Blagojevich Tries To Delay Federal Corruption Trial

By: Andy Hodges
Staff Writer
Published: Mar 17, 2010

Judge denies former governor of Illinois, Rod Blagojevich, request to delay pending federal corruption trial.

Blagojevich's legal team had requested a postponement until November. The reason given was the pending U.S. Supreme Court decision that could change the way honest services statutes are written. Of the 24 counts against Blagojevich, about half allege violations of the honest services statute.

U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel in the Northern District of Illinois said the defense's argument based on the pending decision amounts to a red herring. Blagojevich has pleaded not guilty to racketeering, conspiracy and other corruption charges. Federal prosecutors allege, the former Illinois governor attempted to sell or trade President Barack Obama's former U.S. Senate seat in exchange for political favors.

On Wednesday, Zagel also said he is likely to allow Blagojevich to play secret FBI recordings favorable to the former governor's defense if he agrees to take the stand. For their part, federal prosecutors have opposed any delay in the trial. They say Blagojevich, who made his debut on the NBC television show "The Celebrity Apprentice" on Sunday, has had time to prepare for trial since his indictment last year.

What Rod Said On Celebrity Apprentice

- When cooking for the Celebrity Apprentice diner challenge: "I didn't cook at all when I was governor. I was cooking up results for people."
- On being a waiter at the Celebrity Apprentice diner and raising money for charity: "In some ways, this is just another public service."
- To customers in the diner: "They stole me away from the people who hired me."
- To customer in the diner: "Yeah, I didn't do those things, by the way. I'm here to serve."
- On raising money for charity: "I'm in an unusual position these days. When I come calling for money, somebody's listening and people on the other end know it."

The 40th Governor of Illinois

Rod Blagojevich served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, he was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago. Blagojevich was elected governor in 2002.

Blagojevich was arrested on federal corruption charges on December 9, 2008. The charges involved conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. The Justice Department complaint alleges that the former governor conspired to commit several "pay to play" schemes, including attempting "to obtain personal gain ... through the corrupt use" of his authority to fill Barack Obama's vacated United States Senate seat. The federal trial date has been set for June 3, 2010.

Ultimately, he appointed fellow Democrat and former state attorney general Roland Burris on New Year's Eve 2008. Burris was seated after some initial opposition in mid-January 2009. On January 8, 2009, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to impeach Blagojevich by a 114-1 vote for corruption and misconduct in office.

On January 27, 2009, Blagojevich began a media campaign planned by the power publicist Glenn Selig, founder of the crisis management public relations firm The Publicity Agency. During the two day campaign, he visited NBC's Today, ABC's Good Morning America, CBS's The Early Show, and ABC's The View. He also went on several cable news channels such as Fox News Channel, CNN and MSNBC.

The former governor has stated all along that he is innocent and insists he will be vindicated. Blagojevich was subsequently convicted and removed from office on January 29, 2009, by a unanimous 59-0 vote in the Illinois State Senate. In a separate vote, the Senate voted unanimously to bar Blagojevich permanently from having a public office again in the state of Illinois.

Lieutenant Governor Patrick "Pat" Quinn was sworn in subsequently as the new governor. Blagojevich, often referred to by the nickname "Blago" in print and other media, was the first Democrat to be elected Governor of Illinois since Daniel Walker in 1972. Blagojevich struggled annually to pass legislation and budgets. He is still the target of multiple federal investigations and had historically low approval ratings within Illinois.