* Roland Burris was expected to testify against C. Gregory Turner in his federal trial related to alleged illegal lobbying on behalf of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. But Turner’s lawyers say they received new federal documents about what’s said to be a federal investigation into the former US Senator. The Sun-Times has the scoop…
Prosecutors Barry Jonas and Georgia Alexakis said most of the documents handed to Turner’s lawyers Thursday relate to the federal probe of Burris’s controversial appointment by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich to the U.S. Senate in 2008, which was already “in the public domain.” But they also acknowledged that there is also new information about a second probe of Burris, which they described as “sensitive” and said should not be discussed in open court.
Details of the new allegations against Burris weren’t discussed publicly Friday morning, but after [Turner lawyer James Tunick] passed the judge a three-page document that details the new allegations, the judge’s eye’s bulged and she appeared to stare pointedly at prosecutors.
“As you can see, it’s very serious,” Tunick told her. […]
Bucklo ordered both sides to return at 3 p.m. so that they can discuss the matter further.
OK, let’s please not speculate in comments. We’ll track any further developments later this afternoon.
*** UPDATE *** From the Twitters…
Oof.
- Soccermom - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 10:48 am:
This made Soccermom pull her hands from the keyboard and throw them up in the air in shock. I could have been captioned: “Aghast!”
- OneMan - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 10:50 am:
Video of the judges reaction…
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vM8ihw-yWpI/UcGjOFOzhxI/AAAAAAAAmFk/YibRe2mPSA8/s400/DROOPY+7.png
- Chicago Cynic - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 10:50 am:
Wow - I’m positively stunned…no really. The man who talked about knowing where the bodies were buried in Springfield is finally getting a good look see from the Feds? Go figure.
- Formerly Known As... - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 10:52 am:
Curious to see what this turns out to be.
And if we are still uncovering trails of corruption from 6 years ago, what does that say about any corruption which may be taking place now?
- Wumpus - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 10:54 am:
Another line on the tombstone
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 10:55 am:
Rolling (on Federal defendants) with Roland.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 10:55 am:
Rumor is that she saw the estimate and then the final bill for the Roland Burris Tomb…
===“As you can see, it’s very serious,”===
Yes it is…yes…it is
- 47th Ward - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 10:59 am:
Boy, the feds are sure taking their sweet time with this. If they’re not careful, they’re going to blow the case against Turner. Dropping this info four days before the trial starts, with Burris expected to be a prosecution witness? That doesn’t pass the smell test.
- walker - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:05 am:
Pre-emptive attack on an opposing witness. We shall see.
- AC - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:06 am:
It would be terrible if, to list of accomplishments listed on his tomb, someone added that famous quote from Casablanca, “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!”
- Quizzical - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:08 am:
The judge was shocked because the report contained a recent photo of Blago, and without regular trips to the stylist, his hair is neither voluminous nor black.
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:12 am:
Seems like Bucklo might have been a little honked as to what the federales had been holding back.
Mugage’s 90 years old. The gravy train he’s been funding to get personal sanctions lifted against him in the United States and EU can’t last forever.
- Snucka - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:13 am:
I’d hate to see an eight-digit number added to the engraving on Mr. Burris’ mausoleum.
- Knome Sane - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:17 am:
=The man who talked about knowing where the bodies were buried in Springfield=
My guess is that they are all at Oak Hill Cemetery near the airport since it has been that long since he was relevant. And I am including when he was the “junior” senator from Illinois.
And judging from the size of his tomb in Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago, he knows a lot about the subject.
- RNUG - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:17 am:
Going to be interesting to see what eventually comes out. I’ve always wondered about the exact timing of the Blago arrest …
- walker - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:22 am:
Makes a great cartoon.
- Ducky LaMoore - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:29 am:
@walker
Only because when he talks, he sounds like Winnie the Pooh!
- Downstate - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:29 am:
Decades ago I participated in Illinois Boy’s State. Roland was one of the highest ranking elected officials that bothered to come to the event.
Even though I’m a hard Republican (and was back then too) I always appreciated the fact that Burris not only showed up, but gave one heck of a motivating speech as well.
- walker - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:32 am:
@Ducky: I was picturing the judge’s eyeballs.
- phocion - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:32 am:
Note to Roland:
It’s not a good sign when a judge bulges his eyeballs.
- Cheswick - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:36 am:
Of all the things I’ve seen in courtrooms, and I’ve seen a few, I’ve never seen a judge’s eyes bulge.
- Amalia - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 11:37 am:
shocked to see the term “very serious” applied to Roland Burris.
usually would be something like fluff or grandstanding.
- Ghost - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 12:00 pm:
I heard the judge had some tea in the back room, and the tea leaves looked ominous.
Then again, outside of warner brothers cartoons, we dont get a lot of eye bulging now a’days…..
- Formerly Known As... - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 12:03 pm:
walker, this
== the judge’s eyes bulged and she appeared to stare pointedly at prosecutors ==
was the first thing your comment made me think of. Well done. Whatever she read, it wasn’t small stuff.
- Judgment Day - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 12:05 pm:
Phrase of the Day:
“Somebody’s got some splainin to do…..”
Rule 1: Don’t blindside the judge. Not.A.Good.Idea.
- OneMan - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 12:58 pm:
Along with the cartoon eyes, I wonder if an audible ‘boing’ was heard in the courtroom?
- Anonymous - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 1:20 pm:
The trail blazer is on the phone with blago asking him, what did you tell them ?
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 1:36 pm:
Presumably Burris knows he’s the subject of an ongoing federal investigation.
But the feds were going to call him as a witness against Turner.
How is that ethical, by the feds? “We’re investigating you, but let’s see how your testimony goes in this other case….”
- Michael Westen - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 1:39 pm:
From what I hear from friends in the 6th ward, Burris has been quite ill lately.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 1:42 pm:
Slinger, that happens all the time in violent crime and drug cases where one less than reputable character will testify against others. They can do that, but the point the defense is making is that it calls his motives and truthfulness into question as he may be testifying just to protect his own hide, and they either want to keep him off the stand entirely (preferably) or be able to bring out what they think his motive really is. End result, either he doesn’t get to testify because of the delay in producing the information, or he does and the defense does its darndest to get him to take the Fifth, in which case his credibility is shot with the jury for their case, which is all they care about.
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 1:46 pm:
Ron, Burris is being asked to testify for the feds while he is being investigated by the feds.
That’s different from someone testifying to get a charge or sentence reduced.
- Arthur Andersen - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 2:26 pm:
That 3 o’clock hearing could be bleeping Golden.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 3:32 pm:
Darn, almost had it, per Trib reporter:
Jason Meisner @jmetr22b 5m
Doh! Lawyer for Greg Turner was about to reveal why Sen.Roland Burris was being investigated when judge cut him off and they go to sidebar.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 3:35 pm:
Jason Meisner @jmetr22b 2m
Lawyer for Turner reveals that there was evidence Burris was attempting to “shake down business people” while a sitting US Senator.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 3:50 pm:
Jason Meisner @jmetr22b 20s
According to Turner’s lawyer, The source told Feds Burris wanted $250k a year to help promote a business that wanted military contracts.
- wordslinger - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 3:55 pm:
So we’re supposed to believe that there are business people out there who are so incredibly stupid that they thought Roland Burris had any influence whatsoever in landing government contracts.
Possible, I guess.I’d like to know who they are — because I have some can’t miss investment opportunities for them…..
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Sep 26, 14 @ 3:57 pm:
Very true, slinger. And will $250k even cover the upkeep on his eternal resting place for a year?