Blagojevich Busted

CHICAGO (CBS) ― People who have been briefed on the federal investigation of Gov. Rod Blagojevich say they believe president-elect's chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is not a target. CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports.

Emanuel's name came up as a person who could have been a contact between the Obama transition office and the governor, who allegedly was trying to sell Obama's Senate seat to the highest bidder.

Part of the federal complaint focuses on a non-profit organization the complaint says Blagojevich wanted to start. The document details one conversation where Blagojevich allegedly says the president-elect would ask Warren Buffett and Bill Gates to fund it, with contributors raising $10 million to $15 million so that Blagojevich could "advocate health care."

The president-elect's chief of staff left the Kluczynski federal building Friday night without commenting on the FBI probe.

Emanuel has drawn attention since Obama announced he wants his aides to list any contacts they have had with Blagojevich.

People briefed on the governor's corruption investigation now say Emanuel is "not" a target of the probe. But questions remain whether Emanuel is highlighted in conversations taped by the FBI as part of the investigation.

Like the chatter from Nov. 13, where the complaint says Blagojevich told an adviser he wants the idea of a non-profit organization "in the president-elect adviser's head but not in connection with the Senate appointment or the congressional seat."

"President-elect adviser" is thought to describe Emanuel.

Later, the complaint alleges Blagojevich wanted a third party to make a call and "pitch the idea" to the adviser.

CBS 2 legal analyst Irv Miller reviewed the complaint and says the conversations in it are so vague they shouldn't be a problem for Emanuel.

"Not only it may never have happened," he said, "but even if it did happen, to ask somebody about a potential job once he leaves office -- it's done every day, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it."

Emanuel has refused to answer whether he is the "president-elect adviser" in the criminal complaint. And the document doesn't say that the governor actually spoke to that adviser about Obama's vacant senate seat.

Emanuel did not appear at a news conference Thursday at which President-elect Obama addressed the Blagojevich scandal and announced Tom Daschle as his pick for Health and Human Services secretary.

But a Chicago Sun-Times reporter ran into Emanuel at City Hall, and said Emanuel refused to answer any questions about whether he had conversations with Blagojevich.

Obama said at the news conference Thursday that no one on his staff tried to make any deals.

"What I want to do is to gather all the facts about any staff contacts that may have taken place between the transition office and the governor's office, and we'll have those in the next few days, and we'll present them," Obama said. "But what I'm absolutely certain about is that our office had no involvement in any deal making around my Senate seat."

The criminal complaint indicates that Blagojevich was trying to get a cabinet position or ambassadorship in exchange for appointing Obama's friend to the vacant Senate seat.

No one on Obama's team is accused of any wrongdoing in the Blagojevich case.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Governor Blagojevich Arrested

• Special Section: Blagojevich Busted
• Details Of Complaint Against Blagojevich
• Exposing Blago: Gov's Style An Obstacle