Pelosi stands behind Emanuel, Jackson

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Monday vouched for the
integrity of the two House members caught up in the probe of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s
(D) alleged attempt to sell President-elect Obama’s Senate seat.

Pelosi (D-Calif.) said she does not believe that Illinois
Democratic Reps. Rahm Emanuel and Jesse Jackson Jr. have done anything wrong.

{mosads}“I know them. I think they haven’t,” Pelosi said in response
to a question at her weekly news conference.

“I don’t know of the particulars of what Mr. Jackson was
doing,” Pelosi stated, adding: “But I do know that they’re both people who are
very honorable and served in Congress with great integrity.”

Neither Emanuel, who is leaving Congress to serve as Obama’s
chief of staff, nor Jackson, who was seeking the Senate seat, has been charged
with any wrongdoing.

But both are believed to be among those Blagojevich
mentioned in conversations secretly recorded by the FBI as he discussed his
alleged plan to sell the Senate seat.

Jackson is believed to be the “Senate Candidate 5” cited in
the FBI’s arrest affidavit. Blagojevich reportedly said he was approached by an
“associate” and an “emissary” of the candidate, who offered to raise up to $1.5
million for Blagojevich in a “pay-to-play” scheme for the Senate seat. Jackson
has said he knew nothing of any effort to bargain for the seat.

Emanuel is believed to be the “President-elect adviser” to
whom Blagojevich planned to present various plans for picking Obama’s
successor. Critics have used the details of the affidavit to raise the
possibility that Obama was more involved in horse-trading than he has
acknowledged.

Pelosi sidestepped a question about whether the House ethics
committee should investigate Jackson’s dealings for the Senate seat.

“[Jackson] is an honorable person,” Pelosi said. “I know he
has also disagreed with the governor’s ethics.”

The Speaker added that, as a busy person, she has not had
time to keep track of all the “particulars” of the Blagojevich scandal.