An attorney for Gov. Rod Blagojevich tells the Associated Press he could file a lawsuit within days to try to stop impeachment trial.
It was dead certain a few hours ago that there would be no lawsuit [I checked]. Stay tuned.
*** 6:04 PM *** I’m not sure if there was a miscommunication somewhere with the AP, or between lawyers or whether the Trib site had problems or what yet, but Genson tells the Tribune in this late-breaking report that there will be no lawsuit, and the original AP story referenced above was pulled off the site…
Genson also said that the legal team does not plan to sue to try to stop the impeachment trial from starting Monday or to try to block Blagojevich’s removal should the Senate vote to remove the governor from office.
“We had planned to file a lawsuit in the Illinois Supreme Court. We are not doing that,” Genson said of the Monday start date in the Senate. “There’s going to be no suits filed. I can say that with confidence.”
*** 6:13 PM *** Here’s a longer version of the AP story mentioned at the top. It appears that the two lawyers are at odds on this one. I’m pretty sure I know what’s going on, but need to find out more…
One of Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s attorneys tells The Associated Press he could file a lawsuit within days in an attempt to stop the governor’s impending impeachment trial.
Speaking outside his Chicago office alongside Blagojevich on Thursday, attorney Samuel E. Adam said rules for calling witnesses and mounting a defense at the state Senate trial are unfair.
So, Adam says the lawsuit is a “go” and Genson said it’s a “no.” This is bizarre, because Genson was pushing for the lawsuit for the past several days and Adam was against it. Adam won that battle, Genson was upset and made his feelings known today…
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s lead criminal lawyer says he’s being left out of decisions on responding to the impeachment trial that could throw the governor out of office. […]
Genson says he isn’t involved in decisions on impeachment.
He said: “I should be, but I’m not.”
Yet, now, Adam is saying they are filing the suit. So, did Genson win? Stay tuned.
There’s as much drama on the governor’s defense team as there is in his administration.
Speaking outside his Chicago office alongside Blagojevich in the afternoon, attorney Samuel E. Adam told the Associated Press he might file a suit within days to attempt to derail the proceeding, set to begin Monday in Springfield. Earlier in the day, Blagojevich called the trial unfair and “a sham.”
Asked about Adam’s statement later on, Blagojevich’s lead criminal-defense lawyer, Edward Genson, said if a lawsuit was to be filed, the information hadn’t been shared with him. “I don’t know of any lawsuit,” Genson said. “I don’t know anything about it.”
Highways and Bridges: $1,001,675,645
Transit Capital: $352,823,530
Fixed Guideway Modernization: $191,779,080
Clean Water State Revolving Fund: $262,531,962 TOTAL: $1,808,810,217
Keep in mind that the US House Appropriations Committee has its own plan. No state-by-state breakdown has been released yet from that committee as far as I can tell. And there’s new pressure in the Senate to jack up the mass transit portion of the proposal.
Gov. Blagojevich’s legal team has no plans to file a lawsuit to block his Illinois Senate impeachment trial — though his lawyers considered that maneuver but decided against it, a source close to the governor told the Chicago Sun-Times today.
Blagojevich this morning railed on the rules governing the impeachment trial during an impromptu news conference outside his Northwest Side house, calling the process unfair and “a sham.”
But his lawyers — after meeting with the governor for several hours Wednesday — have decided not to try to derail the Senate trial, set to begin Monday.
The governor appeared to be publicly negotiating with the Senate earlier this morning when he said…
“I’d like to call, for example, Rahm Emanuel, President Obama’s chief of staff, who . . . made it very clear nothing inappropriate happened in his conversations with me, about who the next Senate pick is. I want the Senate to agree to let me call witnesses like that, and we want them to work with us to have a fair hearing, a fair process.” [emphasis added]
The rules are already passed and the governor has missed every deadline to date, including the deadline to subpoena witnesses. Saying he wants concessions from the Senate now, after the chamber’s deadlines have expired and after his laywers announced a boycott of the Senate trial, seems a bit odd.
But this governor is a bit odd, so I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the state law requiring a moment of silence in public schools across Illinois is unconstitutional, saying it crosses the line separating church and state.
“The statute is a subtle effort to force students at impressionable ages to contemplate religion,” U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman said in his ruling. […]
As passed by the Illinois General Assembly, the law allows students to reflect on the day’s activities rather than pray if that is their choice and defenders have said it therefore doesn’t force religion on anyone.
But Gettleman upheld critics such as the American Civil Liberties Union, who say the law is a thinly disguised effort to bring religion into the schools.
The “teacher is required to instruct her pupils, especially in the lower grades, about prayer and its meaning as well as the limitations on their ‘reflection,’” Gettleman ruled.
“The plain language of the statute, therefore, suggests an intent to force the introduction of the concept of prayer into the schools,” he said.
* As if we don’t already have enough distractions in Illinois politics, Big Jim wants another…
Former Illinois Governor George Ryan will ask President Barack Obama to commute his 6-and-a-half-year sentence for political corrupption. That’s according to former Governor Jim Thompson, one of Ryan’s lawyers.
THOMPSON: President Obama knows Governor Ryan, worked with him in Springfield, and I think can feel more personally the loss that the governor has suffered.
In the past, Mr. Obama’s office declined to comment on Ryan’s request.
Thompson says the new application will hopefully include more letters of support for the Ryan’s release. But Thompson says it’ll make the same basic arguments, including that Ryan’s continued imprisonment doesn’t appear to have deterred other politicians from corrupt activities.
WBEZ has posted the raw audio of its interview with Thompson on this page.
Just two weeks ago, Democratic leaders suggested that Roland Burris was tainted as a result of being appointed to the Senate by scandal-tarred Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
Now he’s got spots on some top Senate committees and is in the position to help shape legislation on foreign affairs and domestic security.
The Senate approved a resolution Wednesday night setting committee assignments for the 111th Congress, and Burris is now poised to serve on the Armed Services Committee, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and the Committee on Veterans Affairs.
* And he’ll no longer be the most junior Senator very soon…
Democrats Ted Kaufman of Delaware and Roland W. Burris of Illinois won’t be the Senate’s least senior members much longer.
Senate Democrats would like to swear in Democrat Michael Bennet on Thursday to replace Colorado Democrat Ken Salazar , who was confirmed as Interior secretary on Tuesday. Bennet, who was picked by Gov. Bill Ritter Jr. , is likely to be the first senator sworn in by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr .
Then there’s the Clinton replacement fiasco and the Minnesota imbroglio to deal with.
* He’s also the first of the new and potential appointees to have set up a federal campaign account.
* Despite a hatchet job by the Washington Post and other fantacists, claiming that Transportation Secretary Designate Ray LaHood was inextricably tied to indicted GOP fundraiser Bill Cellini and therefore could be a problemmatic appointment, the FBI found zero improprieties in LaHood’s background…
LaHood has come under fire for ties to William Cellini, the former associate of disgraced Gov. Rod Blagojevich who pleaded innocent to conspiracy charges in November. But committee Chairman John Rockefeller said an FBI report on LaHood was “sparkling clean.”
Any congresscritter in Illinois who earmarked road repair/construction money likely benefitted local asphalt pavers, who belong to an association run by Cellini. That doesn’t automatically mean they did something wrong, as the WaPo article more than suggested.
* And in that same spirit, let’s withhold immediate judgement on this revelation, at least for a few seconds…
For more than two years, Maltese’ bulging campaign fund had invested millions of dollars through a company headquartered in Tampa, Florida, the firm Invest Financial Corporation. Its CEO at the time was Robert Blagojevich, the governor’s older brother.
State records show that between July of 2000 and September of 2002, Robert Blagojevich’s company paid Maltese’ campaign fund nearly $3.3 million. The dozens of entries are listed as investment dividends, interest and proceeds from the sale of U.S. Treasury bills.
Some of the investment payments from Robert Blagojevich’s company occurred even after Mayor Maltese was convicted of swindling $12 million from the town through an insurance firm.
Lawyer Michael Ettinger, who represents the governor’s brother in the current federal investigation, was unaware of the link to Betty Loren Maltese.
On Wednesday at the I-Team’s request, Ettinger had Robert Blagojevich review the state records and Blagojevich reported that “he knows nothing about it” and that the investments must have been made by some other affiliated bank even though his was listed 41 times.
* Related…
* House panel takes shot at Blagojevich in stimulus: The U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee voted on Wednesday to bar Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, charged in a corruption scandal, from touching any money the state would receive from an economic stimulus package.
* 8:15 am - The governor talked to reporters this morning…
Speaking to reporters outside his North Side home before going on a morning jog, Gov. Rod Blagojevich accused the Illinois House and Senate of attempting to “thwart the will of the people” by removing a twice-elected governor.
“The impeachment trial is a sham,” he said.
Blagojevich said he was being denied due process by not being allowed to subpoena witnesses.
For instance, he said he wants to call Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s chief of staff, to testify on his behalf. He noted that Emanuel has said in a television interview that there was “nothing inappropriate” in his conversations with Blagojevich about naming someone to Obama’s former Senate seat.
He also referred to Illinois Sen. John Cullerton, who has said Blagojevich has been deceitful.
Denying any deceit on his part, Blagojevich invited reporters gathered in his front yard, to go down the block to Cullerton’s home and ask him about those comments.
The governor said he would have more to say after his morning run.
Stay tuned.
*** UPDATE *** Well, maybe not. NBC5 has changed that last line above to read…
The governor said he might have more to say after his morning run. [italics added]
I’ll let you know.
*** UPDATE 2 *** That sentence about saying more after the run has now been removed from the NBC5 story. So, no more? I dunno.
*** 8:26 am *** I’m sure he’ll demand a daily show…
During a show early Thursday, the program director at WLS-AM announced that if Blagojevich resigns, the station will offer him his own weekly radio program from noon to 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Program director Bob Shomper said the station is asking the governor to spare the state the embarrassment and expense of forcibly removing him from office. […]
Shomper says the station’s offer reflects the will of the people, who he says want the governor gone.
*** 8:38 am *** CBS2 reports that the governor’s lawyers are leaning towards the idea of going to court to block the Senate impeachment trial. Considering the governor’s comments today, and everything else I’ve been told and have seen for the past several days, that certainly appears likely…
The governor’s impeachment trial is set to start Monday, but Wednesday night, there are efforts to stop it. CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports that the governor’s attorneys, having virtually given up trying to win the case, are now leaning toward going to court, to try to block the trial.
But Senate President John Cullerton, in an exclusive interview, says he doubts they’ll be successful.
“If they want to go to a court and have a court tell us to stop, that’s up to them. But I cannot envision any court interfering with this process because we are following the constitution,” Cullerton said.
*** 12:38 pm *** Here’s an update, with a hat tip to a commenter…
Around 11:30 a.m. Blagojevich left his home dressed in jeans and a coat. He did not elaborate on his earlier statements but said he might have more to say Friday. He got into a state car with his security detail and left.
Rikeesha Phelon, spokeswoman for Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), called the governor’s remarks an “unfortunate sideshow.”
“This is a blatant attempt to muddy the distinction between a criminal court process and the Senate impeachment proceeding and rules,” Phelon said.
Phelon is exactly right. I figure we’ll get another late afternoon horror show come Friday. Wonderful.
* Related…
* Blago’s legal fees as gov hit $2.6M: Since taking office in 2003, Gov. Blagojevich has spent a staggering $2.6 million out of his campaign fund on legal fees, with the lion’s share going to pay criminal defense lawyers.
More than three decades after highly toxic PCBs were banned in the United States, an unusual PCB compound has turned up in the air outside several Chicago schools.
Air Force officials have released a list of six bases, including one in Illinois (Scott Air Force Base, Ill.),
that are finalists to house the new Cyberspace Command.
Two years after winning election, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger finally is giving voters what his campaign says is a detailed accounting of what he raised and spent.
Campaign finance reports filed with the state show Stroger failed to report $733,000 in political donations—about a quarter of what he’s collected since October 2006. He also got far more help from his father than he had disclosed and has $520,000 in investments not previously listed.
A West Side alderman is denying allegations that she was driving drunk Tuesday night. Sharon Dixon was arrested after a confrontation with police in which they smelled alcohol on her breath. Craig Wall reports from the West Side with the alderman’s explanation.
A clout-heavy law firm paid $38.1 million to collect overdue Chicago parking tickets and other debt is still rolling in city business — one year after it was supposed to be fired for bankrolling an Arizona trip for a high-ranking Revenue Department official.
A hearing begins today to determine whether Chicago’s 29-year-old school desegregation case should be thrown out. The consent decree orders Chicago Public Schools to create as many integrated schools as possible. A lesser-known provision also spells out services the district must provide to students who don’t speak English proficiently. That’s the main reason some are fighting to keep the decree in place.
One of the groups that’s pushing hardest to keep the consent decree around is the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, a Latino civil rights organization.
A Chicago homeless agency has fired Illinois First Lady Patricia Blagojevich from her job as its chief fundraiser.
The board of the Chicago Christian Industrial League on Tuesday exercised the termination clause of Blagojevich’s contract, according to interim executive director Mary Shaver. She said she could not discuss why the board terminated Blagojevich because it is a personnel issue.
The Tribune first reported five months ago that the group hired Blagojevich, who amid federal scrutiny left her longtime job of being a real estate agent and broker. She was earning about $100,000 a year as the league’s development director.
• • The background: The Sun-Times reported Jan. 8 that the charity raises about $1 million a year but needed to increase that to $2 million. Its big hurdle: Repaying a $10.8 million loan it obtained with help from the Illinois Finance Authority — a state agency created by Gov. Blagojevich — to build the $25 million shelter. In each of Patti Blagojevich’s first three months on the job, the League brought in $10,000 to $15,000 a month — the same as it did before she started, the Sun-Times reported.
• • The backshot: “She did a good job, but the circumstances made it very difficult for her,” said a source on the League’s board. Quoth another source: “She was always a lady at work.”
• • Further translation: “It was obvious the League board found a loophole for her to leave,” said a source.
* The governor, by the way, missed yet another impeachment trial deadline today. He had the right, under Rule 15, to request subpoenas.
The House has filed documents with the Senate under the aforementioned rule, and they will be posted soon at the impeachment tribunal’s website.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s brother said Wednesday the FBI may have recorded as many as 50 of his telephone conversations as part of the federal investigation of corruption in state government.
Robert Blagojevich, who chairs the governor’s Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund, made the statement through his attorneys in papers filed in U.S. District Court in the fraud and bribery case against the governor.
Attorney Michael D. Ettinger said federal prosecutors had given him only one tape of Robert Blagojevich on the telephone but he believes “there are 30 to 50 more conversations wherein he was recorded.”
* And on an unrelated note, Rep. Sara Feigenholtz has a new Internet video up. Feigenholtz is running in the 5th Congressional District special election…
