This doesn’t look great for Jesse Jackson Jr.
The Chicago Tribune reports:
As Gov. Rod Blagojevich was trying to pick Illinois’ next U.S. senator, businessmen with ties to both the governor and U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. discussed raising at least $1 million for Blagojevich’s campaign as a way to encourage him to pick Jackson for the job, the Tribune has learned.
At a luncheon meeting on October 31, Nayak and Rajinder Bedi told many of the attendees that they were organizing a fundraiser for Blagojevich, and that the purpose of the event was to get Jackson named to the Senate seat, two sources tell the Trib.
The meeting led to a fundraiser last Saturday which was attended by Jesse Jackson’s brother, a former business partner of one of the businessmen, Raghuveer Nayak.
One source told the paper that he overheard Nayak and Bedi discussing plans with another politically active Indian-American businessman.
Raghu said he needed to raise a million for Rod to make sure Jesse got the seat,” the second businessman said. “He said, ‘I can raise half of it, $500,000.’ The idea was that the other two would help raise the rest.
Nayak and Bedi are politically active in Chicago’s Indian-American community. Nayak has raised money for Blagojevich and contributed to Jackson. Bedi is an aide to Blagojevich, who the governor is said to call “my Sikh warrior.”
Speaking to a local Fox affiliate outside his home this morning, Jackson responded to the Trib‘s report.
He called Nayak a “great man” and a” family friend, but then said: “I’m confident that no one on my behalf made a single offer to anyone for anything. I wouldn’t accept the position if it were offered under those circumstances.”
Jackson continued:
I had not met with Governor Blagojevich in four years until I was granted a meeting on Monday, where I presented the governor with my credentials. What I was unaware of was that the governor was pitting Candidate 1 against Candidate 5, against Candidate 2, against Candidate 3, trying to exact (sic) something out of everyone in the process.
Jackson’s own lawyer has all but confirmed that Jackson is Candidate 5. In the charges filed Tuesday against Blagojevich, the governor says he was approached by an “emissary” from Candidate 5, proposing a “pay to play” arrangement for the Senate seat.
