Government Law
No Bright Line Between Political Favors and Illegal ‘Personal Piggery’
Posted Dec 11, 2008, 04:59 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Concerning the accusation by federal prosecutors that Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, in effect, tried to sell President-elect Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, it isn't difficult to see the legal issue that is posed by such alleged conduct.
But both in criminal cases and the court of public opinion, such claimed "personal piggery" is viewed quite differently from ordinary political favors, crisis management specialist Eric Dezenhall tells the Associated Press. (see below)
"Taking money in exchange for official government action is clearly illegal. But it may be just savvy politics when a governor names his political rival a state judge so she won't oppose him next election," the news agency writes in a lengthy article seeking to define what does and does not fall into the prohibited category.
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