Report clears Obama of 'deal-making' with accused governor

Barack Obama and his aides did not try to make any deals with Illinois’ embattled governor who is accused of trying to sell the president-elect’s vacant Senate seat for cash or a lucrative job, an internal review said.

Mr Obama and two of his top aides also met federal investigators building a corruption case against Rod Blagojevich last week, according to the report by White House lawyer Greg Craig, released last night.

The report, whose release was delayed from last week at the request of US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, supports Mr Obama’s insistence that there had been no inappropriate contact with the governor’s office by him or his staff. Prosecutors had said Mr Obama was not implicated in the case.

“We are satisfied there was nothing inappropriate that took place here, either in terms of conversations or communications or contacts, between transition officials and the governor’s office,” Mr Craig said after releasing the report.

Mr Obama’s chief of staff Ron Emanuel was the only Obama transition team member who discussed the Senate appointment with Democrat Mr Blagojevich, and those conversations were “totally appropriate and acceptable”, Mr Craig said. No-one on Mr Obama’s transition team discussed any deals or had any knowledge of deals, the report found.

Sources have said Mr Emanuel is not a target in the case.

Mr Craig’s report identified close Obama friend Eric Whitaker as someone approached by one of Mr Blagojevich’s top aides to learn “who, if anyone, had the authority to speak for the president-elect” about the Senate appointment.

The report says Mr Obama told Mr Whitaker “no-one was authorised to speak for him” and that “he had no interest in dictating the result of the selection process”.

Blagojevich lawyer Edward Genson, who says allegations that the governor was trying to sell or trade the Senate seat are built on nothing but talk, said Mr Obama’s report proved his point.

“I’ve said from the beginning that there was nothing inappropriate, and this just corroborates what I’ve said,” Mr Genson said.

Mr Blagojevich was charged on December 9 with plotting to use his governor’s authority to appoint Mr Obama’s Senate replacement and make state appointments and contracts in exchange for cash and other favours.

He has denied any criminal wrongdoing and has resisted multiple calls for his resignation, including one from Mr Obama.