Fitzgerald may share tapes, transcripts with impeachment panel

Rod Blagojevich must have hoped that Patrick Fitzgerald would decline to cooperate with the Illinois House’s impeachment panel while his investigation continued into allegations of pay-for-play involving the governor and Barack Obama’s open Senate seat.  If so, he only got part of his wish.  Fitzgerald has ruled out working with witnesses for appearances at the impeachment panel, but he left the door open to sharing wiretap tapes and transcripts:

U.S. Atty. Patrick Fitzgerald is telling a special Illinois House committee weighing the impeachment of Gov. Rod Blagojevich that his office won’t help the panel with witnesses members want to question and documents they want to see because it might compromise “an ongoing criminal investigation.”

Fitzgerald did leave open the possibility that the 21-member House panel could get copies of secretly recorded tapes of Blagojevich from the governor’s campaign office and from his home telephone that were the basis of Blagojevich’s Dec. 9 arrest. Federal prosecutors will decide that issue perhaps later today.

The special House impeachment panel wanted documents and to question witnesses in the federal government’s case against Blagojevich, which included several pay-to-play allegations. Top among those was the accusation that the governor wanted to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

That’s a mixed bag for the House, but mostly bad news for Blagojevich.  The reports of the wiretaps contain the worst of the allegations against Blagojevich.  The House has plenary authority to determine the threshold they will use for impeachment, and having the governor’s own words on tape and on paper demanding serious quid pro quo will make it easier for them to prevail politically.

Fitzgerald’s reluctance to grant access to witnesses and other documents outside of the tapes and transcripts is understandable.  He may have several other targets in this investigation and he doesn’t want to tip his hand.  Even worse, public revelations might drive potential witnesses away and dry up potential lines of inquiry into other corrupt activities.  Fitzgerald has to protect his overall effort to clean up Illinois politics and not get too focused on one individual, at least not at the moment.

Access to the tapes could speed the impeachment process considerably.  Blagojevich has given every indication of fighting this tooth and nail, but the legislature will want some sort of resolution quickly in order to fill the empty Senate seat with no taint of scandal.  Democrats especially want to clear the way for an appointment from Pat Quinn rather than hold a special election.  This hint of cooperation with Fitzgerald might give them a glimmer of hope.

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