Accessory to the Crime? Probably not

Yesterday, I suggested that the Obama team - by not telling the feds about Rod Blagojevich's pay-to-play scheme - might have become accessories to the crime [if they were aware of it, which they apparently were] even if they didn't actually play along with the scheme.

However, it should be noted that in order to become an accessory to a crime [through concealment of the the crime] or to be found guilty of misprision of felony, which also involves the failure to report a crime, one would have to actually take affirmative steps to facilitate the concealment of the crime.

Now, while it may be true that Obama and his cohorts failed to inform the feds about the governor's misconduct, I don't think that's the same thing as taking affirmative steps to conceal that misconduct. [this is just my own layman's opinion, I could be mistaken] However, if the Obama team ultimately speaks to feds and denies having had any knowledge of the scheme, well, that's a whole different ball game altogether.

Of course, even if Obama and his minions aren't [by defintion] 'accessories to the crime', that doesn't make their silence on the matter any less reprehensible. But ultimately, until someone can prove that they actually played along with Blagojevich's scheme, I'm afraid these scoundrels are off the hook - once again.

Nevertheless, the question remains: Why didn't Obama and company bother to report this scheme to the feds? I mean, we're not talking about your average, run-of-the-mill senate seat over here. We're talking about the Messiah's senate seat! Why wasn't the Obama team troubled by the governor's efforts to sell that senate seat? Were they trying to hide something?

Your guess is as good as mine.

P.S. Of course, it's also possible that they were reluctant to rat out Blagojevich - a fellow Democrat and an an associate of the Messiah - because they felt it would ultimately taint both Barack Obama and the Dems.