personalbenefit in return for making this appointment to the Senate.
Rahm Emanuel
Mr. Emanuel had one or two telephone calls with Governor Blagojevich. Those conversations occurred between November 6 and November 8, 2008. Soon after he decided to accept the President-elect’s offer to serve as Chief of Staff in the White House, Mr. Emanuel placed a call to the Governor to give him a heads up that he was taking the Chief of Staff’s position in the White House, and to advise him that he would be resigning his seat in the House of Representatives. 
They spoke about Mr. Emanuel’s House seat, when he would be resigning and potential candidates to replace him. He also had a brief discussion with the Governor about the Senate seat and the merits of various people whom the Governor might consider. Mr. Emanuel and the Governor did not discuss a cabinet position, 501c(4), a private sector position for the Governor or any other personal benefit for the Governor.
In those early conversations with the Governor, Mr. Emanuel recommended Valarie Jarrett because he knew she was interested in the seat. He did so before learning -- in further conversations with the President-Elect -- that the President-elect had ruled out communicating a preference for any one candidate.
(...)Although Mr. Emanuel recalls having conversations with the President-elect, with David Axelrod and with Valerie Jarrett about who might possibly succeed the President-elect in the Senate, there was no mention of efforts by the Governor or his staff to extract a personal benefit in return for filling the Senate vacancy.
Valerie Jarrett
Ms. Jarrett had no contact or communication with Governor Blagojevich , with his Chief of Staff, John Harris or with any other people from the Governor’s office about a successor to replace the President-elect in the United States Senate or how the decision should be made. Nor did she understand at any time prior to his arrest that the Governor was looking to receive some form of payment or personal benefit for the appointment.
David Axelrod
Mr. Axelrod had no conversations with anyone outside the President-elect’s immediate circle about who should replace the President-elect in the United States Senate. No one ever came to Mr. Axelrod to propose a deal involving the selection of a replacement, and nothing came up in any of his conversations with the President-elect or the members of the President-elect’s immediate circle that suggested that the Governor was seeking some kind of quid pro quo for the appointment.
Mr. Axelrod recalls that, after the election, the President-elect discussed –- with Mr. Axelrod and Mr. Emanuel –- a number of individuals who were highly qualified to take his place in the Senate.
Mr. Axelrod was under the impression that the President-elect would convey this information to the Governor or to someone from the Governor’s office, which explains why Mr. Axelrod gave an inaccurate answer on this subject to questions from the press. He later learned that it was Mr. Emanuel who conveyed those names to the Governor’s Chief of Staff, John Harris.
Dr. Eric Whitaker
Dr. Whitaker had no contacts or communications with either the Governor or his Chief of Staff, John Harris. He did have contact and communication with one individual purporting to act on behalf of the Governor.
In the period immediately following the election on November 4, 2008 – on either November 6, 7 or 8 – Deputy Governor Louanner Peters called him at his office and left a message. When he returned the call, Ms. Peters asked who spoke for the President-elect with respect to the Senate appointment. She explained that the Governor’s office had heard from others with recommendations about the vacant seat. She stated that the Governor’s office wanted to know who, if anyone, had the authority to speak for the President-Elect. Dr. Whitaker said he would find out.
The President-elect told Dr. Whitaker that no one was authorized to speak for him on the matter.
The President-elect said that he had no interest in dictating the result of the selection process, and he would not do so, either directly or indirectly through staff or others. Dr. Whitaker relayed that information to Deputy Governor Peters.
Dr. Whitaker had no other contacts with anyone from the Governor’s office.
What is quite funny is that Mrs Jarrett and Mr Whitaker are currently vacationing with the Obama family in Hawaii.
- The vagueness of this report :
We immediately notice the report is extremely vague about the "one or two" conversations that Emanuel had with Blagojevich and the "about four" conversations he had with John Harris, the governor's chief of staff, who was also arrested at dawn on December 9th and has since resigned.
Emanuel was initially pushing Obama's buddy Valerie Jarrett for the seat with Blagojevich himself before he learned that "the President-elect had ruled out communicating a preference for any one candidate".
It's not clear whether Emanuel was speaking for Obama, though presumably he was. Which leaves a feeling of cronyism - Jarrett has a very limited track record for a US Senator.
Emanuel's six conversations about filling the Senate seat suggest a pretty close interest in the matter. Blagojevich is likely to be indicted on charges of trying to sell that Senate seat. Sooner or later, Emanuel is likely to drawn right into the centre of things.
-The timing of the report :
The report was released in Washington while Obama was vacationing in Hawaii. The president-elect did not make himself available for questions. It was released during the Chritsmas holiday, one day before Christmas eve, at a time when people do not pay much attention to politics, preferring to spend their time wrapping their presents...
Moreover, the five-page report was not released in the morning as things are when public attention is desired.
It was released at 4:30 Eastern time to provide minimal exam time before the network news. But that's probably a coincidence.
Obama is in Hawaii Emanuel,, has just a little bit ago -- in fact, we just missed him -- left for a long-planned family vacation somewhere in Africa.
- Credibility of such a report :
None !
In today's edition of the Los Angeles Times, there is a funny headline :
"Obama team probe of Obama team finds no Obama team impropriety" !
It perfectly sums up the situation...
Had the transition team wished to display a bit of integrity, they'd have retained an independent outsider. I guess they're still counting on the media's whole-hearted collaboration in this business. And why not? It's worked so far...
However, this does not make the issue go away.
The federal investigation is going on... The conversations were presumably all recorded by the FBI so the details will come out.
And believe me, it is a ticking political bomb, if not a legal one.
But what we have learnt with this internal investigation is the conception of transparency that the new administration has...
Or, maybe once President Elect Obama is inaugurated we will see clearer transparency.
Oh, maybe that depends on what your definition of transparency is.
Welcome to the World of Change...
Does the new president wants us to believe is that he is the only product of the Chicago machine who is not corrupt ?
If so, then maybe he truly is The One !