Informed of the resignation of Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. Wednesday, Robert Blagojevich, reached at this home in Nashville, had this to say when I called:
"I would love to pile on and get this out of my system," he said, "but I have no knowledge of a federal investigation related to Jackson's campaign fund."
What Blagojevich says he does know about, and what he has testified to in both federal court and before a Congressional Ethics Committee, is that during the time his brother Rod was the governor of Illinois, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. allegedly sent emissaries, Raghuveer Nayak and Rajinder Bedi, to allegedly offer to raise more than $6 million for his brother's campaign fund in exchange for appointing Jackson Jr. to the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Barack Obama.
It is something Jackson Jr. has always denied. Rod Blagojevich is now serving a 14 year federal prison sentence on corruption charges.
"He (Jackson) has never told the truth about that," said Robert Blagojevich, adding that he never took the alleged offer seriously nor did he or his brother ever consider accepting it. "I went to the Ethics committee, told them what I knew and believed... I'm somewhat frustrated and sad that he's not going to be held accountable for what he set in motion."
Robert Blagojevich said, "Every indication I get, there is no energy behind that" Congressional investigation of Jackson, particularly now that Jackson is no longer a member of Congress.
Nayak pleaded not guilty in June to charges of mail fraud, racketeering and filing false income tax returns.
