Jan 8, 2009 8:34 pm US/Central
Ex-Aide Blasts Blagojevich As Arrogant
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) ―
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Gov. Rod Blagojevich briefly talks to reporters on Dec. 17, 2008.
CBS
So you want to work for Rod Blagojevich?
If you call him at home during the work day, never let the phone ring more than three times. Be prepared for him to respond to your concern with the language of a "street thug."
Bob Arya, former senior adviser to the Democratic governor, told a House impeachment committee in a nine-page letter that in his view, Blagojevich "has failed the people of Illinois and needs to be removed from office by indictment, impeachment or resignation. Period."
The former Chicago TV journalist, who worked for Blagojevich from just after his 2006 re-election until October, said the Democrat set up a campaign to discredit his main legislative nemesis. He showed "unmitigated arrogance" in his liberal use of the state plane. And he threw aside with an expletive a letter written by a Senate Republican seeking clemency for a constituent.
"The tactics of this administration in many cases were beyond unacceptable -- some were abusive, others arguably unconstitutional," Arya wrote in the unusual missive filed with the committee investigating removing Blagojevich. The panel later Thursday unanimously recommended Blagojevich be impeached for abuse of power.
Arya's sour employment history with the administration taints his opinion, said Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero.
"I would hope that the Committee keeps in mind that Bob Arya is a disgruntled former employee who met with the governor less than five times but parlayed those limited meetings into a nine-page diatribe," Guerrero said in a statement. "Any testimony from a former employee who was asked to resign in lieu of being fired should be viewed with some skepticism."
Arya said he warned Blagojevich and chief of staff John Harris -- both arrested Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges -- against a concerted effort to embarrass House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, in which the goal was to "damage the Madigan brand."
He said Blagojevich often worked from home, instead of his offices in the Capitol or Chicago's Loop, dismissed use of the taxpayer-financed airplane by saying it "comes with the job," rarely communicated with Cabinet members, and was uninterested in clearing a backlog of about 2,000 petitions for clemency or meeting with foreign dignitaries, damaging the state's standing among diplomats.
The governor shut out anyone who crossed him, including Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, Arya said.
And the adviser, who requested a transfer to the head of communications in February, said he filed a complaint with the office of the executive inspector general about state employees distributing press and news video clips that had been collected by a firm funded with Blagojevich campaign money.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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