Alexi the Artful Dodger

So we learn Alexi has been subpoenaed by Blago. That's kind of a BFD which he chose not to mention until we heard on the Blago trial tapes that Alexi called Blago about the Senate seat. He didn't want to talk about Broadway Bank either until the primary was over. Are we going to let this Artful Dodger get away with this Illinois? Do you think this guy will represent us in the U.S. Senate. Well, he will to our shame if we elect him. Illinois, the Sleazy State.

Illinois GOP:

Giannoulias Must Explain Contradictions, Answer Questions on Blagojevich Trial

“You have to be as transparent as possible and answer questions.” – Alexi Giannoulias, June 18, 2010

“Giannoulias attended this year's gay pride parade but didn't answer any questions about the subpoena.” –

NBC Chicago, June 27, 2010

For months, U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias decided the people of Illinois didn’t have a right to know:

· That he called Rod Blagojevich’s Chief of Staff John Harris to discuss Illinois’ Senate seat;

· That he brokered a meeting between Valerie Jarrett and SEIU Illinois President and Blagojevich confidant Tom Balanoff;

· That he was questioned by federal investigators regarding the alleged sale of the U.S. Senate seat;

· And that he misled voters by claiming that the Blagojevich staff was “reaching out” to him as a potential candidate.

Now, with Balanoff preparing to testify in the Blagojevich trial, Giannoulias continues to make statements that raise serious questions.

· Alexi Giannoulias claims Tom Balanoff needed Alexi in order to contact Valerie Jarrett. But why would Balanoff need help if he had a direct line to the President-elect?

"Tom Balanoff reached out to me to get in touch with Valerie because he didn't know how to get a hold of her, and I put the two of them together," Giannoulias said. He said he also attended an informal meeting between Jarrett and Balanoff sometime after Obama's election but "didn't really participate in it." (Associated Press, 6/27/2010)

Two sources with knowledge of the investigation say Obama called Balanoff on Nov. 3, 2008, to give Balanoff the green light to continue talking to Blagojevich about Jarrett's possible appointment. The man who would be elected president the next day first left Balanoff, whose union also supported Obama, an innocuous message asking him to return the call. (Chicago Sun-Times, 4/23/2010)

· Alexi Giannoulias claims there was “nothing noteworthy” about the meeting he brokered between Balanoff and Jarrett. But we’ve already learned that this meeting was, in fact, noteworthy.

Giannoulias said he voluntarily talked to federal investigators about the meeting between Jarrett and Balanoff, but "they politely sent me on my way," because there was nothing noteworthy about it. (Associated Press, June 27, 2010)

In the same conversation, Jarrett said, Balanoff also told her Blagojevich had raised the possibility of his being named as secretary of Health and Human Services in the new Obama Cabinet, a possibility that Balanoff and Jarrett agreed would never happen. (Chicago Tribune, 4/30/2010)

· Alexi Giannoulias claims that Rod Blagojevich didn’t like him. But in 2008, Alexi claimed Blagojevich staff “reached out” to him as a potential replacement.

The former governor's ill will toward Alexi is no secret.” – Giannoulias campaign statement, June 27, 2010

“Giannoulias also said that staff within Blagojevich's office have "reached out" to him as a possible candidate to replace President-elect Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, though a Blagojevich spokesman said the governor has not contacted Giannoulias directly.” (Chicago Tribune, “Giannoulias mulls governor run, Senate seat,” 12/4/2008)

· Remember what David Hoffman said during the primary?

The National GOP is champing at the bit to make the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Illinois all about former Governor Rod Blagojevich. This morning, the Alexi Giannoulias campaign is serving them up a free punch, trotting out an endorsement from the union leadership that was Blago's biggest supporter and whose president was completely enmeshed in the controversy over Rod’s attempt to sell this Senate seat. (He even appears on the infamous Blagojevich wiretap!)

You can bet Giannoulias will sit silently on the dais and smile broadly as he receives the endorsement of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) leadership, just as he did when the Blagojevich controversy first surfaced. He doesn't rock the boat, and he's no doubt excited about stepping up to the same trough that netted Blagojevich more than a million dollars in campaign cash.