CHICAGO — Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich called Oprah Winfrey a kingmaker who could influence voters as he considered naming the talk show host to President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat, according to an FBI tape played Monday at his corruption trial.
“She made Obama, she’s up there so high nobody could assail this pick,” Blagojevich is heard telling his chief of staff, John Harris, who is now a prosecution witness.
Blagojevich had mentioned in TV interviews last year that Winfrey’s name had come up in discussions about the seat.
On the tape played Monday, Harris says picking Winfrey would be a mistake and he is “not sure what she stands for.” Blagojevich brushed such concerns aside, saying she was obviously a fellow Democrat and her support in the 2008 election had “made Obama.”
The secretly made FBI tapes also show that as time passed, Blagojevich warmed to the idea of picking Democratic U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. But Harris testified that Blagojevich told him that a “third party” with ties to Jackson had visited the governor and dangled the possibility of a $1.5 million campaign contribution. Harris did not address that person’s identity in testimony Monday.
Blagojevich, 53, has pleaded innocent to scheming to get a high-paying job or a campaign contribution in return for appointing someone to the Senate seat. He also has pleaded innocent to plotting to use the powers of the governor’s office to launch a racketeering scheme.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 06/29/2010