The brother of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) is expected to testify to the House Ethics Committee later this month on what he knows about the governor’s effort to seek campaign funds in return for naming someone to the Senate seat that President Obama vacated.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Robert Blagojevich offered to testify before the committee last year, and indicated that he has more information on Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.’s “alleged involvement in the Senate seat sale.”
The House Ethics Committee is continuing to investigate whether Jackson offered to raise funds for Rod Blagojevich in return for his decision to nominate Jackson to the Senate seat. In December, the committee delayed a decision to create a formal investigative subcommittee on Jackson’s activities, but is still probing the issue.
{mosads}A spokesman for the committee said it does not comment on pending matters, and would not confirm whether Blagojevich’s brother would testify, or when that testimony might be heard.
Jackson might also be under investigation by the Ethics Committee because a campaign donor bought a plane ticket for a woman with whom he had had an affair, an action that Jackson has argued does not violate House rules. Again, the committee has not said it is probing this matter, but Jackson himself indicated that it might be something the committee is taking up.
That delay, announced Dec. 2, was the last public statement the committee has made on any matter related to Jackson.