Fox & Friends falsely links Durbin to "pay-to-play" scheme

Discussing a June 1 Associated Press article about a 2008 discussion between Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) concerning the then-vacant Illinois U.S. Senate seat, co-host Gretchen Carlson asked on the June 2 edition of Fox & Friends, "Was it another pay-for-play sort of situation?" The on-screen text during the segment falsely claimed that the AP reported Durbin has been "accused in [a] pay-to-play scheme" involving Blagojevich. In fact, the AP article did not include any suggestion that Durbin was involved in a "pay-for-play scheme" or that Durbin would have benefited personally from the proposal that Blagojevich "floated" to him, according to the article. A second on-screen graphic during the segment read, "Did Dem Strike Illegal Deal? AP: Was to Trade Post for Concessions." However, the AP article does not provide any indication that Durbin struck an "illegal deal" with Blagojevich, either.

According to the AP article, Blagojevich "told fellow Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin he was thinking of naming Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the seat vacated when Barack Obama won the presidential election." The article further reported that "[a] Madigan appointment would have been a political shocker because the governor had been warring politically with her father, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan" and that Blagojevich wanted "concessions ... in return" for selecting Lisa Madigan, including "progress on capital spending projects and a health care bill that were stalled in the Legislature." On December 30, 2008, Blagojevich appointed former Illinois state legislator Roland Burris to fill the vacant Senate seat.

The AP article included no suggestion that Durbin was involved in a "pay-to-play scheme." Regarding Durbin, the AP reported only the following:

Blagojevich told fellow Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin he was thinking of naming Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to the seat vacated when Barack Obama won the presidential election, according to two Durbin aides who spoke on condition of anonymity.

[...]

The 10-minute conversation took place Nov. 24 as Durbin was in his car using his cell phone, according to the aides. One aide said Durbin considered the idea an "innocuous compromise" and offered to help, but was told by the governor to "do nothing," and never heard more on the matter.

The aides spoke on condition that their names would not be used out of respect for the custom that Senate aides most often allow their bosses to be quoted. They gave their account in response to questions as reports circulated as to exactly what was said by Blagojevich and others on tapes made by FBI agents who wiretapped Blagojevich's home and campaign offices last fall.

Blagojevich attorney Samuel E. Adam declined to comment Monday and Durbin's office would offer no further comment. Mike Madigan's spokesman Steve Brown did not immediately return a call and a spokeswoman for Lisa Madigan said she did not have any immediate comment.

According to the Senate aides, Durbin was delighted to hear that Blagojevich was thinking of naming Madigan to the seat. He believed she would be a popular figure in Illinois and stood perhaps the best chance of holding the seat against a Republican.

Durbin volunteered to call the attorney general or the speaker to get the ball rolling and possibly broker an agreement, the aides said.

And that, as far as they know, was the end of the matter, the aides said. They said the Nov. 24 conversation was the only one between Durbin and Blagojevich last fall.

From the June 2 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends:

CARLSON: In the meantime, Blagojevich still tied up in the whole wiretapping controversy. And now Senator Dick Durbin, also from Illinois -- could he be tied up in this as well? Apparently they have him on tape back in November calling from his cell phone in his car and talking potentially about who he thought should get the Senate seat when Barack Obama became president. And it was somebody who would have been a political shocker, Lisa Madigan, who was an archrival of Blagojevich, and who --

BRIAN KILMEADE (co-host): Who wants to run for governor against him.

CARLSON: Yes, and also had been very critical of the governor. So, if, in fact, she had gotten that seat, there would have been a lot of questions. Now there are questions about whether they were asking for concessions on pet projects in order to put Madigan in that seat. Was it another pay-for-play sort of situation? Well, we don't know all the details yet.

KILMEADE: Governor Blagojevich and Dick Durbin talking for 10 minutes -- that's the main story.

STEVE DOOCY (co-host): Right.

KILMEADE: At the end of it they said don't do anything -- tells him not to do anything. And I don't think they really got along too well --

DOOCY: Right.

KILMEADE: -- to begin with, because Senator Durbin told the governor don't name a senator for Barack Obama's seat.

DOOCY: Sure.

KILMEADE: You're not capable of doing it. He did it anyway.

DOOCY: Yeah.

KILMEADE: So, I don't think their relationship was too -- too fantastic.

DOOCY: And, you know what? She didn't wind up with the job. So that tells you something.

KILMEADE: But could end up as governor.