"If anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead. Feel free to do it. ... I appreciate if you want to tape my conversations, give me a heads up and let me know. ... But I don't care whether you tape me privately or publicly, I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful and the things I'm interested in are always lawful"

"She said son, now that you won, whatever you do, be honest. And I told her, oh Mom, of course I'll be honest because that's how you raised me. Promise me, son, that you will never take bribes and I said, of course I'll never take bribes. Not only would that be dishonest, it would be illegal, and I would never do anything to dishonor the memory of my father."

"I have never considered myself for the position of Senator. I could not afford the asking price nor could I make any promises to the governor in exchange for the Senate seat."

Chicago Tribune

Defendants Rod Blagojevich and John Harris, together with others, offered to, and threatened to withhold from, the Tribune Company substantial state financial assistance in connection with Wrigley Field, which assistance Rod Blagojevich believed to be worth at least $100 million to the Tribune Company, for the private purpose of inducing the controlling shareholder of the Tribune Company to fire members of the editorial board of the Chicago Tribune, a newspaper owned by the Tribune Company, who were responsible for editorials critical of Rod Blagojevich (pdf p8)

During the call, Rod Blagojevich’s wife can be heard in the background telling Rod Blagojevich to tell [Deputy Governor A, Bob Greenlee] "to hold up that fucking Cubs shit... fuck them." Rod Blagojevich asked [Deputy Governor A, Bob Greenlee] what he thinks of his wife’s idea. [Deputy Governor A, Bob Greenlee] stated that there is a part of what Rod Blagojevich’s wife said that he "agree[s] with." [Deputy Governor A, Bob Greenlee] told Rod Blagojevich that Tribune Owner will say that he does not have anything to do with the editorials, "but I would tell him, look, if you want to get your Cubs thing done, get rid of this Tribune." Later, Rod Blagojevich’s wife got on the phone and, during the continuing discussion of the critical Tribune editorials, stated that Tribune Owner can "just fire" the writers because Tribune Owner owns the Tribune. Rod Blagojevich’s wife stated that if Tribune Owner’s papers were hurting his business, Tribune Owner would do something about the editorial board. ... [Deputy Governor A, Bob Greenlee] agreed and said that Harris needs to be "sensitive" about how he does it. Rod Blagojevich said there is nothing sensitive about how you do it and that it’s "straight forward" and you say "we’re doing this stuff for you, we believe this is right for Illinois [and] this is a big deal to [Tribune Owner] financially" but what Rod Blagojevich is doing to help Tribune Owner is the same type of action that the Tribune is saying should be the basis for Rod Blagojevich’s impeachment. Rod Blagojevich said Tribune Owner should be told "maybe we can’t do this now. Fire those fuckers." (pdf p46-47)

During a subsequent intercepted call on November 4, 2008, Rod Blagojevich talked with John Harris. Rod Blagojevich discussed the Tribune editorials suggesting that Rod Blagojevich be impeached, and told Harris that they need to have a conversation with [Tribune Financial Advisor], Cubs Chairman, and Tribune Owner and explain that the Tribune is writing editorials criticizing Rod Blagojevich for taking actions like those Tribune Owner wants Rod Blagojevich to take "on this Cubs deal at the IFA [Illinois Finance Authority]." Rod Blagojevich stated that because of the impeachment articles, "we don’t know if we can take a chance and do this IFA deal now. I don’t want to give them a grounds to impeach me." Rod Blagojevich stated that "our recommendation is fire all those fucking people, get ‘em the fuck out of there and get us some editorial support." (pdf p49)

Rod Blagojevich stated that he is going to go to Tribune Owner and tell Tribune Owner that Rod Blagojevich will not help Tribune Owner because Tribune Owner’s own paper will argue to impeach Rod Blagojevich for his actions in helping Tribune Owner. (pdf p45)

Rod Blagojevich and Harris talked about an upcoming meeting Harris will have with an individual at the Tribune ... Rod Blagojevich stated that Harris’s suggestion will be to "get rid of these people" and that "the other point you want to make is in fact, we, we sure would like to get some editorial support from your paper. Okay?" ... Rod Blagojevich said, "this is a priority. Stay on it right. I mean, he, he gets the message, doesn’t he?" Harris replied, "Oh yeah. He got it loud and clear." (pdf p50)

Harris said that he met with Tribune Financial Advisor the prior day (November 10, 2008), and that Tribune Financial Advisor talked to Tribune Owner and Tribune Owner "got the message and is very sensitive to the issue." Harris stated that according to Tribune Financial Advisor, there will be "certain corporate reorganizations and budget cuts coming and, reading between the lines, he’s going after that section." Rod Blagojevich responded, "oh, that’s fantastic." According to Harris, Tribune Financial Advisor did not acknowledge that "he interferes in that operation... but I got the clear feeling that, that he was, uh, very sensitive to our concerns." (pdf p51)

Rod Blagojevich stated "what’s the deal? So, do McCormick stays at the Tribune, huh?" Harris stated "we haven’t heard that he’s gone, so." Rod Blagojevich stated "I mean, those layoffs were minor (the December 4, 2008 Tribune layoffs)." Harris stated "well, I know they got a lot to do." Rod Blagojevich asked "there’s still more coming?" Harris responded "yeah, they got a lot of cuts to make." Rod Blagojevich stated "okay, at some point we should talk to [Tribune Financial Advisor] again, right?" Harris confirmed they should talk to Tribune Financial Advisor again. (pdf p56)

Obama's Senate replacement

During the call, Rod Blagojevich stated, "unless I get something real good for [Senate Candidate 1], shit, I’ll just send myself, you know what I’m saying." Rod Blagojevich later stated, "I’m going to keep this Senate option for me a real possibility, you know, and therefore I can drive a hard bargain. You hear what I’m saying. And if I don’t get what I want and I’m not satisfied with it, then I’ll just take the Senate seat myself." Later, Rod Blagojevich stated that the Senate seat "is a fucking valuable thing, you just don’t give it away for nothing." (pdf p58)

On November 10, 2008, Rod Blagojevich, his wife, John Harris, Governor General Counsel, and various Washington-D.C. based advisors, including Advisor B, discussed the open Senate seat during a conference call.. Various individuals participated at different times during the call. The call lasted for approximately two hours ... Rod Blagojevich suggested during the call that he could name himself to the open Senate seat to avoid impeachment by the State of Illinois legislature. ... Rod Blagojevich asked what he can get from the President-elect for the Senate seat. Rod Blagojevich stated that Governor General Counsel believes the President-elect can get Rod Blagojevich’s wife on paid corporate boards in exchange for naming the President-elect’s pick to the Senate. Governor General Counsel asked, "can [the President-elect] help in the private sector... where it wouldn’t be tied to him? ... I mean, so it wouldn’t necessarily look like one for the other." ... Rod Blagojevich stated that he is "struggling" financially and does "not want to be Governor for the next two years." Rod Blagojevich said that the consultants are telling him that he has to "suck it up" for two years and do nothing and give this "motherfucker [the President-elect] his senator. Fuck him. For nothing? Fuck him." Rod Blagojevich states that he will put "[Senate Candidate 4]" in the Senate "before I just give fucking [Senate Candidate 1] a fucking Senate seat and I don’t get anything." Rod Blagojevich stated that he needs to find a way to take the "financial stress" off of his family and that his wife is as qualified or more qualified than another specifically named individual to sit on corporate boards. According to Rod Blagojevich, "the immediate challenge [is] how do we take some of the financial pressure off of our family." ... Thereafter, Rod Blagojevich and others on the phone call discussed various ways Rod Blagojevich can "monetize" the relationships he is making as Governor to make money after Rod Blagojevich is no longer Governor. (pdf p64-67)

Rod Blagojevich stated that if he appoints Senate Candidate 4 to the Senate seat and, thereafter, it appears that Rod Blagojevich might get impeached, he could "count on [Senate Candidate 4], if things got hot, to give [the Senate seat] up and let me parachute over there." Harris said, "you can count on [Senate Candidate 4] to do that." Later in the conversation, Rod Blagojevich said he knows that the President-elect wants Senate Candidate 1 for the Senate seat but "they’re not willing to give me anything except appreciation. Fuck them." (pdf p68)