Reporting with Natasha Korecki and Dave McKinney
After news broke on Dec. 5, 2008, that there may have been secret recordings of the former governor made after lobbyist John Wyma talked to the feds, Rod and Robert Blagojevich decided to call off the meeting Robert had scheduled with Raghu Nayak.
Robert testifies that he made up an excuse to get out of that meeting, saying he had to be somewhere with his brother.
"It was an unusual circumstance and sometimes you have to make a judgment," Robert testifies. "And I made a judgment I was going to lie to him."
After the news about Wyma came out, Robert testifies, someone on the governor's team had the Illinois State Police sweep the Friends of Blagojevich office for bugs on Dec. 8, 2008 -- but Robert said he wasn't concerned.
"Having the place swept for wires and bugs didn't matter to me. We were doing nothing improper," Robert testifies. "I never directed it. if Rod did, I'm not aware of it."
Robert testifies that the order came from Chrissy Jacobs, a "politically connected" administrative assistant who was "very concerned about eavesdropping" and "a very excitable personality."
The fact that the FOB offices may have been swept for bugs is a new revelation. Ultimately it did no good, or came too late -- the FBI had bugs up already in the office, in addition to tapping numerous phone lines. And the governor was arrested the next day.
Also, this wasn't the first time that an Illinois governor had used state police to try to combat federal investigators. A top aide to now-imprisoned Gov. George Ryan had state troopers do an illegal sweep of that governor's Rosemont campaign office during his investigation in fall 1994.
Robert contradicted himself when at first he cancels meeting with Nayak due to knowledge of bugs in office, while then saying that he was doing nothing "improper" thus why cancel the meeting? sounds like meeting was to discuss dirty things which would have been recorded.
The leak from the DOJ to John Chase of the Chicago Tribune, about the bugs and wiretap ultimately made all the difference!!! When is John Chase going to be called to testify ? Does everyone remember Judith Miller?