The criminal complaint filed against Blagojevich by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said the governor’s general counsel, William Quinlan Jr., was on a wire-tapped conference call in which the governor discussed how he could secure a top union post in exchange for appointing a particular candidate to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. The governor’s chief of staff, John Harris, who was also charged in the complaint, other unnamed advisers and Blagojevich’s wife, Patti, were also on the Nov. 10 call at various times, according to the federal complaint.
Quinlan has not been charged or named as a target of the investigation. Quinlan couldn’t be reached at his office and didn’t return calls seeking comment. U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman Randall Samborn declined to comment.
