<div><p>Federal prosecutors filed paperwork Monday to release intercepted telephone conversations of embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich over his alleged plot to sell off president-elect Barack Obama's senate seat.</p><p>US attorney Patrick Fitzgerald filed a motion in an Illinois district court to disclose four wiretapped conversations to the state's House of Representatives panel considering impeachment proceedings for Blagojevich.</p><p>The special investigative committee had previously requested that Fitzgerald provide several materials, including intercepted communications. The motion is set to be heard on January 5, according to court documents.</p><p>In his filing, Fitzgerald stressed that "the United States takes no position on whether or not the committee should recommend impeachment, whether the (Illinois) House should file articles of impeachment, or, if articles of impeachment are filed, whether the Senate should convict on any charges."</p><p>Rather, the motion said it sought explicit permission from the court to release the recordings.</p><p>Federal prosecutors accuse the Democratic governor of engaging in "a political corruption crime spree" they say was exposed by wiretaps of the governor's home phone and bugs at his campaign office.</p><p>In details of tapes released by prosecutors, Blagojevich discussed ways he could swap an appointment to Obama's former Senate seat for a cabinet post, ambassadorship or high-paying job for himself or his wife.</p><p>Blagojevich's lawyers have dismissed partial transcripts in which the governor allegedly said the appointment was "golden" and "I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing" as mere talk.</p><p>But with the scandal swirling, Blagojevich's lawyers have indicated that the governor now does not intend to exercise his right to name Obama's successor.</p><p>The 76-page FBI affidavit accuses the governor of a staggering pattern of corruption, including refusing to free up funds for a children's hospital until he received a 50,000-dollar campaign contribution, and trying to get editors who were critical of his administration fired from the Chicago Tribune.</p><p>An internal probe on Tuesday cleared Obama and his transition team of any inappropriate contacts with the Illinois governor.</p><p>The report said Obama's incoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel did talk to Blagojevich about who might be a good pick for the vacant Senate seat, but there was no talk of any benefits linked to a particular choice.</p><p>"My inquiry determined there was nothing at all inappropriate about those conversations," Obama's future White House legal counsel Greg Craig told reporters.</p><p>The saga has been a distraction for Obama as he prepares to take office on January 20, tested his campaign offer of transparent leadership and focused attention on the often ugly Illinois political scene where he made his name.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=39561263&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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