Report: Rahm talked with Blagojevich

The future White House chief of staff reportedly discussed Barack Obama's Senate seat with the governor.

Published December 12, 2008 3:00PM (EST)

Fox's Chicago affiliate is reporting that future White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had "multiple conversations" with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about filling President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.

The report is sourced to an unnamed person "close to the investigation" who also said that Blagojevich's office was given a list of contenders for the seat who would be "acceptable" to Obama.

Of course, if true, this report doesn't mean Emanuel or anyone else on Obama's team did anything untoward. As the government's complaint against Blagojevich makes pretty clear, the governor was less than happy with the president-elect and his staff, as he felt they would only give him "appreciation" for the seat, not the money or jobs he was allegedly seeking from others.


By Alex Koppelman

Alex Koppelman is a staff writer for Salon.

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