Rahm Emmanuel on Tape 21 Times

From Michael Sneed, Chicago Sun-Times columnist:

Sneed hears rumbles President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff,Rahm Emanuel, is reportedly on 21 different taped conversations by the feds -- dealing with his boss' vacant Senate seat!

And during none of those conversations did Congressman Emmanuel become aware that the governor was trying to extract some value to himself out of his appointment powers.

Yeah, right.

If this is true, and if Rahm did not go immediately to the feds (like after conversation #3) or was not part of the investigation, he is in deep, deep trouble. Best case scenario, Fitzgerald asked, and Rahm agreed to help put the collar on Blagojevich.

Worst case scenario? Use your imagination, and remember what Martha Stewart and Scooter Libby were convicted for.

Still, here's Obama's statement from yesterday:

Transition staff contacts with Governor Blagojevich and his office has been conducted and completed and is ready for release. That review affirmed the public statements of the President-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the President-elect's staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as US Senator.

Note that Obama is not saying that his staff was unaware of the governors illegal schemes, just that they were not involved in it. Which is not quite good enough here.

And furthermore, we can take Obama's word for it or we can give that old Watergate cry, "Release the tapes!"