Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) has been under federal investigation for three years and now authorities, who have been secretly recording Blagojevich for more than a month, apparently have reason to believe the process by which he is selecting Barack Obama's successor is corrupt.

From The Chicago Tribune:

A three-year federal corruption investigation of pay-to-play politics in Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration has expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama, the Tribune has learned.

Federal authorities got approval from a judge before the November general election to secretly record the governor, sources told the Tribune, and among their concerns was whether the selection process might be tainted. That possibility has become a focus in an intensifying investigation that has included recordings of the governor and the cooperation of one of his closest friends.

The governor has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The specific contents of the recent recordings have not been disclosed. Blagojevich has said the appointment of a Senate successor, which is his choice alone, could come in a matter of weeks.

Blagojevich remained defiant as recently as yesterday, insisting he's done nothing wrong, but the fact that he's now been taken into custody would seem to indicate, at the very least, an escalation in the investigation. This is a fluid story and very little hard information is being released so we shouldn't jump to any conclusions.

More as we get it...

Update [2008-12-9 10:1:45 by Todd Beeton]:More:

According to the source, the governor is now at FBI headquarters on the city's West Side, where he is in the custody of federal authorities.

Officials are expected to hold a news conference at 11 a.m. Gov. Blagojevich may also make a court appearance.

And what of the man who could very well shortly be the new governor of Illinois and hence the man who may end up making the appointment to the US Senate?

Lieutenant Governor Pat Quinn, reached by phone at home, tells ABC 7 News "I've heard the reports but I don't know whether it's true or not."

Illinois's lieutenant governor says he has not been told of Governor Blagojevich's arrest by federal authorities "through any official channels" but is heading to the Thompson Center now to await more information.

"The Governor remains the Governor... The presumption is you're always innocent until proven guilty," said Quinn.

Quinn is reportedly a good progressive Democrat. More on him HERE.

Update [2008-12-9 10:15:12 by Todd Beeton]:Via press release, this appears to be at least part of the smoking gun:

In the earliest intercepted conversation about the Senate seat described in the affidavit, Blagojevich told Deputy Governor A on November 3 that if he is not going to get anything of value for the open seat, then he will take it for himself: "if . . . they're not going to offer anything of any value, then I might just take it." Later that day, speaking to Advisor A, Blagojevich said: "I'm going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain." He added later that the seat "is a [expletive] valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing."

Update [2008-12-9 10:15:12 by Todd Beeton]:MSNBC has some more specifics:

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested by FBI agents Tuesday morning on federal corruption charges, officials said.

His chief of staff John Harris was also charged, the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed in a statement.

Blagojevich, 51, and Harris, 46, both of Chicago, were each charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery.A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade for personal gain the state's U.S. Senate seat, which is being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Pretty pathetic.

Update [2008-12-9 10:29:32 by Todd Beeton]:It is now really important that Blago NOT be the one to make the appointment to the Senate. Blago can resign or even step aside temporarily to let Pat Quinn step into the Governorship. If he refuses, the state legislature would have to impeach him but I suspect the pressure will be great for Blago to step aside, if only so that the appointed new Senator does not have any taint hanging over his or her head. Does this impact who that appointee will be? Distance from Blago and a squeaky clean reputation probably just became really important qualities in a candidate.

Update [2008-12-9 10:40:35 by Todd Beeton]:Here's the pdf of Patrick Fitzgerald's press release on the arrests. Stay classy, Blago:

Throughout the intercepted conversations, Blagojevich also allegedly spent significant time weighing the option of appointing himself to the open Senate seat and expressed a variety of reasons for doing so, including: frustration at being "stuck" as governor; a belief that he will be able to obtain greater resources if he is indicted as a sitting Senator as opposed to a sitting governor; a desire to remake his image in consideration of a possible run for President in 2016; avoiding impeachment by the Illinois legislature; making corporate contacts that would be of value to him after leaving public office; facilitating his wife's employment as a lobbyist; and generating speaking fees should he decide to leave public office.

Update [2008-12-9 10:51:19 by Todd Beeton]:Chuck Todd: The IL legislature is not set to come back into session until after Jan. 1st. The only way for them to return before then would be for Blagojevich to call them into session, not likely if it means his impeachment. You may now see a push for the appointment to be a caretaker position, in other words just a 2 year appointment until voters can elect a replacement in 2010. All the people who previously wanted the seat now don't want to touch it with a ten foot pole, unless Blagojevich decides on his own to step aside to let Pat Quinn assume office, about which, says Todd: "watching Blagojevich, it's unlikely this guy would resign any time soon."

Update [2008-12-9 11:0:14 by Todd Beeton]:David Kurtz cites a particularly brazen quote from the Blago that was caught on tape by the feds. Here he is discussing appointing himself to the Senate:

"I've got this thing and it's [expletive] golden, and, uh, uh, I'm just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing. I'm not gonna do it. And, and I can always use it. I can parachute me there."

Has anyone been on Keith's best AND worst persons lists during the same episode? I think Blgojevich has earned that.