Chicago: Barack Obama will today try to shrug off the distraction of an alleged bid to sell off his Senate seat by releasing a report clearing his aides of improper dealings with the accused Illinois governor.

Vice president-elect Joseph Biden said the internal transition team probe would show no wrongdoing by president-elect Obama or his staff.

"It is clear the president-elect has had no contact with (Rod) Blagojevich ... That there was no inappropriate contact by any member of the Obama staff or the transition team with Blagojevich," Biden told reporters in Washington.

"And I think the report you will see will reflect that," Biden said after meeting Obama's top economic advisers.

Obama was not expected to make any public statement on the report as he is on vacation in Hawaii, where he was snapped shirtless by a paparazzi photographer, despite a tight Secret Service cordon.

The scandal, an unwelcome distraction for Obama as he prepares to take office on January 20,meanwhile showed little sign of fading from the headlines as prospects of hastily removing Blagojevich from office dimmed.

Federal prosecutors asked legislators investigating whether there were sufficient grounds to impeach Blagojevich not to dig into the criminal charges laid against the Democratic governor, in a letter released today.

US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald warned the panel it could "significantly compromise the ongoing criminal investigation" if they investigate the allegations outlined in a 76-page FBI affidavit.

Source : PTI