Jessie Jackson Jr.: Informant of the Attorney General
Jackson Jr. went to authorities about Illinois governor.
CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) — Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., who was cited in a criminal complaint against Rod Blagojevich, went to the U.S. Attorney’s office about alleged wrongdoers, including the Illinois governor, a Jackson spokesman said Tuesday.
Jackson rejected being labeled with the term “informant” in a message to CNN contributor Roland Martin.
Spokesman Cialis Online Without Prescription Kenneth Edmonds described Jackson’s interaction with federal authorities this way: “As a responsible citizen and elected official, Congressman Jackson has in the past provided information to federal authorities regarding his personal knowledge of perceived corruption and governmental misconduct.
“This was completely unrelated to the current investigation regarding the U.S. Senate appointment. And it is absolutely inaccurate to describe the congressman as an informant,” Edmonds said in a written statement.
Jackson, a Democrat, has given information regarding the embattled Democratic governor of Illinois, though not in the case currently under investigation, Edmonds said.
In addition, two sources close to Jackson told CNN that, in 2002, Blagojevich — then running for governor of Illinois — solicited a $25,000 campaign donation from Jackson, which he did not get.
At the time, Jackson’s wife, Sandi, was a candidate for the job of director of the state’s Lottery Commission, a post she did not win, the sources said.
After Blagojevich took office, in early 2003, he told Jackson something to the effect of, “You see what $25,000 would have done?” the sources said.
In 2006, Jackson reported the incident, which he believed to have been an attempt at a shakedown, the sources said.
The report, the sources said, came three three years later because Jackson’s memory was jogged by another case — that of developer Tony Rezko, whose fraud and corruption trial included testimony about $25,000 donations to Blagojevich.
Jackson did not endorse Blagojevich in his initial campaign and tried to stay on the sidelines during the governor’s re-election bid, one of the sources said.
Blagojevich’s office did not return calls seeking comment.
The comments by Jackson’s spokesman come on the same day members of an Illinois House of Representatives panel met to determine whether there is a basis to impeach Blagojevich.
Federal prosecutors accuse Blagojevich of trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s former Senate
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