CHICAGO, Dec 11: President-elect Barack Obama attempted to clear both himself and his staff of any taint connected with charges the Illinois governor put Obama’s Senate seat up for sale, saying on Thursday he was ‘absolutely certain’ there was no involvement with the alleged deal-making.

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested on Tuesday on charges that he put Obama’s seat up for bidding. The governor has ignored calls for his resignation and retains the power to appoint Obama’s replacement.

Obama said he was “as appalled and disappointed as anybody” by the allegations.

Aiming to put to rest any questions about involvement by any of his staff, Obama said he never spoke to Blagojevich about the choosing of his successor. He also for the first time addressed the issue of whether his transition staff had any contacts.“I am confident that no representatives of mine would have any part of any deals related to this seat,” Obama said. “I think the materials released by the US attorney reflect that fact.”

As to whether any aides were involved in Blagojevich’s alleged deal-making schemes, he said he was ‘absolutely certain’ they were not.

Obama said he thought the “public trust has been violated” and also said he didn’t think that Blagojevich “at this point can effectively serve” the state.

He also said he wanted to make sure the process for choosing his successor wasn’t tainted.

Obama said that neither he nor his staff had been contacted by federal officials in connection with the probe. He said he worried about the public perception of political leaders as a result of scandals such as the one now surrounding Blagojevich.

He said scandals like the one in his state did a disservice to “many of us on both sides of the aisle who have upheld the highest standards.” He said the public deserved to know that “any vacancy will be filled in an appropriate way.”—AP