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Blagojevich brother objects to fed proffer, and our quote of the day

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* Last week, a federal judge said he was inclined to make public the prosecution’s “proffer” - essentially a blueprint to the prosecution’s case - for the combined Rod and brother Rob Blagojevich trials. The judge said he would allow the defendants to object to specific aspects of the proffer, and brother Rob’s attorney filed a motion today…

The government should release the entirety of certain FBI witness statements and tape recorded conversations to the public rather than selectively publicizing sections, defense lawyers for Rob Blagojevich said today.

A new filing in the case of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his brother, Rob, argues that the government at times is “deceptively misleading” in a now-sealed proffer that a judge ruled will become public on Wednesday.

Their complaints come as they request that certain sections of the proffer are not made public before the June 3 trial.

“Our position is that it is manifestly unfair to make public only portions of sealed tape recorded conversations, which are taken out of context by the Government. To be fair to the defendant, we urge this Honorable Court to keep everything sealed or, in the alternative, unseal everything,” Rob Blagojevich attorney Michael Ettinger wrote in the court filing. “We submit that this proffer will be summarized and quoted by the media again and again every week leading up to the trial. Parts will be quoted on television, in print, on radio and on the Internet.”

Here’s a sample from the filing…

We strenuously object to footnote 24 regarding a conversation between (redacted) and Rod Blagojevich wherein, once again, the Government has omitted significant parts of a taped conversation, which deceptively misleads anyone who reads the footnote to believe that there was an agreement for a quid pro quo.

The actual recorded conversation shows just the opposite. We move to strike this footnote in its entirety or, if this Court sees fit to unseal it, replace the footnote with a transcript of the recorded conversation to allow the public to see the true facts.

* Meanwhile, our quote of the day goes to Rod Blagojevich. Transcript via Eric Zorn…

(On Elvis Presley’s) great 1968 comeback special, which was on NBC, he wore all his black leather and he sang “If I Can Dream” at the end of that show. That was his big comeback. Incidentally, NBC was the host of “Celebrity Apprentice.” Also the host of “I’m A Celebrity… Get Mm Out of Here!” I feel like there’s a connection. Patti and I have done business there on TV. Elvis had his comeback concert. I kinda consider that there’s almost a divine kinda connection maybe. I can hope that that’s the case anyway. [Rod Blagojevich, Sunday on his WLS AM 890 radio show.]

Full disclosure. I bought Blagojevich the DVD of that Elvis special. Sorry about that.

posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 1:11 pm

Comments

In crains this week it’s announced cheryle jackson’s new employer is going into business with blackwater. consider her political career over?

Comment by shore Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 1:47 pm
He may not know how to work a cell phone, a typewriter, or a computer — but at least he can watch a DVD.

Apparently, someone got him in the “right area” of the power button and explained what was what.

Comment by Anonymouse Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 1:51 pm
Or, Anonymouse, somebody played it for him. lol

Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 1:55 pm
And turned his chair so it faced the screen!

Comment by Pot calling kettle Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 2:09 pm
And NBC was the network of the A-Team, now if I could get a team of crack commandos to help me out…

or wait
It was the network of Super Train a show so poorly planned and thought out it almost bankrupted NBC, just like my leadership did to Illinois… Wait I need a better example….

I got it, It was the network of Differnt Strokes and Me and Rob are like the Willis boys trying to fit in…

Comment by OneMan Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 2:14 pm
The Elvis special is still awesome after all these years. Not even Rod’s parasitical clinging can harm The King.

Comment by wordslinger63@gmail.com Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 2:59 pm
NBC was also the network that gave us,
My Own Worst Enemy. It was about the life of American secret agent Edward Albright and his cover alias, Henry Spivey, who had no knowledge of his double life. Albright, played by Christian Slater, who some say looks a lot like me, was implanted with a chip that allowed his handlers, who look a lot like both Madigans, to physically switch our hero’s personality to that of his twin alias. However, in the first episode, there was a malfunction which caused his personalities to switch at random, revealing his secret life to his alias. He is thrown into the highly dangerous life of his alias twin, with no real way for the two to communicate except through video messages, which I’ve heard is a very difficult thing to master since it involves high tech cameras and such. The last episode ended with a cliff-hanger, and the major plot lines ended without resolution, just like my administration!

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 3:00 pm
Well Elvis sang while he was on drugs, and I could have ran the state more efficiently if I were on drugs. Well at least an antiphyschotic…

Comment by Stallion Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 3:14 pm
I am more interestd in the meaty issues, like when blao fills out an employment app does he have to reprot his impeachment as being fired from a job? how about being fired from the apprentice?

I have to say it is pretty impressive how well he has avoided actually getting a 40 hr a week job.

Comment by Ghost Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 4:10 pm
Looking forward to June 3rd,
Rod really thinks he’s a “ROCKSTAR”.
STARS burn up and out.

Comment by Suspicious Activity Report Monday, Apr 12, 10 @ 5:39 pm