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Blagojevich pleads not guilty, spews nonsense

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* Rod Blagojevich was in court today for his arraignment on new federal charges. He pled not guilty and his lawyers filed a motion to unseal all of the federal government’s surveillance tapes. Blagojevich then issued this statement to the media…

“Today I’m throwing down the gauntlet. I know I have a constitutional right to try to suppress these tapes. And as a former prosecutor I believe there’s a good chance that it would probably be granted. Here’s what I’m not going to do: I’m not going to hide behind my lawyers, nor will I hide behind technicalities in the law to try to block these tapes from being heard. Instead, I’ve instructed my lawyers to petition the court so that every second, every minute and every hour that the government secretly taped me is provided to both sides to be played in court. And I challenge the government to get on the side of truth and justice and if this is a crime spree like you claim it was, then don’t hide behind technicalities. Play the tapes. Play the truth, and play the whole truth.

“I’m not just talking the talk here. I’m also going to walk the walk, which is right up to the witness stand. And when I take the stand, I’ll testify and swear on the Holy Bible to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I expect and, more importantly, I believe the people of Illinois expect and deserve that the government does the same.

“Play the truth, and play the whole truth. Play nothing but the truth. Play the tapes.”

But then one of Blagojevich’s lawyers backed away from his client’s statement…

Later, Blagojevich’s lawyer, Sam Adam Jr., pulled back a bit from that, saying that the former governor wants every tape played that’s relevant to his corruption case.

“We are saying either side can play any minute of any tape that they wish to play,” Adam said.

Blagojevich said he thinks he can contest the original finding that there was probable cause to believe a crime was committed, which allowed the wiretaps to be placed in the first place.

And the judge is getting perturbed with the clown show…

U.S. District Judge James Zagel [Monday] noted that a recent motion filed by Blagojevich’s lawyers contained no legal citations in its request that the government give them rush copies of witness statements.

“The blunderbuss demand for everything to be turned over sooner than the law allows is not well made,” Zagel said, adding: “The volume of discovery already produced far exceeds that required by established law.”

Zagel makes it plain he is not amused with a recent filing by Blagojevich attorneys, which at one point criticizes the government for securing its witness list as if the defendant were “Tony Soprano” and not the ousted governor of Illinois.

Zagel calls the recent pleading by Blagojevich lawyers: “an assortment of rhetorical flourishes oddly detached from the issues in this case, in one instance invoking the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and, in
another, pleading that Defendant needs certain evidence to establish his innocence.

* On a lighter note, US Sen. Mike Enzi flubs the former governor’s name bigtime…

* Related…

* ‘Celebrity Apprentice’s’ Rod Blagojevich: “I wasn’t interested in a ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’”

* When Defendants Speak Out, Problems Begin

posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:46 pm

Comments

Blago would lie on a stack of bibles. Plus, Blago sounded like he downed a six-pack of NOS before arrived at court and started speaking.

Comment by Wacker Drive Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 12:59 pm
I wonder if there might actually be a strategy here — publicize the case so much and then claim that Blagojevich could never get a fair trial because the jury pool is tainted. If so, it may be a flawed strategy: if the defendant is the one tainting the jury pool, he might not be able to make the argument.

And: what a great excuse to use the word “taint” again.

Comment by the Other Anonymous Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:26 pm
In the immortal words of Flounder, “This is going to be so cool”.

If only it weren’t happening to us.

Comment by dupage dan Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:28 pm
Wonder how you say “blunderbuss” in Serbian.

Why stop with the tapes? Why not have the prosecutors release all of the evidence before the trial.

This judge is going to have a very low threshold for Rod’s nonsense.

Comment by And I Approved This Message Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:32 pm
Headline is kind of dog bites man, isn’t it?

Comment by Greg B. Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:39 pm
Yep. Hence the few comments.

Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:46 pm
Great headline, Rich. I didn’t have to read any further. I’ve already seen this movie.

Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 1:56 pm
Rich, the NYT link you kindly provided indicates that Blago isn’t the only defendant raising this general issue. A story linked to the one you posted discusses the case of Raj Rajamataran (sp?) the alleged inside trader, and his lawyers’ comments to the judge on the matter. As you might expect, quite a difference in tone and tenor from Adam’s bomb-throwing prose.

Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 2:00 pm
When are Blagoofs legal team going to muzzle him? This show is getting real old, get him to trial and get this over with. He won’t be grabbing any headlines from the graybar hotel.

Comment by Dan S, a voter and Cubs Fan Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 2:25 pm
As much as I hate to admit this publicly, I love your Blago coverage and I eat up the all the hate-filed snarky anti-Blago comments from my fellow anonymians.

RM - have thought about creating a “US vs. RRB” section for daily trial coverage updates? It would allow us trial hounds to click directly and keep the Blog main section clear for real political news.

Comment by siriusly Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 2:49 pm
It has been a while so let’s review……
Characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder may include:[3]

Persistent lying or stealing
Superficial charm[4][5]
Apparent lack of remorse[4] or empathy; inability to care about hurting others
Inability to keep jobs or stay in school[4]
Impulsivity and/or recklessness[4]
Lack of realistic, long-term goals — an inability or persistent failure to develop and execute long-term plans and goals
Inability to make or keep friends, or maintain relationships such as marriage
Poor behavioral controls — expressions of irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal abuse; inadequate control of anger and temper
Narcissism, elevated self-appraisal or a sense of extreme entitlement
A persistent agitated or depressed feeling (dysphoria)
A history of childhood conduct disorder
Recurring difficulties with the law
Tendency to violate the boundaries and rights of others
Substance abuse
Aggressive, often violent behavior; prone to getting involved in fights
Inability to tolerate boredom
Disregard for the safety of self or others
Persistent attitude of irresponsibility and disregard for social rules, obligations, and norms
Difficulties with authority figures [6]

Comment by CircularFiringSquad Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 2:54 pm
This reminds me of a song!

Nah!

Not anymore.

Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 3:10 pm
I do beleive Scott Lee Cohen has succeeded in out yucking Blago in the side show circus. Blago better get his game on.

Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 3:22 pm
Bloygavich! I heard that variation once as well.

Comment by Levois Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 3:41 pm
CFS is back!

Comment by Arthur Andersen Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 5:19 pm
If the OJ trial was publicized, then surely Blago’s trial would pull in as big of ratings. Thing is, I’m not sure I want to see this train wreck on a dailoy basis.

Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 10:51 pm
I reely du need two prufreed beter.

Comment by Little Egypt Wednesday, Feb 10, 10 @ 10:52 pm
Egypt, you probably won’t have to worry about that since the court doesn’t let cameras in.

Comment by Hisgirlfriday Thursday, Feb 11, 10 @ 1:38 am