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*** Blagojevich sentencing hearing live blog ***

Tuesday, Dec 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The hearing begins at 10 o’clock this morning. Blagojevich is not expected to be sentenced until tomorrow, but he could testify today. We’ll see. I’ll be posting stories and Tweets throughout the day. Apparently, there’s a crowd of reporters outside Blagojevich’s house as of early this morning, and we could have live video soon. A handy list of the counts against Blagojevich is here.

Blackberry users click here, iPad and iPhone users remember to use the “two-finger” scrolling method…

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“Probable cause” on Jackson while Blagojevich’s mouth factors into sentencing

Monday, Dec 5, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* Uh-Oh. From the House Ethics Committee report on Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr...

“There is probable cause to believe that Representative Jackson either (1) directed a third-party, most likely Mr. Raghuveer Nayak, to offer to raise money for Governor Blagojevich in exchange for appointing Representative Jackson to the Senate seat, or (2) had knowledge that Nayak would likely make such an offer once Representative Jackson authorized him to advocate on his behalf with Governor Blagojevich.”

* And then there’s this…

The report, originally compiled in August 2009, also said there is “substantial reason to believe” Jackson Jr. violated federal law by using his congressional staff to mount a “public campaign” to secure a Senate appointment

In response, Congressman Jackson threw his staff under the bus…

Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr. of Illinois has acknowledged to House ethics investigators that his Congressional staff may have inadvertently violated ethics rules in late 2008 by helping him wage a public campaign to be appointed to the Senate seat then being vacated by Barack Obama. […]

[Jackson’s lawyers] acknowledge that Mr. Jackson’s staff helped him run his campaign for the job. At first, Mr. Jackson’s lawyers argued that this work was done voluntarily by Mr. Edmonds and another House aide, Rick Bryant, on their own time, even if it might have taken place during work hours, so it was not a violation of the House rules.

House office equipment may have been used, the lawyers acknowledged, but it was so incidental that it may not formally violate House rules. Yet they acknowledge to the ethics committee that Mr. Jackson’s staff may have stepped over the line.

“To the extent that the committee concludes that any activities engaged in by Edmonds and Bryant in congressional offices went beyond the exceptions discussed in the House Ethics Manual, such violations were inadvertent and resulted from the novelty of the situation presented by the vacant Senate seat,” Mr. Jackson’s lawyers said in the letter, a 17-page statement that Mr. Jackson signed last month, swearing to its accuracy.

Better get those resumes out, guys.

* Meanwhile, Rod Blagojevich’s sentencing hearing begins tomorrow, and contrition is not expected…

There has been no hint the defense intends to strike a conciliatory tone. In challenging prosecutors’ proposed sentence, Blagojevich attorney Carolyn Gurland said it is “disconnected to the facts of this case . . . in which the initiative and action at issue were all perfectly legal.”

An earlier filing also suggests Blagojevich may not accept any guilt. His attorneys asked to play unreleased FBI wiretap recordings at the sentencing that they claim show Blagojevich never had ill intent. Zagel rejected the request, which hearkened to Blagojevich’s mantra since his Dec. 9, 2008, arrest — that if authorities only played all the recordings, they would clear him of wrongdoing.

* But Ed Hammer believes that George Ryan’s crimes were far worse…

If he receives the maximum punishment at his sentencing Tuesday, Rod Blagojevich will be put in jail for 20 years. That’s a much longer than the 6 1/2 year sentence former Gov. George Ryan is currently serving for corruption during the Kankakee native’s term as Illinois Secretary of State.

Ed Hammer, author of “One Hundred Percent Guilty,” a 367-page unapologetic takedown of Ryan’s term as governor, shared comparisons of the two convicted former governor’s while visiting Paperback Reader on Saturday. He spoke to The Daily Journal and about 50 residents who came to purchase autographed copies of his book.

Hammer said Blagojevich’s corruption was more damaging to the state “in terms of dollars and cents,” but he said that Ryan’s corruption was arguably worse, since the “license-for-bribes” scandal resulted in fatal accidents involving drivers who otherwise wouldn’t have had their licenses.

“You can’t point to an incident with Blagojevich where people were killed,” Hammer said. “My research shows that at least 12 deaths occurred in accidents with drivers who got their CDLs that were sold through bribery.”

Except that Ryan wasn’t convicted of that stuff. He might’ve been worse, but that’s not what is on the judge’s table.

* And WBEZ rounds up some other prison sentences…

Dan Rostenkowski: Congressman from 1959 to 1995. Pleaded guilty in 1996 to two federal counts regarding actions during time in Congress. Sentenced to 17 months, imprisoned for 15 months, from 1996 to 1997.

Mel Reynolds: Congressman from 1993 to 1995. Found guilty in 1995 on state counts related to having sex with a minor. Sentenced to five years. Then found guilty in 1997 on 15 federal counts regarding actions during campaigns for Congress. Sentenced to six and a half years. President Clinton commuted his sentence in 2001.

Betty Loren Maltese: Cicero town president from 1993 to 2002. Found guilty in 2002 on six federal counts regarding actions during time as town president. Sentenced to eight years, imprisoned for seven years, from 2003 to 2010.

Jim Laski: Chicago city clerk from 1995 to 2006. Pleaded guilty in 2006 on one federal count regarding actions during time as alderman and city clerk. Sentenced to two years, imprisoned for less than a year, from 2007 to 2008.

Tom Keane: Alderman from 1945 to 1974. Found guilty in 1974 on 18 federal counts regarding actions during his time as alderman. Sentenced to five years, imprisoned for less than two years, from 1976 to 1978.

* Related…

* House Ethics Committee Report

* Jackson Staff Aided Pursuit of Appointment to Obama Senate Seat

* Jackson letter describes relationship with central figure in Blagojevich probe - Congressman’s view of events released by House panel, which says it will continue investigation

* Jesse Jackson Jr.’s staff wanted Bill Cosby to pitch Blagojevich for Obama’s seat

* Jackson Jr. opponent: Ethics probe ‘distraction‘

* Editorial: Long prison sentence  is deserved

* Press Release: Mrs. Burris Breaks Silence On Blagojevich Senate Appointment Process

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Prosecutors: Blagojevich should spend 15-20 years behind bars

Thursday, Dec 1, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The US Attorney’s office has suggested that Rod Blagojevich be sentenced to 15-20 years in federal prison…

Over the course of a relatively brief period of time, during his machinations surrounding the appointment of a United States Senator, and the shakedowns of hospital and racetrack executives, the defendant revealed his corrupt, criminal character. But, as the evidence and Blagojevich’s conduct at his trials established, these were not isolated incidents. They were part and parcel of an approach to public office that defendant adopted from the moment he became governor in 2002. In light of Blagojevich’s extensive corruption of high office, the damage he caused to the integrity of Illinois government, and the need to deter others from similar acts, the government suggests a sentence of 15 to 20 years imprisonment is sufficient but not greater than necessary to comply with § 3553.

* The government also claims that Blagojevich still refuses to accept responsibility for his actions…

The defendant’s version submitted to the Probation Department goes on at length in an attempt to relitigate the facts of this case, at times even presenting versions of facts that are at odds with Blagojevich’s trial testimony. In providing a spin on events thoroughly rejected by the jury, Blagojevich does nothing to shed light on the circumstances of his criminal activity other than demonstrate his refusal to accept responsibility for his crimes.

* And his good works as governor shouldn’t count for anything on his behalf…

His accomplishments as governor are far outweighed by the personal greed that infected his acts and his administration.

* Prosecutors also want to deter future corruption…

Sadly, Illinois has a history of corruption in government. The sentences imposed on previous criminals for public corruption crimes were not sufficient to dissuade Blagojevich from engaging in a myriad of criminal acts. Indeed, the governor prior to Blagojevich was sentenced to approximately six and a half years in prison. The six and a half year sentence did nothing to stop Blagojevich, as the very next governor, from engaging in significant and ongoing bribery, extortion, and fraud. A significant sentence is necessary to deter current and future public officials from engaging in Blagojevich-like criminal activity.

* They claim they could have asked for 30 years to life…

In the instant case, the properly-calculated Sentencing Guidelines recommend a sentencing range of 360 months to life.

* And that has one Springfield defense attorney upset…

“I’m absolutely dumbfounded that they wouldn’t be looking for a sentence of 30 years or more,” said attorney Jon Gray Noll.

“In the Central District of Illinois, at least the judges I practice before, the judges would stay within the 30 years to life range unless there was a valid reason for a downward departure,” Noll said, adding that the clients he defends who are accused of drug crimes would not receive any leniency from federal prosecutors.

“The guidelines have a purpose, to ensure uniformity throughout the system. In this high-profile case, for them to reduce this guys’ sentence by almost half, I don’t understand it in light of the other policies they slam on anyone else.”

* But…

If Rod Blagojevich goes to prison within the 15- to 20-year range that federal prosecutors recommended to a judge Wednesday, the former governor would potentially face more time behind bars than three previously convicted Illinois governors combined.

He would also face a stiffer sentence than mob murderer and key cooperator Nicholas Calabrese, whom the same judge handling Blagojevich’s case, U.S. District Judge James Zagel, sent to prison for 12 years, five months.

Calabrese cooperated, which lowered his sentence.

* The defense’s response…

One of Blagojevich’s attorneys, Carolyn Gurland, said the government wants Blagojevich to pay for the sins of all corrupt Illinois politicos. “The government wants Blagojevich to pay for all of the political corruption in the history of the state of Illinois,” Gurland said. “But under the law, defendants are to be sentenced as individuals, not symbols or sound bites.”

The defense had said it would seek probation, but Wednesday it only asked Zagel to sentence Blagojevich below a range of 3½ to a bit more than 4 years.

More…

The gulf between the two sides could hardly be wider. Prosecutors called for Blagojevich to be sentenced to 15 to 20 years in prison, potentially the toughest sentence in Chicago’s long, sad history of public corruption. In contrast, the defense, which for weeks has said it will seek probation, beseeched Zagel to impose a compassionate sentence, calling him a tragic figure.

In their 72-page filing Wednesday evening, Blagojevich’s lawyers ignored the verdicts of two separate juries to paint the former governor as an “innocent” who had no idea he was breaking the law by trading favors for campaign contributions and was betrayed by scheming advisers.

“He chose advisers poorly as it turned out and regrets those choices profoundly,” the defense wrote.

That would seem to be a risky strategy with Zagel, who at times has made clear his disdain for Blagojevich’s antics and excuses. […]

Much of Blagojevich’s filing, however, seemed to be yet another long argument of his innocence.

The defense argued that “a full and fair analysis” of undercover recordings in the case would reveal Blagojevich “sincerely believed that his actions were proper under the law as he understood it at the time.”

The hearing starts next Tuesday.

* Related…

* Tribune seeks to have Cellini hearing in open court

* Blagojevich lowers asking price on home

* Brown: Prosecutors seek too high a sentence for Blagojevich

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