No allegations against Obama in Illinois governor case

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said this afternoon that a federal corruption case against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich makes no allegations of wrongdoing by President-elect Barack Obama.

"We make no allegations that he was aware of anything," Fitzgerald said of Obama.

Fitzgerald called the case a "political corruption crime spree," with the "most appalling" allegation that Blagojevich attempted to sell the US Senate seat vacated by Obama to the highest bidder.

It would "make Lincoln roll over in his grave," Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald said there would be further investigation of people, who are not mentioned in wiretaps cited but not named in the complaint, to make sure there was no wrongdoing. Those people include potential candidates for the Senate seat, including some close to Obama.

"If other people did wrong, we'll deal with that," the prosecutor said.

Obama said he was "saddened and sobered" by the arrest and had no knowledge of Blagojevich's alleged attempts to sell the seat.

"I had no contact with the governor or his office and so I was not aware of what was happening. But as I said it is a sad day for Illinois. Beyond that I don't think it's appropriate to comment," Obama said in a brief press availability after meeting in Chicago with former Vice President Al Gore about global warming.

UPDATE: Obama's chief strategist, David Axelrod, appeared to contradict Obama last month. "I know he's talked to the governor, and there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced, and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them," told Fox News Chicago on Nov. 23

But this evening, Axelrod issued a statement disavowing that statement: "I was mistaken when I told an interviewer last month that the President-elect has spoken directly to Governor Blagojevich about the Senate vacancy. They did not then or at any time discuss the subject."

The other US senator from Illinois, Richard Durbin, told reporters in Washington that the state's legislature should order a special election to fill the seat. "No appointment by this governor, under these circumstances, could produce a credible replacement," Durbin said, according to the Associated Press.

"This is a sad day for government," Fitzgerald said at a Chicago news conference. "This is a very sad day for Illinois government."

Blagojevich, arrested at his home this morning, also was charged with threatening to withhold state aid to the Tribune Co., the owner of the Chicago Tribune, in the sale of Wrigley Field, unless members of the paper's editorial board who had been critical of him fired.

The criminal complaint said the 51-year-old Democratic governor was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps over the last month conspiring to sell or trade the Senate seat for benefits for himself and his wife, Patti. Blagojevich allegedly tried to drive a harder bargain by considering to appoint himself.

Obama, who kept his distance from the governor during his campaign, has not commented on the allegations.