Published reports say an aide to former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich looked into whether the governor could temporarily appoint a U.S. congressman.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports Blagojevich’s former chief of staff, John Harris, conducted Google searches about the governor’s power to appoint congressmen. That came after Rahm Emanuel quit his job as a U.S. congressman to become President Barack Obama’s chief of staff. Emanuel reportedly worked with the Blagojevich administration to find a temporary replacement so he could one day return to become speaker of the House.

Despite Harris’ Google searches, it turns out the governor does not have the power to appoint replacements to vacant House seats. Representatives for both Harris and Emanuel declined to comment. Harris was arrested last year as part of the corruption case against Blagojevich.