Communications

Yesterday, Tom Balanoff, a high ranking Service Employees International Union (SEIU) official, dropped a bombshell while testifying in former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s corruption trial. Under oath, Balanoff said yesterday that he had direct contact the night before the election with then Senator Obama who made it known that he wanted family friend Valerie Jarrett to be appointed to his seat. The Chicago Sun-Times has a good synopsis of the testimony:

“Tom, I want to talk to you with regard to the Senate seat," Obama told him. 
Balanoff said Obama said he had two criteria: someone who was good for the citizens of Illinois and could be elected in 2010. Obama said he wasn't publicly coming out in support of anyone but he believed Valerie Jarrett would fit the bill. "I would much prefer she (remain in the White House) but she does want to be Senator and she does meet those two criteria," Balanoff said Obama told him. "I said: 'thank you, I'm going to reach out to Gov. Blagojevich.”

 As has become clear during the course of the trial, Balanoff was acting as a go-between for Gov. Blagojevich and parties interested in the Senate seat. The above testimony raises serious questions regarding a 2008 memo put together by future White House Counsel Greg Craig to allegedly clear up the matter. The memo clearly states:

The President-Elect had no contact or communication with Governor Blagojevich or members of his staff about the Senate seat. In various conversations with transition staff and others, the President-Elect expressed his preference that Valerie Jarrett work with him in the White House. He also stated that he would neither stand in her way if she wanted to pursue the Senate seat nor actively seek to have her or any other particular candidate appointed to the vacancy.

Thus, based on Balanoff’s testimony, it is abundantly clear that the account provided in the memo by Craig ranges from misleading, to clearly omitting facts, to being flat-out contradictory. This begs the question whether Greg Craig deliberately misrepresented the facts to protect President-Elect Obama or did Mr. Obama himself mislead his own lawyer on the role he played in Blagojevich’s attempted sale of his Senate seat? At the very least, this latest development undermines President Obama’s mantra of honest and open government. The American people deserve answers, not another round of stonewalling akin to the kind put on by the White House over the still unresolved controversy surrounding Joe Sestak and Andrew Romanoff. Let’s hold this administration accountable so be sure to tweet your questions to @PressSec and use the hashtag #AskGibbs.