"I was in his face," Alonzo "Lon" Monk boasted to impeached Gov. Blagojevich on December 4, 2008, five days before Blago was arrested. The telephone exchange was heard on the FBI tapes played during Blago's impeachment trial in Springfield on Tuesday.
Monk, who is Lobbyist #1 in the criminal complaint against Blagojevich, had his cell phone tapped by the feds. The governor's former law school roommate, closest friend and former chief of staff turned lobbyist sounds like a mob enforcer.
Before Roland Burris was installed as the junior senator from Illinois, he called Monk, then no longer on the state of Illinois payroll--at least not literally--but still the go-to guy for Gov. Blagojevich. Burris says he thinks he called Monk in July or September, probably before the feds put a tap on Monk's cell phone.
If only that telephone call in which Burris beseeched Monk to let Blago know that Burris (the self-described "Trail Blazer") wanted to be considered for Obama's senate seat--and in which Burris asked Monk for some of his overflow lobbying business for his firm, Burris & Lebed--had been recorded. (See my earlier post on the Monk/Blago/Burris connection.)
Supporters of Burris liked to point out that when Lon Monk took Burris's call, Monk was no longer working for the Governor.
Yes, he was. The tapes show Monk running out to the race track to meet with it's operator, John Johnston, to tell him that Blago needed his $100,000 campaign contribution before the new ethics law took effect on December 31, 2008. Blago later signed legislation that benefited the racing industry.
In the wake of Blago's embarrassing appointment of Burris, New York Gov. David Paterson's clumsy appointment to fill Hillary Clinton's senate seat, Delaware Gov. Jack Markell's seat warmer appointment to replace Joe Biden (keeping it warm for Biden's son Beau until a 2010 election), there is talk of legislation to strip governors of the power to appoint senators. If it comes to the floor, one can only wonder how Burris will vote.
One thing is certain, like Blago, Burris is not capable of embarrassment.