Did Rahm Emanuel End Rod Blagojevich?

One of the more fascinating details to emerge in the Blagojevich scandal is the idea that Rahm Emanuel had a hand in the Illinois Governor's arrest. The backstory, from Think Progress:

Marcy Wheeler catches local Chicago press reporting that Rahm Emanuel may have tipped off federal investigators that Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) was engaging in corrupt acts. Jack Conaty, a Chicago reporter for the local Fox affiliate, said on-air that Rahm Emanuel might have been responsible for causing federal investigators to act quickly to apprehend Blagojevich this morning.

You can see the video of that report below.

TPM, however, reports getting an email tip contradicting the report:

But a source close to Rahm emails us that "it's not true," adding that the story is the "result of some overzealous reporting."

Now, to me, that quote sounds like an official source trying to sound unofficial.

I spoke to a lot of people today, and while none of them would go on the record (even anonymously), not one of them tried to walk the rumor back even a little.

I think that what's at play here is a desire to keep the focus on Blagojevich, and off of Barack Obama. While the idea that someone from his team helped to bring Blago down seems like a huge positive, it is outweighed by the desire to keep the incoming administration out of the morass and on task.

With all that in mind, I still love the idea of Blagojevich trying to out-Rahm Rahm. I envision the phone call going something like this: (Warning – Heavily asterisked expletives)



Someone should really contact David Mamet to work on this one. It's like Glengarry Glen Ross meets The Spanish Prisoner.

RB: Rahm! F**kin' Blago here.

RE: Blago, you ****sucker, how the f*** are you?

RB: Really f**king good, listen, I understand you're looking to put Val (Jarrett) into the Big Guy's seat...

RE: Yeah, we'd appreciate the s**t out of that.

RB: Yeah, here's the thing, R-dog. It's gonna cost you. A cool mil.

RE: What the...Who the f**k do you think you're talking to, Blah-goya-B*tch? I will f**king END you!

RB: Ahhh, what are you gonna do, Emanuel? Give me the finger?

Re: I'll give you the whole fist, and I bet I never even touch the sides!

RB: Oh, sorry, Rahm, I gotta go, I got The Nanny on the other line. You think it over. (click)