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American Scandal

Rod Blagojevich | Making of a Congressman | 1

American Scandal

Wondery

True Crime, Exhibit C, Society & Culture, History, Documentary, History Daily, American History Tellers, Lindsay Graham

4.618.7K Ratings

🗓️ 27 February 2024

⏱️ 45 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Two decades before he was arrested in 2008 on corruption charges while still serving as Illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich got his start in the dog-eat-dog world of Chicago politics under the tutelage of his mentor and father-in-law, Richard Mell. But after winning a seat in the Illinois house, Blagojevich chafes at his nickname, "Representative Son-in-Law." He's determined to prove he's his own man - and he'll stop at nothing as he seeks higher office.

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Transcript

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0:00.0

Wundry Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American scandal early and ad free right now.

0:05.7

Join Wundry Plus in the morning on December 9, 2008.

0:25.0

FBI Special Agent Daniel Kane is in the car with two of his colleagues,

0:29.0

driving through the pre-dawn streets of Chicago.

0:32.0

They've been up since 2 a.m. but Kane isn't tired. He can feel

0:36.2

his adrenaline starting to build like it always does before a big operation. For the past

0:42.2

five years, Kane has been circling one of Illinois's most powerful

0:46.0

politicians, untangling a web of crooks and con men trying to get to the man he believes

0:51.6

is at the center.

0:52.8

And now, Kane finally has all the evidence he needs to pull off what might be the biggest arrest of his career.

0:58.8

So Kane knows he can't afford to make any mistakes. That's why he and two other agents are up

1:05.0

before sunrise on a freezing December morning. They're on their way to eliminate the

1:09.6

last remaining obstacle. Kane pulls up in front of a cozy-looking all-night diner and puts the car in park.

1:17.0

The three agents then get out and walk briskly through the cold and into the warm interior of the

1:21.9

Golden Nugget pancake house.

1:25.0

It takes Kane's eyes a few seconds to adjust to the fluorescent lights.

1:31.0

As he nervously fingers the handcuffs in his pocket,

1:34.5

he looks at the other customers and realize

1:36.5

they have no idea what's about to happen,

1:38.8

that soon they'll all be glued to their TVs

1:41.8

watching a massive political scandal unfold.

1:45.4

Then Kane spots the man they've come to meet, a police lieutenant named Roy Sanji.

...

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