Blagojevich Found Guilty in Chicago Corruption Trial
"Political News"08/17/2010
By Andrew M Harris and Elizabeth Campbell
Bloomberg News
Aug 17, 2010 6:55 PM CT
Rod Blagojevich, the former Illinois governor, was found guilty of a single count of lying to federal agents. U.S. prosecutors said they intend to retry him on the other 23 charges a Chicago federal jury couldn’t agree on.
Blagojevich, a 53-year-old Democrat, was accused of linking official acts, including selecting President Barack Obama’s Senate successor, to campaign contributions and personal favors. The false-statements count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel declared a mistrial on the remaining counts after the jury of six men and six women said it couldn’t reach a unanimous decision. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar told the judge “it is absolutely our intention” to retry those charges.
“The jury convicted former Governor Rod Blagojevich of lying to the FBI,” Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald said after the verdict. “They could not agree that we had proven or not proven” the other counts, he said. “We have to show respect and gratitude for the jury’s service.”
He didn’t take any questions.
Zagel asked the parties to return to his courtroom on Aug. 26 to propose a retrial date. Blagojevich remains free on bail.
The jury deliberated for 14 days. It found that Blagojevich had made a false statement when he told the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he didn’t track or want to know who made contributions to his election campaign.
‘Target Me’
“The federal government and this particular prosecutor did everything he could to target me and prosecute me,” Blagojevich told reporters after the verdict. “I did not lie to the FBI.”
Jurors failed to reach a verdict on any of the four counts against Robert Blagojevich, the former governor’s brother.
“If in fact charges are brought back against me, we are prepared to defend those as vigorously and aggressively as we did already,” Robert Blagojevich told reporters. “I feel bad for my brother,” he said.
Prosecutors rested their case July 13, after about five weeks of testimony. Prosecution witnesses who testified that Blagojevich connected fundraising to his agenda included two of his former chiefs of staff, Alonzo “Lon” Monk and John Harris.
Monk and Harris pleaded guilty to one criminal count each and agreed to cooperate in the government probe.
The case is U.S. v. Blagojevich, 08-cr-00888, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois (Chicago).