Newsweek: Lawyers, Guns and Money...

So, Obama comes out and says that he and his incoming White House Counsel have gone over the list of contacts, and determined that everyone's in the clear. We have a report, ready for distribution, but it won't be released until Patrick Fitzgerald gives the high sign.

Yet, it's terrible news for Obama, according to Howard Fineman.

The original release was supposed to be this week. But it was pushed back, the Obama camp said, at the request of the official investigating Blago: Chicago-based U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the 21st-century Eliot Ness. Fitz's office confirmed that he had made the request, though there is no way of knowing how adamant he was about it. The reasoning seems clear enough: Fitz does not want any information about the Obama's team's contacts to be made public because it might give Blago's bad guys—who allegedly tried to solicit bribes—clues about how to cover their tracks. But surely, if they acted wrongfully, they have gotten their stories straight by now.

So the timing of the report is more complicated than that. At least it seems that way from the manner in which Obama's own camp has been acting. They have been cautious and quiet in the extreme.

So, according to Fineman, Fitzgerald asked Obama to delay the report, but may not have really meant it. Is there anything Fineman bases this on?

No, just his own supposition.

Now, Fineman spends a majority of the focus on Rahm Emanuel, hinting in the headline and subheader that he could be in reeeeall trouble, but:

Neither Fitz nor anyone I have heard about or spoken to suggests that Emanuel did anything illegal or even untoward. It's not even clear if he heard anything incriminating about anybody.

Emanuel, understandably, is taking no chances. He has kept utterly quiet. He has pledged total cooperation with Fitzgerald and, apparently, is giving it.

He's even hired counsel, which makes sense because:

A prominent Washington criminal lawyer (who declined to be quoted because he did not know the particulars of the case) was sympathetic—and stressed that hiring a lawyer and moving cautiously was wise. "You always hear the cliché that this or that person made matters worse by going silent," he said. "It's usually just the opposite, at least legally. The fact is, Emanuel at the time was probably getting a hundred calls and e-mails a day. He may not remember what he had said, and even if he did, innocent words or answers can look or sound bad. The last thing you want to do now is say something else that would complicate things. Emanuel was dealing with this crazy big-haired guy who was running around saying who knows what."

But...

Still, however justifiable the silence and caution, Emanuel (and, by extension, Obama) could pay a price for both as the Chicago mess simmers on. Emanuel already has blown up at members of the Chicago press corps—a newspaper reporter and a cameraman. Obama's transition team, eager to show its openness and focus on naming cabinet nominees, has been forced to spend day after day dealing with the Blago story. There's too much focus on Emanuel, whose naturally abrasive personality clashes with his boss's cool demeanor.

And Republicans are now piling on Emanuel—and are likely to continue to do so. At this point, there seems little doubt that Emanuel will survive, and will take his place on Jan. 20 as chief of staff in the Oval Office. But he is already a bigger story than is good for either him or his boss—and delay, however legally justified, just makes it bigger. We'll know more next week—at least those of us who are paying attention.

Fineman does know that the Emanuel blew up at said Reporter after he had let the man into his house to use his bathroom, right??

Here's the incident in question:

Back at his home, Emanuel appeared "beet-red," according to an ABC News cameraman who was invited inside by Emanuel to use his bathroom this morning.

"I'm getting regular death threats. You've put my home address on national television. I'm pissed at the networks. You've intruded too much, " Emanuel said, according to the cameraman.

Ultimately, what I can't stand about the Press Corps is their desire to juice up a story at the cost of the facts, when the facts as they are...are plenty enough.

The facts are Fitzgerald is going after Rod Blagojevich. No one from the Obama Transition Team, at this time, is under any Legal Jeopardy.

Where they in Legal Jeopardy, it would be a story. But they're not, and the Media seems to be settling for "they could be legal jeopardy, who's to say" as their new standard.