Corrupt asshole

Illinois Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich has been arrested on corruption charges alleging, among other things, that he was conspiring to sell the appointment to Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat.

Federal officers took Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris -- also arrested on corruption charges -- into custody at around 6:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. ET) without incident, FBI spokesman Ross Rice told CNN.

Each was charged with a count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and a count of solicitation of bribery, authorities said.

The government says the two were "conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits" for the Illinois governor by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a U.S. senator to replace Obama.

The Obama transition team is aware that Blagojevich is in federal custody, but has no comment, according to a senior Democratic source.

The government also accuses Blagojevich and Harris of threatening to withhold state assistance to the Tribune Company -- the company that owns the Chicago Tribune -- in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field baseball stadium. The company also owns the Chicago Cubs and Wrigley Field.

In exchange for assistance, the governor and his chief of staff wanted the newspaper to fire Chicago Tribune editorial board members who were sharply critical of the governor, the government said.

There ought to be a special place in Hell…