Aides say Emanuel talked with Blagojevich about Senate seat

CHICAGO - President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, spoke several times with Governor Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois about possible candidates for Obama's Senate seat, aides close to the presidential transition team said yesterday.

Emanuel has not been accused of wrongdoing by federal prosecutors. A Democratic transition aide said the two men had discussed a wide range of people who might fill Obama's seat, but that Emanuel had not engaged in any deal-making with Blagojevich, who was charged last week by federal prosecutors with conspiring to turn a profit from the appointment.

The conversations between Emanuel and Blagojevich, first reported by The Chicago Tribune, were captured on wiretaps, according to another official close to the transition.

Obama has said he has never spoken with the governor about the seat. His aides have declined for five days to publicly answer questions about what discussions they had about the seat and what contacts intermediaries may have had with Blagojevich's advisers.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the US attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said when the charges against Blagojevich were announced that Obama was not implicated in the case.

The Illinois governor alone has the power to fill such vacancies. The criminal complaint against him alleges that he sought to benefit personally from the appointment by securing high-paying jobs for himself and his wife, or campaign contributions, in return for his selection.

Obama said Thursday that his aides were looking through all of their possible contacts with the governor and would release more information in the coming days. Republicans, meanwhile, have raised questions about Obama's refusal to say more and about his past ties with the main characters in the story.

Emanuel's list of possible candidates included a senior adviser to Obama, Valerie Jarrett; the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan; Representative Jan Schakowsky; and Dan Hynes, the state comptroller.

The criminal complaint quotes Blagojevich as saying at one point that Obama's aides were not willing to give him anything more than "appreciation" in return for appointing a candidate they favored.

Schakowsky told The New York Times last week that she called Emanuel last month when she was exploring whether she might fill Obama's seat. She and Emanuel had served in the House together as part of the Illinois delegation.

Schakowsky said Emanuel had declined to tell her whether Obama had a favorite choice to fill the seat. She said he seemed wary about Blagojevich.

Emanuel's spokeswoman declined to comment yesterday. Transition aides would not comment publicly, saying federal prosecutors have asked them not to speak about the matter.

Emanuel was the number four Democrat in the House before Obama chose him to be his chief of staff. In the House, he represented a slice of the north side of Chicago and adjoining suburbs, and he has long been close to the city's political players, including Mayor Richard M. Daley.

One of the schemes Blagojevich is accused of involves Emanuel's House seat, for which Illinois law requires a special election. According to the criminal complaint, Blagojevich talked about approaching an unidentified "president-elect adviser" to ask for help raising "10, 15 million" for the governor to start a nonprofit organization.

The complaint quoted Blagojevich as saying that when the president-elect adviser asked him about the special election for the House seat, Blagojevich wanted "it to be in his head."

Republicans are criticizing Obama's silence about contacts his aides may have had with Blagojevich, saying he is breaking promises to bring openness to government.

"While it is encouraging that the president-elect has stated his office will disclose contacts with the scandal-ridden governor, it remains disappointing that his actions are in response to political pressure," said Robert M. Duncan, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

"Americans expect the highest degree of transparency from their elected leaders, rather than promises of openness on the campaign trail," he said.

Blagojevich met with a renowned criminal lawyer yesterday as he weighed his legal options on how to fight the scandal, the Associated Press reported.

The governor had a four-hour meeting with Ed Genson in the lawyer's downtown office. Genson has defended newspaper baron Conrad Black, R&B singer R. Kelly, and numerous public figures on corruption charges, earning a reputation as the lawyer big shots call when they get in a bind in Chicago.

Genson confirmed that the two met but wouldn't discuss details of their dialogue. When asked if he would take the case, he said, "We'll make our mutual decision on Monday."

Blagojevich had brushed back calls for his resignation after he was charged with trying to sell Obama's Senate seat. He sought to project a business-as-usual image amid the turmoil, going to work every day and handling state business.

As the legal maneuvering intensified, some observers speculated that he might be trying to leverage the governorship to his advantage in his criminal case - just like prosecutors said he did with the Senate seat for financial gain.

Others suggested that his lingering refusal to resign is more rooted in his ego.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.