President-elect Barack Obama has promised an administration that is transparent in sharing information with the press and public.
The importance of the developing story about corruption charges against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in relation to the Obama team is that it puts the president-elect's pledge to an early test. It is an opportunity to see how an Obama administration manages information and questioning in a matter it isn't necessarily eager to discuss. It provides an initial indication of whether the Obama White House will be open or closed, forthcoming or deceptive.
Thus far, it's too early to tell.
Obama has subjected himself to substantial press questioning on the matter of the nature of contacts members of his transition team have had with Blagojevich regarding the open seat on the U.S. Senate. But he also hasn't said much - mostly, he says, because U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has asked him and his team not to share information that could endanger the federal case against the Illinois governor. The Illinois governor is accused of, among other things, trying to use his authority to appoint Obama's replacement to profit financially or obtain an appointment in the new administration.
Obama last week said that answers to all of the questions about communications with Blagojevich would be answered this week. On Tuesday, the president-elect's team released a report from an internal review of staff contacts. Not surprisingly, it shows "no inappropriate contact" between Obama staffers and the Blagojevich staffers.
The timing of the report's release has been rightly questioned, coming the day before Christmas Eve, when most people are paying very little attention to news and politics. It's something akin to a company faxing a news release about job layoffs on a Friday afternoon.
There may very well be nothing inappropriate about any of the communications between the Obama and Blagojevich camps. It would be unreasonable to expect there wouldn't have been discussions. And there are no indications anyone connected to Obama was involved in discussions about selling the Senate seat.
The report released Tuesday simply is the Obama team's version of the contacts with Blagojevich. It's one side of the story. As the case against Blagojevich progresses, tapes of conversations will be revealed, and the truth will be known. And the public and press will know whether the Obama camp is being honest about the matter.
Trust either will be built, or damaged.
The importance of the developing story about corruption charges against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in relation to the Obama team is that it puts the president-elect's pledge to an early test. It is an opportunity to see how an Obama administration manages information and questioning in a matter it isn't necessarily eager to discuss. It provides an initial indication of whether the Obama White House will be open or closed, forthcoming or deceptive.
Thus far, it's too early to tell.
Obama has subjected himself to substantial press questioning on the matter of the nature of contacts members of his transition team have had with Blagojevich regarding the open seat on the U.S. Senate. But he also hasn't said much - mostly, he says, because U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has asked him and his team not to share information that could endanger the federal case against the Illinois governor. The Illinois governor is accused of, among other things, trying to use his authority to appoint Obama's replacement to profit financially or obtain an appointment in the new administration.
Obama last week said that answers to all of the questions about communications with Blagojevich would be answered this week. On Tuesday, the president-elect's team released a report from an internal review of staff contacts. Not surprisingly, it shows "no inappropriate contact" between Obama staffers and the Blagojevich staffers.
The timing of the report's release has been rightly questioned, coming the day before Christmas Eve, when most people are paying very little attention to news and politics. It's something akin to a company faxing a news release about job layoffs on a Friday afternoon.
There may very well be nothing inappropriate about any of the communications between the Obama and Blagojevich camps. It would be unreasonable to expect there wouldn't have been discussions. And there are no indications anyone connected to Obama was involved in discussions about selling the Senate seat.
The report released Tuesday simply is the Obama team's version of the contacts with Blagojevich. It's one side of the story. As the case against Blagojevich progresses, tapes of conversations will be revealed, and the truth will be known. And the public and press will know whether the Obama camp is being honest about the matter.
Trust either will be built, or damaged.
