“Sources tell me that the Obama team’s review of contacts with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will show that Rahm Emanuel had only one phone conversation with Blagojevich.

The contact, described as a “pro-forma” courtesy call, came as Emanuel was named Chief of Staff for Obama. Most of the discussion concerned Emanuel’s Congressional seat (which had previously been held by Blagojevich), with only a “passing reference” to the Senate vacancy, according to these sources. No deal for the Senate vacancy was discussed.”

I think we can skip the veracity of any “report” from the team in the equasion. The FBI has 21 contacts on wiretaps. Guess which version counts.

Ed at Hot Air notes:

“Obama and Emanuel still have a problem even accepting the circumstances as leaked to ABC. That question from John Harris to Rahm Emanuel may not be explicit enough to qualify legally as an offer to bribe, but it clearly shows that Harris wanted a better deal than gratitude for the Senate seat. After making that clear to Emanuel, did Emanuel tell Obama what was going on in Illinois? And more to the point, did he pick up the phone and inform the FBI and/or Patrick Fitzgerald?

If he did, then he and Team Obama should be commended. If he didn’t — if he knowingly ignored the fact that Blagojevich had put up the Senate seat for sale and put out a bid request for it — then Obama and his team are off to a disastrous start, ethically speaking. It may not be illegal to fail to report such an obvious attempt to sell the seat, but it would show a monumental gap between the campaign rhetoric of Barack Obama and the reality of how he governs. Obama would have to jettison Emanuel under those circumstances or face questions for the next four years about how his team operates.”

Technorati Tags: Rahm Emanuel, Rod Blagojevich

“CHICAGO–President-elect Barack Obama’s incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel had a deeper involvement in pressing for a U.S. Senate seat appointment than previously reported, the Sun-Times has learned. Emanuel had direct discussions about the seat with Gov. Blagojevich, who is is accused of trying to auction it to the highest bidder.

Emanuel talked with the governor in the days following the Nov. 4 election and pressed early on for the appointment of Valerie Jarrett to the post, sources with knowledge of the conversations told the Sun-Times. There was no indication from sources that Emanuel brokered a deal, however.

A source with the Obama camp strongly denied Emanuel spoke with the governor directly about the seat, saying Emanuel only spoke with Blagojevich once recently to say he was taking the chief of staff post.

But sources with knowledge of the investigation said Blagojevich told his aides about the calls with Emanuel and sometimes gave them directions afterward. Sources said that early on, Emanuel pushed for the appointment of Jarrett to the governor and his staff and asked that it be done by a certain date.”

I told you here that a source with knowledge of the content of tapes told me that they are “extremely damaging” to Emanel and do go farther than he or his boss Barack Obama had previously admitted to.

The question is just how long before the full content of the tapes is made pubic and Emanuel takes a “leave of absence” to “spend more time with the family”.

Over the weekend we learned that in spite of Barack Obama’s statement that no one in his staff talked to Blagojevich, Rahm Emanuel had several contacts with the governor’s staff.

Most agree that Obama has not handled this “first scandal” well, and we don’t know just how far the involvement goes. The only way to cut off the questioning would be if Emanuel stepped down, you know, to “spend more time with the family”.

That way Obama could stay clear and even appear outraged at Emanuel’s “betrayal”.

“Rahm Emanuel, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to be White House chief of staff, had conversations with Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration about who would replace Obama in the U.S. Senate, the Chicago Tribune has learned.

The revelation does not suggest Obama’s new gatekeeper was involved in any talk of dealmaking involving the seat. But it does help fill in the gaps surrounding a question that Obama was unable or unwilling to answer this week: Did anyone on his staff have contact with Blagojevich about his choice for the Senate seat?

Blagojevich and John Harris, his former chief of staff, face federal charges in an alleged shakedown involving the vacant Senate seat, which Illinois law grants the governor sole authority to fill.

Obama said Thursday he had never spoken to Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy and was “confident that no representatives” of his had engaged in any dealmaking over the seat with the governor or his team. He also pledged Thursday that in the “next few days” he would explain what contacts his staff may have had with the governor’s office about the Senate vacancy.

Emanuel, who has long been close to both Blagojevich and Obama, has refused to respond to questions about any involvement he may have had with the Blagojevich camp over the Senate pick. A spokeswoman for Emanuel also declined to comment Friday.

One source confirmed that communications between Emanuel and the Blagojevich administration were captured on court-approved wiretaps.

Another source said that contact between the Obama camp and the governor’s administration regarding the Senate seat began the Saturday before the Nov. 4 election, when Emanuel made a call to the cell phone of Harris. The conversation took place around the same time press reports surfaced about Emanuel being approached about taking the high-level White House post should Obama win.

Emanuel delivered a list of candidates who would be “acceptable” to Obama, the source said. On the list were Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett, Illinois Veterans Affairs director Tammy Duckworth, state Comptroller Dan Hynes and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Chicago, the source said. All are Democrats.

Sometime after the election, Emanuel called Harris back to add the name of Democratic Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan to the approved list, the source said.”

Another source who has reviewed the taps says it sounds bad for Emanuel, the conversations are detailed and specific. In other words they have him by the you know what. The question is whether or not it stops with him or goes higher. It’s important to understand that there was more than just a “obvious” reason for Emanuel to attempt to fill Obama’s seat, and it’s that reason which is yet to be uncovered by the investigation.