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* There is so much wrong with this commentary that I don’t quite know where to begin…
We don’t need to spend $25 million on a face-saving do-over for Patrick Fitzgerald. The next trial will probably last twice as long as this one, as Fitzgerald calls in witnesses he neglected to cross-examine the first time around — partly because he didn’t realize Blagojevich wouldn’t put up a defense, leaving him with half a case.
We can also do without a retrial because it will give Rod Blagojevich another six months to repeat his wearying claims of innocence. Maybe he wants that, but the rest of Illinois doesn’t.
It wasn’t a total defeat for the government: they got Blagojevich on one count. It wasn’t a total defeat for Blagojevich: he can say he was never convicted of selling the Senate seat. Maybe Fitzgerald wants a rematch for vindication, and Blagojevich wants one so he can get more attention. But Illinois doesn’t want a rematch. We just want to put the Blagojevich years behind us.
$25 million just for the retrial? What credible person is saying that outside of Sam Adam, Jr.? Also, I got news for you, Blagojevich clearly showed yesterday that he’s not gonna keep his big yap shut. A trial, at least, will force him to stay off the airwaves for a while, giving us a respite, no matter how brief.
And who says Illinois doesn’t want a retrial? Our infamous commenter Bill most surely doesn’t, but he’s not exactly representative of the state at large. Sheesh, what a goofy mess.
I’ll stand with the Sun-Times editorial board on this one…
Fitzgerald’s view was — and remains — that Blagojevich shouldn’t get a pass just because he was as lousy a schemer as he was a governor.
And that seems exactly right to us. […]
A couple of hours after the jury’s verdict was read, Blagojevich’s lead attorney, Sam Adams Jr., ripped into the prosecutors for declaring they would retry the case. Adams asked, “Is this worth it?”
To which we say again: You bet. Elvis has not left the building.
Blagojevich and his brother, Robert, were exonerated of nothing, and Illinois remains too crooked a state for the feds to start looking the other way now.
Admittedly, Blagojevich has already been a gift to reform in Illinois. In the wake of his arrest, the state Legislature was shamed into passing a host of bills designed to promote a cleaner and more transparent government and politics. Illinois now has tighter state procurement laws, stronger freedom of information laws, pension board reforms and stricter limits on campaign contributions.
But only by prosecuting public corruption to the fullest extent of the law, retrials and all, can Illinois one day hope to arrive in that happy land of honest government.
And the Tribune…
We very much anticipate that second trial. The government’s accusations of racketeering and conspiracy are too serious to go unresolved. We trust that another jury will tell the people of Illinois whether the state’s only impeached and ousted governor is guilty or innocent of more than one felony.
Blagojevich offered his opinion on that question after jurors offered their verdict: “This is a persecution!”
No, Governor, this is a prosecution. And we’re thankful that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald and his team were swift in assuring citizens that they would take their case to a second group of jurors.
Judge Zagel, never one to dally, could move as early as next Thursday, Aug. 26, to set a date for jury selection to begin. Good for him. The sooner all of us know whether Rod Blagojevich’s criminal record stops with one federal felony, the sooner all of us can concur that justice has been served.
And pretty much every other sane person outside Blagojevich’s inner circle.
* And speaking of goofy arguments, more than a few people have criticized Patrick Fitzgerald for not waiting until Blagojevich sold the US Senate seat before moving in. This is a fairly decent counter-argument…
His backers said that if Fitzgerald had waited to arrest the governor until Blagojevich carried through with an alleged plan to appoint U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., to Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat in exchange for a sizable donation, it would have created a constitutional crisis.
“What should he have done?” former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Cramer said. “Wait for him to sell the seat? It would have been a disaster. The arrest was not only proper, it was necessary.”
My own opinion is that Fitz was worried that Blagojevich was busily concocting an alibi. The Tribune reported the week before his arrest that the feds had the governor on wiretaps. Blagojevich knew the net was about to drop, so he started undoing things. If they had waited, he most likely would’ve appointed anybody but JJJ.
* Back to the verdict. Mark Brown makes some interesting points today…
I will say this, though, and it might surprise you. I would almost rather have seen the Blagojevich jury fail to reach a verdict on any counts than to convict him only of the chicken-bleep lying to a federal agent charge.
We certainly should have an expectation that our elected officials would tell the truth to the FBI, and there are times when their failure to do so deserves punishment, as when George Ryan tried to throw the agents off his scent by lying about how he paid a state contractor for use of his Jamaican vacation home.
That was hardly the case with Blagojevich. Here is the false statement on which he was convicted: “Rod Blagojevich does not track, or want to know, who contributes to him or how much they are contributing to him.”
As many witnesses testified and wiretaps confirmed, Blagojevich obviously did track his campaign contributions. In fact, he monitored them quite closely.
But here’s the problem: There’s nothing particularly wrong with a politician keeping track of their campaign donations. It’s certainly not illegal. In fact, he was in his rights to sit there at his desk in the governor’s office and make fund-raising calls on his cell phone.
Were federal agents thrown off the track, or was their investigation impeded in any way when Blagojevich was stupid enough to tell them such a lie?
No way. They probably just said to themselves: “Gotcha!”
And remember the false statements were made in March 2005, more than three years before the wiretaps.
Fitz should’ve busted him before the 2006 election and saved us a lot of trouble.
* Related…
* Retrial could hurt Democrats’ fall campaigns
* Roeper: 1 out of 24 enough to ruin ex-gov’s victory-lap dream
* Sneed: Blagojevich trial is not over yet
* Sweet: Rod Blagojevich Convicted for Coverup, Not the Crime
* Erickson: Did Blagojevich’s media onslaught make a difference?
* Kadner: No sympathy here for Toxic Blago
* Southtown Star: LIAR
* Pantagraph: Blagojevich verdict doesn’t yield winners
* SJ-R: Would a retrial be worth it? Yes
* Register Star: There are no winners in Blagojevich trial
* Journal Star: Still no end for sorry Blagojevich saga
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 10:48 am
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I like Andrew Cohen’s assessment of the current state of affairs:
Whatever else it means, the desultory end Tuesday to the federal corruption trial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich ensures we are stuck with the knucklehead at least through most of 2011. He won’t be going to prison anytime soon for the one (of 24) counts for which he was convicted after a multimillion dollar trial. But he won’t be receding into history, either, on account of a prompt decision by federal prosecutors to declare they intend to retry him for allegedly trying to sell former President Barack Obama’s Senate seat to the highest bidder. Think Blagojevich I was a barnburner? What until you get a load of Blagojevich, Part Deux, the Sequel, the Revenge.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38754287/ns/politics-politics_daily/
Comment by Quinn T. Sential Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 10:56 am
It is absurd to argue that cost considerations should enter into the decision to retry a defendant- if the government has evidence that a crime was committed and decides to prosecute in the first place, allowing someone a pass because a juror fails to do her job is not justice- Any estimate of costs associated is specious- the prosecutors all are going to get paid whether they spend their time on Blago’s matter or they sit in their offices- the cost associated for transcripts and jury expenses are minor- the real issue is what the Judge will decide to do in terms of providing Blago with court appointed lawyers- assuming the existing lawyers decide they cannot continue to represent Blago- the retrial won’t be starting anytime soon since the Court will undoubtedly afford new lawyers with the chance to get up to speed- the second trial could be delayed until next year
Comment by Sue Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:00 am
“Fitz should’ve busted him before the 2006 election and saved us a lot of trouble.”
LOL! Someone should have. One can only wonder why he didn’t because little did we know we’d have to deal with something larger than this lying to FBI agents a few years later.
Comment by Levois Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:02 am
The difference between the outcome of this trial and the Ryan trial was, in large part, the fact that the holdout juror in the Ryan trial committed misconduct and was removed. If she hadn’t been, the Ryan trial would have been hung 11-1.
The press, keeping score as though this is a baseball game, doesn’t understand the arc of a criminal prosecution. Much of the public, thinking everything has to be neatly tied up in one hour like on Law and Order, also gets confused.
While the prosecution wasn’t perfect, it got the job done. If one goofy juror had followed the law and the evidence, there would have been guilty verdicts on enough counts for everyone to be praising Fitzgerald’s success.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office will rethink its case and do a better job next time.
In the meantime, I guess we have to hand it to Chewbacca. At least one juror, and some of the public and press, can be confused by arguments that make no sense.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:03 am
I think Illinois needs Rod to be convicted of at least some of the primary offenses to justify the arrest of a sitting governor by the federal government, his impeachment and removal from office, and the barring of him from holding office in Illinois ever again.
A lying to the feds conviction doesn’t back up all of that.
Comment by George Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:05 am
As long as the law allows an over reaching, self-serving federal prosecutor to carry out personal vendettas for whatever reason the conviction rate will always be over 90%. Never mind about justice this is personal and the gov’t, with unlimited access to our tax dollars, will probably eventually get Rod. They already got him on probably the most devious charge of lying to the FBI. He’s broke. His life is ruined. But that’s not enough for ol’ Fitzie. If he can’t get Rod for a real crime he’ll just make some up. Ask Scooter Libby. This guy has got to go. He screwed up what all of you thought was a slam dunk. Where’s the accountability for him?
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:06 am
I can’t believe people legitimately are questioning whether it is worth prosecuting criminals because of the cost. Why don’t we get rid of the entire justice & corrections system, budget problems solved.
Also, where is the $30 million figure come from beside Sam Jr. Sue is right a lot of these people get paid regardless of what they spend their time on. I just hope that we don’t have to pay for Blago’s defense too.
Comment by Lincoln Parker Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:08 am
Something tells me, Bill, that you don’t actually want a replacement for Fitz that will get the job done. LOL
Comment by George Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:08 am
I will digress one final time that Lisa Madigan campaigned in 2001 and 2002 on the basis that she would not have waited on the feds to get Ryan, she would have done it herself. She hammered Jim Ryan up and down the state on this issue which helped Blago get elected. Turns out, she did the same thing. I am callin Rich out to ask Lisa to comment on her backing out of the most vigorous campaign promise of her carreer.
Write this down:
If the prosecution tries this case again the result will be the same. Attempted conspiracy is very difficult. There are hundreds of cases where Blago recieved campagin donations and within 30-90 days people got jobs or contracts. Strick illlegal, quid pro quo. Forget the Senate Seat. The feds need to go back and start rounding up the little fish. If you want Rod in Jail and this is not just a dog an pony show, and it is about government corruption, nail everybody, just like the Ryan case.
Comment by the Patriot Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:11 am
I don’t know why you would think that, George.I just want someone who will get the job done right.
Besides this guy’s time has been up for a long time. That abberation Petey Fitz got W to appoint him and it seems everybody is afraid to get rid of him. USA is not a lifetime appointment.
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:11 am
“it would have created a constitutional crisis.”
Like the one that was created when Burris was appointed?
That’s not an argument, that’s a tempest in a teapot.
Comment by Leroy Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:13 am
100% agree with Rich - most folks in Illinois want more convictions and a re-trial, and it won’t cost that much, especially relative to state budget.
But great job by Blago and Adams to stick to this talking point last night, which successfully got an awful lot of folks thinking about whether it is worth it.
Comment by Robert Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:13 am
Is there some reason the case has to be tried in Chicago? There is a federal court in Springfield and in Mt. Vernon. I’m going to bet if the jurors came from downstate instead of Chicago, this would have been a “slam dunk” on all 24.
Comment by Both Sides Now Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:15 am
Whatever else you say about Blago, he’s got to get a lifetime achievement award for chutzpah. He’s got so much brass it’s hard to think of others in his league.
Comment by Excessively Rabid Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:19 am
The state doesn’t pay the cost of the trial. It’s in federal court. And the cost is minimal. The investigation has already been done. The only cost is salaries of the government employees, witness fees and expenses, juror fees, and the federal defender rate for defense counsel. That big number the Adams folks made out of thin — Hey look, at Kitty!
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:19 am
Its funny how everyone thinks they know what “most” Illinois citizens want. Most of us don’t care. Let Rod do his 18 months and move on. He didn’t do anything more than any other politican does, lie, conspire, and try to feather his own nest and get re-elected. He didn’t steal anything or directly hurt anybody. There is no evidence and no smoking gun, just a bunch of conjecture by an over zealous, ego maniac, federal prosecutor.
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:21 am
Prosecutors make decisions every day that weigh the expense of a trial against their ability to get a conviction. Why else would there be plea bargains and indictments on lesser charges? Since Blago has been convicted on one count, minor as it might be,that could carry jail time and is out of work, broke, impeached, and widely thought of as a buffoon, why should the Feds retry the case. The message has been sent, verdict or not Blago’s life as he knew it and ambitions have been destroyed. Lets all move on, there is nothing more to see here.
Comment by WRMNpolitics Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:21 am
RE:venue, I don’t see trying a state elected official on federal charges in that same state. This should move to Milwaukee or Indianapolis or somewhere else out of state - and as far as possible from the defense attempts to poison the jury pool in the media.
Comment by Excessively Rabid Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:22 am
Speaking of attempted jury poisoning has Lincoln stopped spinning in his grave yet over this aggregious political crime spree?
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:24 am
The Judge needs to revoke the impeached former governor and convicted felon’s bail and let him sit where no one can hear him until the next trial.
Comment by Dan S, a taxpayer and a Cubs Fan Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:27 am
The deal was if the Blagojevich trial could be over quickly, voters will forget him when they go to vote. That isn’t going to happen. Worse, voters are now discussing if Blagojevich is even going to face justice, on top of, all the ugly political nonsense he forced them through over the past eight years.
The retrial has to start as soon as possible if anyone wants Illinois voters to have any faith left in any of their branches of government by November. With this verdict, we see a trifecta of governmental incompetence from the executive, legislative and judicial branches regarding Rod Blagojevich.
Voters will no longer accept this. They want change.
Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:27 am
Bill - Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:24 am: , that answer would be NO Bill.
Comment by Dan S, a taxpayer and a Cubs Fan Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:28 am
The people of Illinois spoke on this one when they elected an Attorney General that did not prosecute to begin with. This trial was held by the Federal Government meaning to me the people of the United States are the deciders in this, not the ones in Illinois that apparently could care less about the whole issue
Comment by Sueann Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:33 am
A retrial is the proper course of action. Justice cannot be based upon cost to the taxpayer.
It is hoped that he will be tried on charges stemming from his egregious acts toward the state employees, the intimidation and bullying of the many, many dedicated workers, and his callous disregard of the rules and regulations in place to protect the innocent non-political workers.
The Feds promised on many occasions to pursue action against the buffoon Blago for his illegal acts, but they never came through on that promise. There were too many headlines in the Senate Seat and high-profile extortion charges.
In my opinion, the Feds let the little guy down for headlines. Perhaps this retrial will permit them to get it right.
Comment by Justice Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:35 am
The question VM is what kind of change do we want, I don’t want what Brady has in mind one bit.
Comment by Jimbo Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:36 am
Rod will keep talking and talking because that is what he does. At the same time, he will be followed by the Adam’s closing arguments that he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and being relatively stupid. His constant talk reinforces his attorneys own assessment. Whether his behavior is real or just an act simply does not matter anymore. He is stuck with it now. Pretty sad all the way around.
If he had some tough financial problems before, who will bother to step forward to help him now with what has to be some serious legal bills? Is there a contributor willing to attach their name to the Rod train when he no longer has any political pull to offer? Kind of a sympathy vote. Now he has to work for a buck. The last book didn’t exactly rock to the best seller list. Mid-morning on WLS? Co-host with Regis? Fox commentator? Host SNL? He can keep the show going in front of the news cameras for awhile, but they don’t pay so well and their interests will eventually move to the next story.
Comment by zatoichi Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:44 am
===elected an Attorney General that did not prosecute to begin with===
You are either new here or misinformed. Fitz called off her investigation in 2006.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:48 am
=Fitz should’ve busted him before the 2006 election and saved us a lot of trouble.=????
Maybe all the other elected democratic officials in the state shouldn’t have endorsed him, maybe the people should not have elected and maybe the media should have been more on top of his behavior. But, Fitz is not responsible to correct voters decisions.
Lets not for get that the guy was elected twice by the people of the state. The voters, other elected officials and media all have some culpability.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:56 am
Jimbo,
Sometimes you just gotta throw the bums out. Reboot, as it were. No guarantees that you get exactly what you want in life. You got Quinn and Brady as the next likely gov. No independent or green candidate has a hopping chance in h@ll. Just a wasted vote, IMO.
Comment by dupage dan Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:00 pm
The U.S. Attorney’s office may want to start jury selection next week, but Judge Zagel will have to deny an inevitable Motion to Withdraw from his current defense counsel in order to start a new trial anytime this year.
If you’re Sam Adams, Jr. what do you have to gain by staying on? He’s received his publicity. He’s declared his “victory.” There’s nowhere to go but down.
I think Mary Schmich accurately sums up the general public sentiment.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-schmich-0818-2-20100818,0,6598246.column
With a re-trial, Patrick Fitzgerald will achieve the impossible: turning Blagojevich into a sympathetic figure.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:03 pm
11 - 1 is a pretty strong message that there is a good case of corruption. All tat and he only had one juror qustion that the activity was not criminal? definite retrail and something the defense should be kept awake at night pondering they are a hairs breadth from prison.
Bill, blago fears the truth of his conduct which is why he never took the stand; He has been gaming the system all along and is praying that he can game it enough to avoid prison. He get another shot, but the prosecution here is on track and a single hold out is not a promising future for avoiding prison.
Comment by Ghost Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:03 pm
I might have more respect for the Sun-Times’s editorial on the big issue — if it got the little things right, like, say, the name of the defendant’s lawyer. It’s Adam, not Adams. I can understand how people following the case could (and have, repeatedly) made that mistake, but not a major newspaper editorial board. Pay attention, folks; your credibility matters.
Comment by Corduroy Bob Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:06 pm
Do you think the Tribune lets John McCormick write the Blagojevich editorials these days — or do they mandate one of the other pointy heads has to write them?
There would be a certain monumental irony if McCormick were now “recused” of the task.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:07 pm
I’m wondering what John Harris, Lon Monk and their lawyers are thinking given the Blago jury’s actions. Are they second guessing whether they should have copped pleas?
Comment by GA Watcher Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:09 pm
I don’t want what Brady has in mind one bit.
Well, there ya go! You have to do what Brady does and not have one in mind. It’s a whole lot easier.
Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:13 pm
I don’t want to even spend even $1M on another trial. But, if they are going to -please, limit the counts so that they aren’t so convoluted. That was too much for Blago’s peers to digest.
And good golly, do not move that circus to Springfield.
Comment by PPHS Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:15 pm
GA Watcher points out another important reason why the Government will, and should, retry him. There are a number of people who copped deals and are/will do time. The message sent if they did not retry him would go out to any future cooperators that it might not be such a good idea to cop pleas and cooperate. I know this isn’t a gang case, but why should a lower level defendant cooperate if they won’t actively pursue a case against the head.
Usually a lower level person will cooperate expecting time off for cooperating (5K1.1 letter) but also that they will receive less time in general than the higher ups. Letting Blago walk away with just the 5 year max, would up end that.
Comment by Edison Parker Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:36 pm
Where does this $25 million for a retrial come from? The US Attorney’s office, the courthouse, the judge, the bailiff, etc are fixed costs to the taxpayer. Is the defense that expensive, if the citizens must pay? Regardless, pursuit of corruption in a state like Illinois must be relentless. It’s fiscal impact is unquantifiable, however, the drain on our economy may equal the recession. We have three federal court houses in Illinois, north, middle and south, and I would gladly pay a special tax to keep all the court rooms full with trials of Illinois politicians, for as long as it takes. Also, a Good Samaritan-like law requiring politicians to report corruption of their colleagues or face felony charges themselves would be a plus.
Comment by Cook County Commoner Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:39 pm
It must be nice to have a job where if things don’t go the way you want the first time you get to do it over again. I guess that’s why people love government jobs. The rules that apply to the rest of us don’t apply to the government and the people who work for it. The legislature doesn’t have to pay social service providers on time but when those providers don’t pay the state and fed taxes they are charged with interest. Easy to understand why people are flocking to the Tea Party. They are sick of double standards for government. You had your chance and you got one conviction move on and don’t waste our time and dollars
Comment by Downtown Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:41 pm
George Ryan went to jail and Blago didn’t learn from that example. Some Illinois politicians are capable of such self-delusion that very obvious lessons go unlearned. If Blago walks on the other 23 counts, that adds to the belief that politicians can get away with it in Illinois.
I’d like to think that whoever is the next governor will be able to get through his term without a trial at the end of it.
Comment by Aldyth Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:52 pm
Bill,
You are a very poor winner!
Comment by Leave a Light on George Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 12:58 pm
The feds should absolutely retry him and as quickly as possible. Cost should never come into something like this. it sends a very poor message to future elected officials–if you are corrupt in such a way that it makes it expensive to try you, we just won’t do it. I wish that Blago would just shut up and go away, preferably to prison, but then, if he shut up, he wouldn’t be Blago.
Comment by Champaign Dweller Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 1:05 pm
==You are either new here or misinformed. Fitz called off her investigation in 2006==
Lisa Madigan gets no passes. Fitz called Jim Ryan off of George Ryan too. Everyone knew it including Lisa. Yet that did not stop her from promising that if it had been her she would prosecute and not wait on the feds.
So did she lie in her campaign and help Rod beat Jim Ryan by promising to take action she knew was inappropriate, or did she back out of the number one campaign promise she made to us.
I will answer, She knew that once the Feds come in the AG has to back down, but she played on the uneducated electorate and helped Rod beat Jim Ryan. Two points. One she lied in her first campaign knowing she would never go after the Governor once the feds said back off. Two, she was willing to do anything she had to do to get Rod elected.
I make the second point to show that she can never prosecute Rod as some are suggesting. She campaigned with and for the guy. She benefitted from his campaign methods, she can’t now be involved prosecuting him.
But this is IL and there is not a reporter in this state that will call a Madigan on these issues. So Rod walks and nothing changes.
Comment by the Patriot Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 1:08 pm
I am wondering how big Sam Adams’ head is this morning, because in his mind, he won even though Rod is now a convicted felon.
Who will defend Blago at the next trial? I think Sam has had enough of Rod and likes to keep up the total in his victory colum.
The lawyers who handled the case for the Feds should be publicly flogged…
Comment by Loop Lady Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 1:40 pm
I agree with the retrial. The purpose of the criminal justice system is to protect society. A Rod Blagojevich in circulation is a dangerous person, somebody who would use his interpersonal skills and his rhetorical skills to hurt other people in some way, as he did as Governor.
Comment by jake Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 1:47 pm
Let’s for the sake of argument, advance the premise that a retrial will cost $20 million. As I walked past the federal building today, I witnessed the construction project to rebuild the federal plaza. The sign boasts that the project wll cost $20 million.
Which would I rather have? A retrial for a crocked and corrupt politician who abused his office for his personal gain or nice tiles in the plaza???
It’s not even close.
Cover the damn plaza with mats and go get this guy! For all those claiming “it costs too much,” guess what? Corruption costs a lot more and is a much bigger problem to the strength and survival of our republic.
Comment by Logical Thinker Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 1:58 pm
The Blagojevich trial isn’t the only problem US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has on his plate. There is a habeas corpus case currently pending in the Northern District of Illinois (US v. Connors, 09 CV 1821) which alleges that prosecutors in Patrick Fitzgerald’s Office obtained a conviction by forging evidence and secretly communicating with a juror during a trial.
Comment by Judge Roy Bean Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 2:22 pm
Bill-Where did you do time as the result of the US Attorney prosecuting you successfully? You just seem too adamant about all this for one not to think you may have been convicted of something.
@Loop Lady-=The lawyers who handled the case for the Feds should be publicly flogged…= You first.
I think this is a terrible thing to say on several levels. This was a very complex case. And they did reach 11 of the 12 jurors.
Fitz did not act prematurely. I believe he finally stepped in to stop the shennanigans he heard taking place.
Comment by flabergasted Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 2:27 pm
judge roy bean, is that case like the investigation with, I think
his name is Hogan, some years back? that poor guy, an AUSA, had to endure the accusations of a former colleague that
he tampered with a witness and it was all baloney, found
years later, as the guy was finally off suspensioin, to be totally
without foundation. more accusations from the
“criminals can do no wrong” set.
But, also, speaking of on the plate, did Fitzgerald himself
recently try a terrorism case in Chicago? I recall hearing
something on the news and then getting lost in Blago
land so it never came to mind again.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 2:33 pm
I oppose a retrial. I agree with the M. Schmich column. I don’t like second bites of the apple by a government with unlimited resources (unless there is something funky with that juror). The wiretap story came out, and the meeting that was scheduled with the Indian was cancelled, immediatley. The feds had every phone tapped so could have swooped down just before any announcement. The story ran — as I recall the Trib held it for a time per Fitzgerald — hours before the meeting that could have supplied the smoking gun (does Jessie know you are offering this money? Is Jessie in agreement with this tender offer?) — the Jackson family butt was saved, by whom and for what reason? A retrial would have to bring in Katz (the first emissary offering fundraising assistance), and Jarrett, and Rahm, and Obama — at least for awhile, I can be pleased that they are, no doubt, shaking, but I still say — it’s enough, already.
Comment by justsickofit Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 2:34 pm
Apparently the jury voted 9-3 to acquit Rob Blagojevich on his four charges. With that in mind, do the feds even bother retrying him?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 3:03 pm
Anonymous,
If the feds want to get RB on conspiracy, they apparently have to re-try Robert B since he allegedly formed the conspiracy w/RB. No Robert, no conspiracy.
While Robert B might cut a sympathetic creature he put the blinders on when helping his brother perhaps while acting in his role as big brother acquiescing to his parents dying wish that he take care of RB. Robert B is a successful businessman, armed forces veteran, and all around good guy by most accounts. However, it appears he turned off his common sense when he came to RB’s aid and ignored the obvious signs of trouble. Enough for a conviction? The next trial will tell, I most sincerely hope.
Comment by dupage dan Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 3:31 pm
Blago’s old news. He’s gone. I only have so many breaths, I won’t waste one more on him. The voters elected him in 2006, the federales screwed the pooch in 2010 and both know it.
By the way, maybe we can let George Ryan out now, too. Bloodlust is a nasty emotion.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 3:33 pm
Re-trying this guy is about stemming the tide of corruption in this State which, according to a piece in the New York Times today citing a 2009 study from the U of I, costs Illinois taxpayers $300 million a year. So, yes,its worth it.
Comment by Liz Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 3:36 pm
He’s lost his job, his pension, his reputation, before this is over he’s probably going to lose a lot more. Send him up for 6-12 months or so and let it go.
Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 3:49 pm
steve schnorf - Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 3:49 pm:
“He’s lost his job, his pension, his reputation, before this is over he’s probably going to lose a lot more. Send him up for 6-12 months or so and let it go.”
I’m sure 6 months in the pokey would be an investment for Rod. I think this guy is going to make millions. Books and book tours, a radio show, posters, ties and maybe a line of underwear and hair care products. His book may actually be good since I am pretty sure this buffoon is willing to name names.
Comment by Cincinnatus Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 4:01 pm
SS-how many jobs have been lost or businesses damaged in Illinois because of Blago’s inept management and self serving ways?( And are still suffering.) He cussed out those that elected him, whilehe was trying to profit? And you feel sympathy for him when he has no remorse himself? It would easier to feel as you do, if he had not spent over $400k on ties and complained he could not pay for his children’s education.
Comment by flabergasted Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 4:20 pm
flabergasted-and exactly how is retrying him going to change any of that?
Comment by steve schnorf Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 4:26 pm
Steve Schnorf is right — why the insistence on wringing a maximum sentence out of the guy? They could go to sentencing on the one count they obtained the conviction on — and, in the wonderworld of the federal system — use all of the other counts on which the jury was hung as “aggravation” and request the maximum 5 year sentence from Zagel, who would undoubtedly give it to him. George Ryan received 78 months after being convicted on all 22 counts he was charged with — so effectively they are subjecting everyone to 6 more months (more?) of this nonsense to try to get him for 10? 11? additional months at Oxford? (They should rename it Oxxford in his honor).
If Blagojevich was smart — and there’s a vast body of evidence that he’s not — he would surrender immediately (as Rezko did) so that he can maximize his time served at the detention center here in Chicago (and if they re-try him, he’ll get to travel back and forth to court every day which will kill a couple of months).
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 4:50 pm
Anon, 4:50, Blago’s people, and Irv Miller on Channel 2, think that there is a good chance for an Appeal. so he would
not surrender cause he does not think he is guilty.
Carol Marin on MSNBC Hardball hitting the feds for too
much stuff and too little victory.
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 4:52 pm
Anon - have you ever been to the MCC? Rod is much better off sitting at home with his wife and kids and self-surrendering to the federal prison camp to which he most likely will be assigned.
Comment by Edison Parker Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 5:12 pm
Rod needs to be retried. I do wish that the feds didnt jump the gun and waited for the actual sale to take place. That being said I dont have all the information that the feds had at that time so I will give them the benifit of the doubt.
Comment by fed up Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 5:18 pm
Cincy, you write up the business plan and invest in Rod’s post-conviction career.
Even in a turgid media era that celebrates low-brow infamy, Rod ain’t that interesting, even for reality TV. They don’t pay those guys much, anyway.
He’s no Kardasian.
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 5:51 pm
listening to tv news in the 5 o’clock hour, can’t remember
the channel (all becoming a blur) and believe I heard that
the Feds said that they’ve been so busy with this trial but
other public cases are to come out soon. anyone else
hear that? what could it mean?
Comment by Amalia Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 6:38 pm
Cincinatus:
Blago already wrote a book in which he was going to name names. Since he never went to work when he was governor, he doesn’t know anything about legislators (80% of whom he probably couldn’t recognize) or even the agency heads he appointed. He may have learned explosive facts about his wife or kids, but he certainly didn’t learn much about other people in government.
Comment by Quizzical Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 7:14 pm
Almost cancelled my subscription over this one Rich. Your thirst for blood overcame the truth of a real well thought out jury verdict produced by the best, not perfect, but the best system in the world. Stop thinking about future stories or connection with the us attorney or fbi and start asking some good questions like you used too when you were objective. Like, how can Pat Fitzgerald decide whether Obama or Emanual are guilty or involved in wrongdoing when they are his boss? Did Pat do a favor by cutting short the investigation and did he get a job out of it? Kinda sounds like your article today, only different. Not that you like the difference, but is it real? Hey, your the reporter. Were just schumcks.
Comment by Bluey Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 7:25 pm
Blagojevich should just plea-bargain. While he’s plea-bargaining, I would like to see someone, somewhere tally up the lost revenue and misspent dollars he cost the taxpayers. Can we do an overpayment on salaries?
Comment by Emily Booth Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 8:18 pm
BTW, fundraising on the job is an ethics violation no matter whose phone you use.
Comment by Emily Booth Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 8:20 pm
So, if the feds had asked Jesse, their best prospect, to orchestra an actual payoff, then he would have been the hero for one hot minute, but his career would have been tainted for all time, as perhaps it already is.
Because you don’t get into that kind of situation unless you yourself are already compromised. He had to run away, fast.
Plus, as Rich points out, with the Trib spilling the beans about the wiretap, the feds could not have set up a proper sting.
So, without that drama, the fed’s case was way too complicated for this jury. They’ll have to simplify it for the next one.
And the feds will have to compensate for losing OMG moments, such as when they unveiled Rod and Patti’s sartorial spending. Some bells you cannot ring twice.
Ah well, at least the feds have proven that Blago is a liar. Next up, they’ll need to prove how much of a liar he was.
Comment by Way South of the Border Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 9:54 pm
It’s a shame it took Blagojevich (thru his lawyers in this instance) this long to find religion on the cost of a government action.
So much of his always-on campaign rhetoric came from him doing the so-called ‘right thing for the people’, costs be damned.
Free rides for seniors, even if they can pay for it.
Flu vaccines from Europe that weren’t needed and went to waste.
Drugs from Canada, in spite of Federal law and the risk that grandma’s insulin might get seized at the border.
Government insurance for kids of people making 85 grand a year.
I’m sure these aren’t the only examples.
Comment by Returning Dog Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 10:15 pm
You can’t put a price on justice. All that rambling on by Blago + Adams about crime + kids being shot…show me how by not having a retrial will save 1 child, + I will be the first to say “forget Blago”. But, its nonsense; life doesn’t work that way.
Comment by granny Wednesday, Aug 18, 10 @ 11:12 pm
Suggestion for the next trial to the prosecutors:
Make a timeline of the charges and present evidence along the time line in chronological order and somehow in the questioning refer to the charges to explain what evidence proves which charges. Be VERY direct and connect the dots. Don’t expect you have a jury with anything more than a 3rd grade education level because you have to present to the lowest common denominator. You will have highly functioning jurors that can assimilate data and make it relevant in the decision making process and as we have seen .. you will have jurors that have trouble hearing one thing that clearly shows attempted extortion or that aren’t old enough to even had heard the word extortion and know it is WRONG and criminal.
Explain that the jury cannot change the law and must find someone guilty if the defendants have broken the law … regardless of whether the juror feels the law is fair.
If you need help organizing this please contact me … I have great project management skills. I can help you create a more appropriate flow that will be a walk in the park for ANY jury to follow.
You may have to get legal experts to testify what the law is and explain in little words what attempted bribery and extortion mean. But all in the context and in the time line of the evidence being presented for each of the specific charges.
Please learn that you can’t just take a lot of incriminating evidence and toss it against the wall like pasta and see what sticks in the right places (connected to the right charges).
Structure, structure, structure.
Blago is a crook and it shouldn’t take rocket science to get 12 reasonably thinking people to see and come to the same conclusion that those of us who DID pay attention to every transcript in the trial and read the many news reports.
I don’t think Bill paid attention to the details in the trial. He was predisposed to Blago just being a typical Illinoisan politician. Read the phone calls and other wiretap transcripts Bill - read the Sun Times Blog of the Q&A of those testifying. And then tell me that Blago did not commit multiply crimes against the state of Illinois.
Comment by Springpatchproud Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 4:12 am
===Almost cancelled my subscription over this one Rich===
Feel free.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Aug 19, 10 @ 7:03 am