Politics

After Blago: Ethics Committee, Justice mum on possible investigation into Jesse Jackson Jr.

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In the wake of former Illinois Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s conviction on 17 of 20 federal corruption counts, there is speculation that Illinois Democratic Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. could once again come under scrutiny for his involvement in a portion of the charges.

Jackson, it was alleged, attempted to buy President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat, by telling one of his campaign donors to give Blagojevich money.

On November 15th the Committee on Standards of Office Conduct announced that it had agreed to the Justice Department’s request that they continue to defer taking action against Jackson Jr.

“The Standards Committee will continue to monitor the situation and will consider pursing avenues of inquiry that is concludes do not interfere with the activities of the Department of Justice,” they wrote in a release. “At least annually, the Standards Committee will make a public statement if it continues to defer taking action on the matter.”

In May, Jackson Jr. took the stand in Blagojevitch’s second corruption trial. There he denied ever attempting to raise money for the former governor in exchange for the Senate seat.

“No, I did not,” he asserted then.

Both the House Ethics Committee and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Illinois declined to comment on the potential for further investigations.

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