Jackson, "Five"

Obama '08 National Co-Chair Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D. Ill.) Is ‘Candidate 5’ in Governor Bribery Case

By DAVID JOHNSTON and JACK HEALY, NYT
WASHINGTON — Federal authorities on Wednesday identified Democratic Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois as the potential United States Senate candidate who was portrayed in court papers made public Tuesday as being the most deeply enmeshed in the alleged scheme by Gov. Rod Blagojevich to benefit from his appointment of a new senator to the seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Jackson staff members allegedly offered Blagojevich up to $1 million if the governor would appoint Jackson to the post vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama.

A lawyer for Mr. Jackson acknowledged that Mr. Jackson was the person identified as "Candidate 5" in the criminal complaint, but said that Mr. Jackson denied any wrongdoing and was not aware of anyone attempting to cut deals on his behalf.

The full article, from the NY Times, can be found here.