The Governor and the Vacancy

A state governor had the power to fill a vacant seat in the U.S. Senate. Wiretaps caught him working out what he could get for it: a cabinet job for himself, a well-paid private post, or a large sum raised by a candidate's backers. He was also recorded holding up a racing bill and a hospital payment until money came in. He said politicians trade favours all the time, and that swapping one public job for another is ordinary politics, not a crime.