Obama team: No inappropriate contacts

CHICAGO, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A spokesman for President-elect Barack Obama Monday said a review of transition team actions indicates no inappropriate dealings with Illinois' governor.

Obama last week directed his staff to determine the nature of contacts between members of his transition team and Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was arrested last week on federal corruption charges alleging he schemed to cash in on picking the replacement for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Obama.

"At the direction of the president-elect, a review of transition staff contacts with Governor Blagojevich and his office has been conducted and completed and is ready for release," Obama communications director Dan Pfeiffer said in a release. "That review affirmed the public statements of the president-elect that he had no contact with the governor or his staff, and that the president-elect's staff was not involved in inappropriate discussions with the governor or his staff over the selection of his successor as U.S. senator."

The Hill noted Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., whom Obama has selected for chief of staff, discussed possible candidates with Blagojevich.

Pfeiffer said the results of the review will be released next week. The delay was at the request of the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago, which is still conducting its own investigation.

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, the U.S. attorney in Chicago, issued a statement confirming his office had "requested a brief delay" of the report's release "to conduct certain interviews."