* The Bush administration’s blatant politicization of the Justice Department is well documented. And now comes word that some Blagojevich insiders tried to take advantage of that environment to oust Patrick Fitzgerald as US Attorney….
As federal investigators closed in, Gov. Rod Blagojevich insiders were angling with Bush administration architect Karl Rove to get U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald kicked out of office, according to disclosures made in federal court. […]
Federal prosecutors said in court that co-schemer Steven Loren was ready to testify he was told Illinois Republican insider Bob Kjellander was working to get Fitzgerald removed.
Powerbroker Bill Cellini “said it was Bob Kjellander’s job to take care of the U.S. Attorney,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Hamilton said in court late Tuesday, in reading Loren’s earlier grand jury testimony.
The statement was not further explained Tuesday, but in court this morning Hamilton told U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve that she expected Rezko business partner Ali Ata, who is cooperating with authorities, to testify Rezko told him the same thing in 2004.
It’s not too much of a stretch to believe that Fitzgerald got wind of the machinations and reacted by indicting Rezko in October of 2006 - just a month before election day. Tradition has been not to interfere with campaigns by making high-profile indictments like this so close to voting.