*** UPDATE 2 *** It’s gonna drag into tomorrow…

Judge James Zagel interrupts Michael Ettinger, asking how long he has left in his closing. The attorney for Robert Blagojevich says he has about 30 minutes to go.

We’re clearly behind schedule. The judge wanted to finish all the closing arguments in one day, but with Sam Adam Jr. and the government wrap-up to go, that’s looking increasingly unlikely.

Instead, Zagel says, closings will carry into tomorrow. Ettinger will wrap up for Robert Blagojevich this afternoon and then Sam Adam Jr. will present about half of his argument for Rod Blagojevich. He’ll finish up in the morning, to be followed by the government’s final argument.

*** UPDATE 1 *** The prosecution has wrapped up…

Niewoehner finishes his argument around 2:05 by calling on the jury to find the defendants guilty on “each and every” count.

“(Rod Blagojevich) knew exactly what was happening,” the prosecutor says. “And now you do, too.”

When the prosecutor finished, Rod turned to his daughters, smiled, and mouthed something to his youngest daughter, Annie, as Patti passed her hand over the 7-year-old’s hair.

And Robert Blagojevich’s defense has begun…

Robert Blagojevich, the one-time head of the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund, did not mix politics and fund-raising, his lawyer said as the defense began presenting its two-pronged closing arguments this afternoon.

Michael Ettinger, the defense attorney for the ex-governor’s brother, described Robert Blagojevich as a “person of honor, a person of character” during his four-month stint heading Rod Blagojevich’s campaign fund.

Ettinger said Blagojevich gave up a successful business career in Tennessee in 2008 to help revive his brother’s depleted campaign fund and to help lessen tensions with his brother - and was unaware of any illegal activity.

Ettinger dwelt on Robert Blagojevich’s background in the military and business and raising funds for the YMCA and the Red Cross. Initially, he was reticent about answering his brother’s call for help running his struggling fund-raising operation.

“Robert didn’t want to do it, but he did. When Robert gives a commitment to do something, he keeps his word,” Ettinger said.

[ *** End of Updates ***]

* The Sun-Times’ Blago Blog made an important point this afternoon…

Perhaps nearing the conclusion of his closing argument, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Niewoehner again tackles what has been a key idea of the defense — that Rod Blagojevich was unsuccessful in carrying out any of the alleged schemes and is therefore not guilty.

Niewoehner takes the allegations surrounding Jesse Jackson Jr. as an example. He argues that even if the ex-governor didn’t really plan to appoint the congressman to a vacant Senate seat, he is still guilty of trying to accept a bribe of $6 million in campaign cash from his supporters.

“What is bribery?” Niewoehner asks the jury. He says a key point is that the bribery can be “indirect” — “It does not have to be ‘x’ for ‘y.’”

“You do not have to say to (Jackson supporter) Raghu Nayak, ‘I will give you a Senate seat only if you give me $1 million,” he says. “People do not talk that way. You flip $1 million on the table, wink and say ‘I’d like to be senator.’ Is there any doubt what you mean?”

The government doesn’t have to show that Blagojevich actually intended to appoint Jackson, Niewoehner says — just that he tried to convince Jackson’s supporters that he did, so they would give him the money.

“These bribe attempts don’t have to work. Attempts are fine,” Niewoehner says.

“Again, you don’t have to be a successful criminal to be a criminal,” he tells them.

* More…

Niewoehner pointed to hundreds of thousands of dollars that Patti Blagojevich was paid by Tony Rezko to allegedly do nothing in real estate deals.

“How many dimes are there in hundreds of thousands of dollars?” Niewoehner said.

Early on, Niewoehner took on Sam Adam Jr.’s opening statement promise that by the trial’s end, jurors would know in Rod Blagojevich was innocent.

“You were going to know in your gut that Rod Blagojevich is as honest as the day is long,” Niewoehner said. “Now is the time to answer those questions.”

While Adam in opening statements criticized prosecutors for charging a man who is broke, Niewoehner said the reason he was broke: the federal investigation cut off the former governor from Tony Rezko. Rezko’s payments to Patti Blagojevich stopped in 2004, when state board member Stuart Levine was interviewed by the FBI, he said.

* And the prosecution dropped a charge against Robert Blagojevich today…

Prosecutors dropped Count 13, Wire Fraud, against the head of the Blagojevich fund raising arm. The charge related to a December 4, 2008 phone call in which both brothers allegedly schemed to receive political donations from Jesse Jackson Jr. in exchange for an appointment.

It’s unclear why the prosecution dropped this count against Robert, but not for Rod.

…Adding… The prosecution is a bit behind schedule…

Last week, Niewoehner said he’d take about two hours for his closing argument. At this point, accounting for breaks, he’s going on 2-1/2.

Judge James Zagel wanted to get through all the closing arguments today. If that’s still the case, we may be in for a long day.

Attorneys for the defendants said they would need 2-1/2 hours for their two closing arguments, and once they’re done, the prosecution gets a last shot to address the jury. That’s supposed to take an hour.