The Obama transition today released a statement in which it claimed that there were no "inappropriate" contacts between Obama staff and Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s office regarding appointment of a successor to fill Obama’s relinquished Senate seat. Further, the statement claimed that Obama had not spoken to either the Governor or members of his staff regarding the appointment.
However, the statement failed to answer the question of whether AP reporters Liz Sidoti and/or Libby Quaid had any involvement in the scandal. There was no mention of whether they were questioned and, if so, whether they were questioned under oath.
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Claiming that US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald had requested that details of the internal investigation be withheld for the time being, the Obama camp did not indicate whether Rahm Emanuel had employed the services of Sidoti and/or Quaid to act as liaisons to the Governor’s office to communicate the President-elect’s wishes. The US Attorney’s Office has confirmed the request, but many questions remain as to the reporters’ role in this scandal.
Some people speculate that there is more to the suggestion that either Sidoti or Quaid or both were in some way involved in dealing with the Governor’s office that might be improper or, perhaps illegal. At this time, the Obama team has left unanswered what the role of AP and its correspondents might be.
The speculation caused by Sidoti and Quaid’s silence about their role is only compounded by the fact that neither alleged journalist has indicated whether she has been questioned under oath, has taken a lie detector test, or is willing to do so. Many questions swirl around the two reporters and are not likely to be answered in the foreseeable future.
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This "article" could just as well have been inserted into the hit piece written by Sidoti and Quaid circulated by the AP today. The AP and its alleged journalists continue to insert speculative garbage into their articles such as:
Controversy has swirled around the president-elect and his incoming White House chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, following Blagojevich's arrest last week on charges he schemed to trade Obama's Senate seat for personal gain.
Obama, fielding questions at a news conference, sidestepped when asked whether Emanuel had spoken with aides to the governor about potential Senate appointees.
There is no controversy except in the very small minds of these journalist wannabes. The rest of the article is just as bad, substituting inuendo for fact, speculation for reality, and trash for reporting.
One can only hope that the AP is done in by the economic disaster, that its subscribers depart in droves. And let us hope that reporters like Sidoti and Quaid are among those downsized, that they have to search for work requiring real journalistic skills.