Obama denies any involvement in scheme to sell Senate seat

President-elect Barack Obama said this morning his office had "no involvement in any deal making" related to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's alleged attempts to trade his vacant Senate seat for a federal appointment, campaign cash or a high-paying job.

Obama also reiterated his call for Blagojevich to resign in the wake of federal corruption charges lodged against the 52-year-old governor on Tuesday. The governor has not spoken to the media since his early morning arrest, but his attorney has said the Chicago Democrat did nothing wrong. The governor was in his state office this afternoon, where he was also holed up on Wednesday.

"Let me be absolutely clear, I do not think the governor at this point can effectively serve the people of Illinois," Obama said, adding his call for resignation to a mounting list that includes dozens of state and federal lawmakers as well as all of Illinois' statewide officeholders.

As for his still vacant Senate seat, Obama said he wanted it to be filled in an "appropriate way," without saying whether that should be via an appointment by a new governor or through a special election. He said he "hoped" state lawmakers would quickly address the issue when they return to the state Capitol on Monday.

"This Senate seat does not belong to any politician to trade," Obama said. "It belongs to the people of Illinois and they deserve the best possible representation."

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said today he would prefer lawmakers move forward with impeachment proceedings first so that he can make the Senate appointment if Blagojevich is removed from office.

On the sweeping charges against Blagojevich, Obama said today, "I was as appalled and disappointed as anybody."

Obama's transition office has been under fire by critics since Blagojevich's arrest on Tuesday morning for what federal prosecutor's called a "political corruption crime spree."

Blagojevich is accused of trying to strong-arm campaign contributions from a highway contractor, the executive of a children's hospital and a lobbyist wanting him to sign legislation. The governor is also accused of pressuring Chicago Tribune officials to fire editorial employees in exchange for state help with selling Wrigley Field.

In a criminal complaint filed by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald against the sitting governor, secret recordings over the last month allegedly caught Blagojevich talking about wanting to trade a Senate appointment favorable to Obama in exchange for a federal appointment, including one as secretary of health and human services.

Blagojevich was also secretly recorded indicating Obama's office offered him only "appreciation" and would not go along with a trade, the criminal complaint says. Blagojevich then allegedly launched into a profanity-laced tirade and called the president-elect a nasty expletive.

Obama pointed out to reporters this morning that the governor was allegedly recorded saying his emissaries wouldn't make a deal. He also said he has not been contacted by federal investigators and "we have not been interviewed by them."

"What I'm absolutely certain about is that our office had no involvement in any deal making around my Senate seat," Obama said. "That would be a violation of everything this campaign has been about and that is not how we do business."

Obama said he was still looking into the "facts" of interactions between his representatives and the governor. He said he would release additional information in the coming days.

"What I want to do is to gather all the facts about any staff contacts that may have taken place between the transition office and the governor's office," he said. "And we will have those in the next few days and we will present them."

Obama didn't answer a question about which of his representatives talked to the governor.

"I'm not really certain where the investigation is going forward," he said. "I will leave Mr. Fitzgerald to address those issues."

Fitzgerald stressed in a news conference Tuesday that his accusations in no way indicate Obama was aware of what Blagojevich was allegedly attempting.

Obama took fewer questions on Thursday than he has at similar news conferences in the past. Of the four questions allowed, three of them related to the Blagojevich scandal.

The news conference was officially called to announce former Sen. Tom Daschle as his pick for secretary of health and human services.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Daily Herald Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="/multimedia/?category=9&type=video&item=280">President-elect Obama's press conference</a></li> </ul> <h2>AP Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="javascript:void(window.open('http://video.ap.org/?t=By%20Section/U.S.&g=1211dv_obama_blagojevich&f=ILARL','_blank','width=788,height=598,status=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1'));">Obama confident staff will be cleared </a></li> </ul> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/pressrelease.pdf">Press release of Blagojevich arrest</a></li> <li><a href="/pdf/complaint.pdf">Full text of complaint</a></li> </ul> <h2>Related links</h2> <ul class="moreWeb"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/packages/2008/blagojevich/">Complete coverage of Blagojevich investigation</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>