Emanuel and Blagojevich are Close
By Sarah Baxter,The Sunday Times
THE bullish,foul-mouthed but effective Chicago arm-twister Rahm Emanuel has come under pressure to resign as Barack Obama’s chief of staff after it was revealed that he had been captured on court-approved wire-taps discussing the names of candidates for Obama’s Senate seat.
Emanuel’s presence at the heart of the scandal threatens to roil the president-elect’s administration as a Chicago prosecutor builds his corruption case against Rod Blagojevich,the Illinois governor. Blagojevich has been accused of plotting to sell Obama’s Senate seat –which is in the governor’s gift –in return for financial and political favours.