Reporting with Sarah Ostman
Another segment of a lengthy Nov. 7, 2008 phone call is played and Democratic consultant Fred Yang discusses jobs that President-Elect Obama could deliver that wouldn't involve a cabinet appointment.
Yang, chief of staff John Harris and Rod Blagojevich are all on the phone call discussing other positions that wouldn't need the approval of the U.S. Senate.
Yang tells Blagojevich: "You could want this because A) it's something that the president could do for you that would pay a lot of money..."
Blago: "Like how much money?"
Yang: "You should have someone in your office..."
Harris (breaking in) "The highest would be about $190,000."
Blago: "I make $170, what do I make now, John...if they didn't reject that pay raise it would have been $190-something. So Fred, that has no appeal to me."
"I want to make money ... you know. I might as well go out and find a way to make money," Blagojevich said.
Prosecutors offer this call to make Blagojevich appear greedy. But defense lawyers will spin it a different way. They'll say that clearly there was nothing illegal going on since a high-paid consultant and a whip-smart top aide were on the phone and in on the discussion.
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