President-elect Barack Obama sought on Thursday to separate himself from the political scandal swirling around Governor Rod R. Blagojevich of Illinois, saying he never talked to the governor about who would replace Mr. Obama in the United States Senate.

Mr. Obama added that he was “absolutely certain” his staff was not involved in any deal-making regarding his successor.

“That would be a violation of everything that this campaign has been about,” he said at a news conference in Chicago.

Nonetheless, Mr. Obama said he was gathering an account of any contacts between his staff and the Blagojevich administration, and promised to release those details in the next few days. But he said his staff had acted appropriately.