Having read through the charging document twice, there’s no evidence whatsoever that anyone associated with the Obama presidential transition did anything improper. Obama himself is barely mentioned.However — the transition will be called to account for all of its members’ contacts with Blagojevich, and those Obama advisers who are mentioned by pseudonym — including Valerie Jarrett — will face pressure (and the candidate’s promise of transparency) to make a public accounting.
(Emphasis in original). Chicago is a big city, but politics is a small town. People know people. They have professional, political, and for all I know, even business relationships. Connections will be drawn. This will get ugly, particularly in the fever swamps of the far right.
Two things I think that Obama should do, relatively quickly:
1) Make it clear that Fitzgerald will stay on. Obama is between a rock and a hard place, because if he keeps Fitz on, even if it is clear that there is no evidence against him, then the wingnuts will say that Fitz is covering up for Obama to keep his job. But that’s better than firing him. And Fitz is damn good at his job: when in doubt, you might as well at least do the right thing.
2) Waive all secrecy provisions concerning the investigation as far as he or anyone on his staff is concerned.
Update: To use Churchill’s formulation, we have a case here of anticipatory plagiarism: Obama promised last June to keep Fitzgerald on. I’m waiting for Republicans to criticize him for this. (Obama, not Churchill).
