The Presidential Transition team announced today that it has completed its internal review of any contacts made with the office of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich regarding the vacant Senate seat. However, the U.S. Attorney's office asked that the full review not be released until next week.

According to Transition communications director Dan Pfeiffer, the 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."

Here is Pfeiffer's full statement from a press release:

"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. 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 US Senator.

"Also at the President-elect's direction, Gregory Craig, counsel to the Transition, has kept the US Attorney's office informed of this fact-gathering process in order to ensure our full cooperation with the investigation.

"In the course of those discussions, the US Attorney's office requested the public release of the Transition review be deferred until the week of December 22, in order not to impede their investigation of the governor. The Transition has agreed to this revised timetable for release," said Obama Transition Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer.

As perhaps a reflection of how well President-elect Obama and his Transition team have handled the Blagojevich situation, a new Rasmussen survey finds that 45% of U.S. voters think it's likely either Obama or one of his aides are involved in the scandal (Dec. 11-12, 1000 LV). An almost-equal 46% think oppositely. (UPDATE: A Gallup poll released today finds that 26% believe members of Obama's staff engaged in illegal activity.)

More to the point, an ABC News/Washington Post poll (Dec. 11-14, 1003 A) found that just 51% of adults think "Obama's done enough to explain any discussions his representatives may have had with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who's accused of seeking bribes in his selection of Obama's successor. The rest either say Obama's not done enough (34 percent) or are unsure (14 percent more)."

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