U.S. Attorney holds press conference to discuss Governor Blagojevich’s charges

The U.S. Attorney held a press conference to discuss the details of the criminal complaint brought against Governor Rod Blagojevich.

The FBI had placed a bug in the Illinois Governor’s office and tapped his phone, and recorded several instances of conspiring and corruption. In one instance, Blagojevich awarded $8 million to a children’s hospital, and indicated privately he wanted to receive a $50,000 personal contribution from the hospital’s CEO in exchange. When Blagojevich did not receive his donation, he attempted to pull the funding from the hospital.

Most damning of these instances is the attempt by Blagojevich to sell Illinois’s U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder.

“I got here four years ago, a lot of you in audience asked me the question of whether or not Illinois the most corrupt state in the United States,” said Robert Brant, the FBI special agent in charge of the investigation. “I didn’t answer that question yes or no, and I can’t answer that question today. I don’t have 49 other states to compare it with. But I can tell you one thing: if it isn’t the most corrupt state in the United States it’s certainly a competitor.”