CHICAGO — New details emerged Tuesday that raise a fresh round of questions about U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s role in the Senate-seat scandal that brought down former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, even as the congressman contemplates a run for mayor of Chicago.
An Indian businessman with ties to Jackson and Blagojevich told federal investigators the congressman asked him to raise campaign money for Blagojevich in hopes the then-governor would appoint Jackson to the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama, sources familiar with the investigation told the Chicago Tribune.
The allegation contradicts Jackson’s assertion that he did not direct such an effort. It surfaced in the Chicago Sun-Times on Tuesday, just days after Jackson conducted broadcast interviews saying he had nothing to worry about from the federal investigation that led to Blagojevich’s trial on charges he sought to sell the Senate seat to the highest bidder.
The revelations Tuesday involve interviews with the FBI that predate the Blagojevich trial. Jackson issued a statement Tuesday denying some of the allegations and apologizing to voters.
“The allegations about fundraising and the Senate seat are not new. I’ve already talked with the authoritiesabout these claims, told them they were false, and no charges have been brought against me,” Jackson said in the statement. “The very idea of raising millions of dollars for a campaign other than my own is preposterous. My interest in the Senate seat was based on years of public service, which I am proud of, not some improper scheme with anyone.”
Shortly after Blagojevich’s arrest on corruption chargesin December 2008, the Chicago Tribune reported that FBI agents went to the Oak Brook, Ill., home of Indian-American businessman Raghuveer P. Nayak. The Tribune reported that Nayak hosted an Oct. 31, 2008, luncheon where he discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich to help persuade the governor to choose Jackson. The congressman’s brother, Jonathan, appeared at a Nayak-sponsored fundraiser for the governor three days before Blagojevich was arrested.
The congressman acknowledged then that he spoke with Nayak about his desire for theSenate seat but said he did not endorse and was not aware of a fundraising effort to support his bid. Since then he has repeatedly declined to answer reporters’ questions about his role.
But sources now say that Nayak told investigators he had an Oct. 8 meeting with Jackson at which the congressman asked him to raise millions of dollars for Blagojevich in a bid to persuade Blagojevich to use his appointment power to put Jackson in the Senate.
During Blagojevich’s corruption trial this summer, prosecutors alleged that Jackson participated in a conversation with Nayak and another Indian businessman later in October as they discussed raising $1 million for Blagojevich. Jackson acknowledged last week that he was at a meeting with the two men but said he was unaware of their conversation.
Blagojevich faces a January retrial on the Senate and other corruption charges after a federal jury convicted him of one charge, lying to FBI agents, but could not reach a verdict on the others after his monthslong trial.
Nayak has not been accused of wrongdoing and has previously declined to comment. His attorney, Thomas McQueen, confirmed that Nayak discussed the Oct. 8 meeting with federal investigators and that Nayak provided documents about his dealings with Jackson.
Front Section, Pages 8 on 09/22/2010