Ethics committee continuing Jackson probe

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The House Ethics Committee said Friday it will continue to investigate whether Rep. Jesse Jackson acted improperly in seeking a seat in the Senate in 2008.

The committee cited findings from a review by another office that found "probable cause" Jackson either directed someone or knew of efforts to raise campaign funds for former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in return for a Jackson appointment to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President Obama, the Chicago Tribune reported.

"There is probable cause to believe that Representative Jackson either [1] directed a third-party, most likely Mr. Raghuveer Nayak, to offer to raise money for Governor Blagojevich in exchange for appointing Representative Jackson to the Senate seat, or [2] had knowledge that Nayak would likely make such an offer once Representative Jackson authorized him to advocate on his behalf with Governor Blagojevich," the findings from the Office of Congressional Ethics stated.

"Because former Governor Blagojevich, Nayak and Mr. Rajinder Bedi have declined to cooperate with the OCE investigation, and because the OCE cannot compel their cooperation, the OCE is unable to determine whether there is a substantial reason [to] believe these allegations."

Jackson has denied the allegations against him since they arose.

"I have said from the beginning that I publicly and transparently sought to have the governor of Illinois appoint me to fulfill the final two years of then-Sen. Barack Obama's term in the U.S. Senate," Jackson said in a statement Friday. "I did nothing illegal, unethical or inappropriate in that pursuit and I believe that is what the Ethics Committee will conclude at the end of this process."