Why Blagojevich Didn't Beat the Charges This Time (Time.com)

Two weeks ago, as the prosecution made its final points in his corruption trial, a pale Rod Blagojevich listened nervously as his wife, Patti looked on, sullen and indignant, from the bench, the arms of her brother around her. It was as if they could feel what was coming.

On Monday, June 27, the jury returned from 10 days of deliberation and everyone gathered to hear its decision. Blagojevich blew an air kiss to his weeping wife and then clasped his hands as courtroom deputy Donald Walker began reading the verdict. The first finding of guilt led Blagojevich to purse his lips. Patti pushed back into her brother's arms. With each new pronouncement of guilt, the ex-governor grew more stonefaced even as his wife wept beneath closed eyes. When Walker was done reading, Blagojevich had been found guilty on 17 of the 20 counts against him, including 12 of the most explosive ones, among them wire fraud and conspiracy and attempted extortion stemming from when he tried to sell the Senate seat of then President-elect Barack Obama (As governor, it was Blagojevich's prerogative to name a candidate to complete Obama's uncompleted term). Later, as he held his wife's hand, Blagojevich told the press, "Obviously I was really disappointed with the outcome, I was frankly stunned and there isn't much else to say." On most counts, he faces a maximum of 20-years each and $250,000 in fines. Judges are unlikely to impose maximum sentences, however. It is also not known if the prison terms will be served concurrently. The parties return to court on Aug. 1 to determine sentencing. (The remarkable world of Rod Blagojevich.)

The members of the jury, 11 women and one man, spoke to the media afterward but did not provide their names. They indicated that Blagojevich's infamous quote - taped by the FBI - about the Senate seat being "F-in' golden" made it easier for them to decide, after some initial debate, on his guilt. "The Senate Seat was most clear, we felt he made a trade for the senate seat," said Juror 140, a Hispanic woman who teaches third and fourth grade.The forewoman, a retired Director of Music and Liturgy at a Naperville church, said they were sending a message that the American people should be proud of a process that works even when you throw 12 people in the room who had no knowledge of the legal system. But she said the experience did not make her feel any better about Illinois politics. "I told my husband if he was running for politics he'd have to find a new wife."

This was the second trial Blagojevich faced on most of the same charges. His defense had dramatic success the first time around with the successful deployment of the element of surprise. In a stunning move last summer, Blagojevich's attorneys rested their case instead of presenting a single shred of evidence, despite their original promise that the defendant himself would take the stand. That left the jury drowning in the government's complex evidence of intent that nevertheless had no fully completed act of bribe-taking. Irredeemably hung, the jurors were unable to convict Blagojevich or his brother Robert except on one count (lying) out of the original 24 charges.

But you can't surprise all the people all the time. For the second trial, the trio of U.S. assistant attorneys who made up the prosecution took to straightforward, focused outrage more than anything else. First they decided to drop charges against Robert Blagojevich. And then they streamlined the charges down to 20 and made it clearer that just asking for a bribe was just as bad as getting the bribe itself. In the government's final statement, U.S. assistant Carrie Hamilton, a thin petite woman with blond hair tucked back in a pony tail, asked the jury to remember how Blagojevich swore under oath in 2003 and again in 2006 to uphold the state constitution, pledging to use his powers for the people of Illinois. "You have learned that the defendant violated that oath," she said staring down her audience. "He used his power to get things for himself and tried to trade the signing of a bill, state funding for grant, roads, appointment of senate seat to try and get things for himself. This was not only a profound violation of his oath, but a violation of the law." (The Blagojevich Trial and the Tale of the FBI Tapes.)

For the second trial, the defense had a trio as well, made up of Blagojevich's long time friend Sheldon Sorosky, a short balding man, who wore loud, dangling ties, and a pair of 30-something attorneys, Aaron Goldstein and Lauren Kaeseberg. Over the objections of the prosecutors and even Judge James Zagel, the defense tried to give the appearance that missing facts, not allowed into trial, would help tell all, hinting that all Blagojevich was doing was business as usual in the state of Illinois. This time around, though, they also had Blagojevich testify on his own behalf. The results were riotous.

At one point, during a particularly voluble exchange with the prosecution, Blagojevich in the witness stand ignored calls from his own lawyers to keep quiet and blasted out retorts to the government's questions. Goldstein later joked that he may be one of the few attorneys in history to have a client talk over him. Still, the Blagojevich team may have thought that the exchange might have helped to prove not only that the ex-governor liked to be heard but that he was mostly talk and little action. The defense was all about crafting an image that would nullify the prosecution's arguments of a guileful, corrupt public official. They wanted to have the jury believe that the defendant was a buffoon who couldn't really do anything criminal because he wasn't competent enough to see it through.

That kind of lawyerly sleight of hand didn't work this time. The jurors later said that Blagojevich's droning seven-day testimony helped them decide that he was not guilty of the charge that he attempted to extort a road builder. However, they said the same long-winded performce made it clear that Blagojevich was being manipulative.

That played into the prosecution's simpler strategy. In her final argument, like a college professor, Hamilton took the jury through conviction school, talking them through a three-hour PowerPoint presentation of the 20 counts, summarizing the most important evidence, explaining what constitutes soliciting a bribe, extortion and wire fraud. "He repeatedly broke the law," Hamilton told the jury. "It's about the destruction of the faith and trust he destroyed." The case, Hamilton says, comes down to one question: "Did the defendant try to get a benefit for himself in exchange for an official act?"

Over three hours, split between two days, Hamilton walked through five major acts, that consistent soliciting a bribe, extortion and wire fraud. "The defendant intended to defraud, it was not a mistake or accident He does not need to know he was breaking the law," Hamilton reminded the jury. And then she played the FBI tape where Blagojevich talks about how he isn't giving Obama's Senate seat up for "F-in' nothing." "Listen to his voice," she told the jury. "You can hear him smiling. He's giddy."

"Among the many lessons I've learned through this whole experience is to speak a little less," Blagojevich said after the verdict was read. Perhaps knowing their client and knowing the odds, his original defense team of Sam Adam Jr. and Sam Adam Sr. opted out of the rematch with the government. You can only use the element of surprise once.

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Convicted Blagojevich faces prospect of prison (AP)

By MICHAEL TARM and KAREN HAWKINS, Associated Press Michael Tarm And Karen Hawkins, Associated Press – Tue Jun 28, 6:39 am ET

CHICAGO – Stunned and nearly speechless after hearing the verdicts against him, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich will wake up Tuesday to the stark reality that he is likely headed to federal prison within months, leaving behind his wife, two young daughters and comfortable home in a leafy Chicago neighborhood.

A jury convicted him Monday on 17 charges, including trying to sell or trade President Barack Obama's old Senate seat and attempting to shake down executives for campaign cash. The convictions carry a combined maximum prison sentence of around 300 years, but legal experts say a federal judge is likely to send him away for around a decade, give or take a few years.

An irrepressible Blagojevich had said before the retrial began that he refused to even contemplate the prospect of prison. But red-eyed, his face drawn and frowning, he hurried out of the courthouse after the verdict was read.

The broke and impeached ex-governor told reporters that he and his wife, Patti, "have to get home to our little girls and talk to them and explain things to them and then try to sort things out." His two daughters are 8 and 14.

Uncharacteristically, the 54-year-old Democrat had little more to say, adding only that he was stunned by the verdict.

"Well, among the many lessons I've learned from this whole experience is to try to speak a little bit less, so I'm going to keep my remarks kind of short," Blagojevich said.

He is almost certain to appeal the convictions, and his defense attorneys filed a number of motions to lay the groundwork for that.

If he does end up in prison, Blagojevich would follow a path well-trodden by Illinois governors, including Blagojevich's predecessor, former Republican Gov. George Ryan — now serving 6 1/2 years in a federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind.

In Illinois's book of political infamy, though, Blagojevich's chapter may go down as the most ignominious because of the allegations he effectively tried to hock an appointment to Obama's Senate seat for campaign cash or a job.

Blagojevich will probably receive around 10 years in prison, with little chance he would get more than 15, said former Chicago-based federal prosecutor Jeff Cramer said. Another former prosecutor, Phil Turner, said Judge James Zagel might look to Ryan's sentence and mete out a similar one for Blagojevich.

Zagel did not set a sentencing date, but Gal Pissetzky, a Chicago attorney who defends clients in federal court, said it's likely Blagojevich would be sentenced late this year. When he is, Pissetzky said there is a chance he could end up serving in the same prison as George Ryan.

The verdict, coming after his first trial ended last year with the jury deadlocked on most charges, was a bitter defeat for Blagojevich, who spent 2 1/2 years professing his innocence on reality TV shows and later on the witness stand. His defense team insisted that hours of FBI wiretap recordings were just the ramblings of a politician who liked to think out loud.

After hearing the verdict, Blagojevich turned to defense attorney Sheldon Sorosky and asked "What happened?" His wife, Patti, slumped against her brother, then rushed into her husband's arms.

Before the decision was read, the couple looked flushed, and the former governor blew his wife a kiss across the courtroom, then stood expressionless, with his hands clasped tightly.

The verdict capped a long-running spectacle in which Blagojevich became famous for blurting on a recorded phone call that his ability to appoint Obama's successor to the Senate was "f---ing golden" and that he wouldn't let it go "for f---ing nothing."

The case exploded into scandal when Blagojevich was awakened by federal agents on Dec. 9, 2008, at his Chicago home and was led away in handcuffs. Federal prosecutors had been investigating his administration for years, and some of his closest cronies had already been convicted.

Blagojevich was swiftly impeached and removed from office.

The verdict provided affirmation to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, one of the nation's most prominent prosecutors, who, after the governor's arrest, had condemned Blagojevich's dealings as a "political corruption crime spree."

The key question for the jury was whether to accept the defense suggestion that Blagojevich's activities amounted to "the kind of political wheeling and dealing that is common in Illinois and around the country."

"That," said Fitzgerald, his voice rising, "couldn't be any further from the truth. ... Selling a Senate seat, shaking down a children's hospital and squeezing a person to give money before you sign a bill that benefits them is not a gray area. It's a crime."

Fitzgerald pledged to retry the governor after the first jury failed to reach a decision on all but the least serious of 24 charges against him.

The jury voted to convict on 17 of 20 counts after deliberating nine days heading into Monday. Blagojevich also faces up to five additional years in prison for his previous conviction of lying to the FBI; Pissetzky said Zagel would almost certainly sentence Zagel for all the convictions at once.

Judges have enormous discretion in sentencing and can factor in a host of variables, including whether a defendant took the stand and lied. Prosecutors have said that Blagojevich did just that.

Blagojevich was acquitted of soliciting bribes in the alleged shakedown of a road-building executive. The jury deadlocked on two charges of attempted extortion related to that executive and funding for a school.

Zagel has barred Blagojevich from traveling outside the area without permission. A status hearing to discuss sentencing was set for Aug. 1.

All 12 jurors — 11 women and one man — spoke to reporters after the verdict, identifying themselves only by juror numbers. Their full names were to be released Tuesday.

Jurors said the evidence that Blagojevich tried to secure a high-paying, high-powered position in exchange for the appointment of Obama's successor in the Senate was the clearest in the case.

"There was so much more evidence to go on," said Juror No. 140. Jury members said they listened and re-listened to recordings of Blagojevich's phone conversations with aides. They also acknowledged finding the former governor likable.

"He was personable," Juror No. 103 said. "It made it hard to separate what we actively had to do as jurors."

Richard Kling, a professor at Chicago-Kent College of Law who watched much of the trial, said the defense had no choice but to put Blagojevich on the stand, even though doing so was risky.

"The problem was with some of his explanations," Kling said. "It reminded me of a little kid who gets his hand caught in a cookie jar. He says, `Mommy I wasn't taking the cookies. I was just trying to protect them and to count them.'"

___

Associated Press Writer Don Babwin contributed to this report.

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Blagojevich jury set for 7th day of deliberations (AP)

CHICAGO – Jurors at former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's second corruption trial will meet again to try and reach a verdict.

Tuesday will be the seventh day of deliberations at the retrial that started two months ago.

Jurors at the first trial last year discussed the evidence for 14 days. When they finally filed back into court, they were deadlocked on all but one charge.

There's no indication if the retrial jurors simply want to be as thorough as possible or if they're struggling to reach consensus.

It emerged only after the first trial ended that sometimes heated debates occurred inside the jury room.

Blagojevich has denied all 20 corruption counts he faces at the retrial. One allegation is that he tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat.

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Blagojevich jury entering 4th day of deliberations (AP)

CHICAGO – Jurors at the corruption retrial of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich are set to resume deliberating.

Wednesday's the fourth day of deliberations for the 11 women and one man.

Jurors sent their first note to the presiding judge Tuesday. It offered no clear clues about whether the jury is close to a verdict.

The note said jurors had different numbers of pages in one transcript of an FBI wiretap recording.

The jurors stopped reading when they realized the discrepancy. The judge said the extra pages some jurors had shouldn't have been in the binders and ordered they be collected.

Blagojevich faces 20 counts, including allegations that he tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat. He has denied any wrongdoing.

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Blagojevich jury expected to begin deliberations (AP)

CHICAGO – The political corruption case against ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is now in the hands of jurors — again.

For the second time, a jury will try to reach a verdict on charges including that he sought to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat and tried to shake down executives by threatening state decisions that would hurt their businesses.

Jurors were expected to begin deliberations Friday after getting the case the day before. Blagojevich's first trial last year ended with a hung jury, with the panel agreeing on a single count — that he lied to the FBI about how involved he was in fundraising as governor.

The impeached governor, 54, faces 20 counts, including attempted extortion and conspiracy to commit bribery. He did not take the stand in his first trial, but he testified for seven days this time and denied all wrongdoing.

During closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors described Blagojevich as a schemer who lied to jurors even when confronted with FBI wiretap recordings that seemed to catch him in the act.

"What he is saying to you now is not borne out anywhere on the recordings that you have," prosecutor Carrie Hamilton said, urging jurors to listen to the recordings carefully.

"There's one person in the middle of it — the defendant," she said, pointing at Blagojevich. "What you hear is a sophisticated man ... trying to get things for himself."

Blagojevich's attorney countered that the government showed only that he talks a lot.

"He didn't get a dime, a nickel, a penny ... nothing," defense attorney Aaron Goldstein shouted just feet from the jury box. Pointing at Blagojevich, Goldstein added that the trial "isn't about anything but nothing."

Pacing the crowded courtroom and sometimes pounding his fist on a lectern, Goldstein echoed what Blagojevich said on the stand: His recorded conversations were mere brainstorming.

"You heard a man thinking out loud, on and on and on," he said. "He likes to talk, and he does talk, and that's him. And that's all you heard."

Lead prosecutor Reid Schar challenged that argument, telling jurors in his rebuttal — the last word to jurors — that Blagojevich went way beyond talk.

"He made decisions over and over, and took actions over and over," he said. "It's not that he talked a lot and it means nothing. It's that he talked a lot and it means everything."

Blagojevich appeared glum as prosecutors spoke, either picking at his fingernails or sitting with his hands folded tightly. He perked up and nodded in agreement at his own attorney. Jurors sat rapt, sometimes feverishly taking notes, other times sitting with their eyes glued to a large screen.

After jurors at the first trial said prosecutors' case was too hard to follow, they sharply streamlined it. Prosecutors called about 15 witnesses this time, about half the number from last time. They also asked them fewer questions and rarely strayed onto topics not directly related to the charges.

Hamilton tried to assume the role of professor, speaking in simple terms as she went through each charge and clicking on a mouse to display explanatory charts, complete with bullet points and arrows.

She also insisted that the government's witnesses, not the ousted Illinois governor, told the truth on the witness stand.

___

Karen Hawkins can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/_khawkins. Michael Tarm can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/mtarm

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Prosecutors wrapping up case against Blagojevich (AP)

CHICAGO – Prosecutors at the corruption retrial of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich called their last few witness Thursday as they prepared to rest their case, which means Blagojevich's attorneys must decide soon about whether to mount their own case.

The prosecution's last new witness to take the stand was a former deputy governor under Blagojevich, who told jurors that his boss had planned to hold a $2 million grant to a school in then-U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel's district until Emanuel's Hollywood-agent brother held a fundraiser for the governor.

Bradley Tusk, who is not accused of wrongdoing, was a formidable witness in part because he was one of the few close aides to Blagojevich who expressed deep misgivings about alleged shakedowns at the time.

Tusk said he was aghast when Blagojevich called him in 2006 to tell him to pass the message on to Emanuel that the school wouldn't get the grant money until his brother raised campaign cash.

"I got off the phone as quickly as I could," Tusk testified.

After recalling a few witnesses, prosecutors were expected to rest their case later Thursday.

It would be the second time in less than a year that prosecutors will have finished a presentation to jurors in a Blagojevich trial. Not all the panelists at the first trial were persuaded after a six-week government case. Deadlocked jurors last year agreed only on convicting Blagojevich of lying to the FBI.

Blagojevich, who denies any wrongdoing, faces 20 counts this time, including that he tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash or a high-profile job.

Over the objections of prosecutors on Thursday, defense attorney Sheldon Sorosky suggested in cross-examination that Blagojevich may not have been serious about the directive to call Emanuel.

"Did you know the governor would sometimes say explosive things, rash things and not really mean them?" he said. Judge James Zagel quickly admonished the attorney for the question.

"If you're done with the cross-examination, just sit down, because you are now into your closing argument," Zagel said.

The Chicago Academy eventually got its money and no fundraiser was held.

Prosecutors drastically streamlined their presentation this time after criticism that their case last year was overly complicated. This time, they called fewer witnesses, asked fewer questions and didn't linger on extraneous issues.

Their more cohesive case may put pressure on defense attorneys to call at least some witnesses. If they decide to mount a case, they won't have to begin until Monday at the earliest.

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On the stand, Rod Blagojevich offers a few barbs and a lot of bluster (The Christian Science Monitor)

Chicago – They only had a single hour at the end of the day Thursday, but federal prosecutors got the opportunity they’ve been waiting for: a chance to finally interrogate former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich before a jury of his peers.

Mr. Blagojevich is in the throes of a second federal trial in which he is convicted of 17 charges related to allegations that he participated in a pay-to-play scheme for President Obamaa€™s former US Senate seat. A mistrial on all charges except one a€“ Blagojevich was convicted last summer of lying to the FBI a€“ resulted in this bookend trial in which, unlike the first, the former governor is taking a stand.

In his five days of recently concluded testimony conducted by his defense lawyers, Blagojevich was repeatedly reprimanded by US District Judge James Zagel for filibustering in his response to questions, a habit that is considered part of his strategy. On Thursday, for example, Blagojevich testified that he considered appointing himself to the Senate seat so he could hunt down Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

RECOMMENDED: Six revelations about former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich

The more Blagojevich wanders off point and the more his outlandish statements and jokey asides keep multiplying, the easier it will become to show that the alleged scheming heard on wiretap recordings had no intentional merit, the thinking goes.

In his defense testimony, Blagojevich outlined what he said was his true intent for Mr. Obama’s Senate seat: that it would go to Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, the daughter of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, Blagojevich’s chief political nemesis. According to Blagojevich, he wanted to award Ms. Madigan the seat so her father would support his legislative agenda that was deemed unpopular at the time. He added that although he considered up to 34 people for the post, he was just about to make the decision before the day of his arrest.

The prosecution opened in the late afternoon following nearly a full day of testimony conducted by the defense. Assistant US Attorney Reid Schar addressed Blagojevich by asking him, “You are a convicted liar, right? It’s fair to say, within hours of being convicted, you went and lied again.”

Mr. Schar was referring to statements Blagojevich made to the media last summer the day of his conviction. Blagojevich had suggested that the conviction of lying was flawed because the FBI did not record his interview. What Blagojevich neglected to tell reporters, Schar said, was that the FBI offered to record the interview.

Blagojevich retorted: “I don’t recall recording devices or anything like that in that interview."

The brief back-and-forth between both men was heated and often sarcastic. Schar’s questions did not follow a chronology, instead they appeared to be thrown at Blagojevich to create an imbalance in his answers. He quoted the former governor’s book and tried to show contradictions with previous testimony.

Blagojevich often made attempts to interject, which contributed to an interchange that was chaotic and infused with drama. In response to some questions that involved the wiretap recordings, he asked to see a transcript to verify his statements.

Early in the testimony, Schar quoted a recording in which Blagojevich is heard saying he would make a decision on the seat based on what was good for Illinois citizens a€?and good for me.a€

“Your oath, sir, doesn’t say you can make a decision based on what’s good for you, does it?” Schar asked.

The prosecution picks up its case Monday following a three-day break this weekend. With the jury exited from the room, Judge Zagel asked Schar how long he expected his cross-examination to continue.

Based on the previous hour, Schar said, he expects it will go on until “the leaves will start turning.”

RECOMMENDED: Six revelations about former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich

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Prosecutor, Blagojevich clash in cross-examination (AP)

By KAREN HAWKINS and MICHAEL TARM, Associated Press Karen Hawkins And Michael Tarm, Associated Press – Thu Jun 2, 8:05 pm ET

CHICAGO – A prosecutor who waited years to grill Rod Blagojevich on a witness stand struck hard and fast Thursday when he finally got his chance.

"Mr. Blagojevich, you are a convicted liar, correct?" lead prosecutor Reid Schar asked, raising his voice as he stepped up and delivered his first question to the ousted Illinois governor.

"Yes," Blagojevich answered, after the judge overruled a flurry of objections from defense lawyers.

Within minutes, tempers on all sides flared — a seemingly chaotic scene where Blagojevich's lawyers repeatedly objected and Schar appealed for the judge to direct Blagojevich to answer the question.

Schar rocked back on his heels and pointed angrily as he hurled one question after another at Blagojevich, who tried to hold his ground and also looked angry.

"Is it true that, as a politician, you not infrequently lied to the public?" Schar asked.

"I try to be as truthful as possible," Blagojevich responded firmly.

Jurors who had started to sag in their seats as Blagojevich was questioned by his own attorney for a fifth day snapped to attention during cross-examination. During the most heated exchanges of questions, objections, rulings and answers, jurors' heads whipped back and forth as they looked from Schar to defense attorneys to the judge to Blagojevich.

The tall, shaven-headed lead prosecutor has a reputation as a serious-minded, sometimes steely workhorse who shuns showmanship and bluster — but that was far from the case Thursday.

Schar, who has spent years working on the Blagojevich case, seemed to relish the chance to finally confront him, pacing back and forth during questioning and stepping ever closer to the witness stand. At the first trial last year — in which Blagojevich was convicted of lying to the FBI — the ousted governor never took the stand and so prosecutors never had a chance at cross-examination.

Blagojevich seemed to welcome the fight and answered some of Schar's questions despite his lawyers' objections, leading defense attorney Aaron Goldstein to once yell over him, "Objection, Rod."

During the previous questions from Goldstein, Blagojevich denied all the allegations against him, including that he tried to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat.

He faces 20 criminal counts this time, including attempted extortion, conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud. In his first trial last year, a hung jury agreed on just the one count of lying to the FBI.

Prosecutors got only an hour's worth of questions in before the judge adjourned until Monday. Schar said the government would likely have at least another day of questions for Blagojevich, but added that it could be longer if the contentious back-and-forth persisted.

"If it continues like this, the leaves will start turning" color in fall, Schar said.

Schar asked the former governor about convicted political fixer and longtime Blagojevich fundraiser Tony Rezko — described by prosecutors as a dark force who pulled strings behind the scenes during Blagojevich's time as governor.

The prosecutor asked Blagojevich if he feared in 2008 that Rezko, who also was once a fundraiser for Obama, might be cooperating with federal investigators.

"I was concerned about published reports ... that you were trying to make Mr. Rezko lie about me and President Obama," Blagojevich shot back.

In questioning by his own attorney earlier Thursday, Blagojevich insisted he wasn't asking for a Cabinet post in exchange for naming a preferred candidate to Obama's seat. He said he kept broaching the subject because he was embarrassed by the reaction of Obama ally and union leader Tom Balanoff to his idea of asking Obama to make him secretary of health and human services.

"I think it goes to one of my insecurities," Blagojevich said, explaining why he went on talking about a possible Cabinet post for days more. "I was embarrassed by the flat-out dismissal. You sure look bad in front of your staff."

Blagojevich told jurors that his talk about the seat and the possibility of getting a Cabinet post was just "manic brainstorming." But he said he understood right away it was pure fantasy and couldn't happen.

"It's like, if I could play center field for the Cubs, I would do that, too," he said.

Blagojevich kept hammering on the theme that his comments about the seat were mostly wild talk. As if to prove the point, he said he once even entertained the notion of appointing himself to the Senate seat so he could go Afghanistan and join the search for Osama bin Laden.

Blagojevich also kept working in comments about continuously seeking legal advice as he contemplated whom to appoint.

"Any decision on the Senate seat had to be legal, obviously," Blagojevich said at one point. Prosecutors objected and Judge James Zagel stopped him.

Zagel had warned Blagojevich earlier not to say he thought his actions were legal at the time, saying that was not relevant to whether he committed a crime.

___

Karen Hawkins can be reached at _http://www.twitter.com/_khawkins. Michael Tarm can be reached at can be reached at _http://www.twitter.com/(at)mtarm.

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Day off before Blagojevich lawyers mount defense (AP)

CHICAGO – Rod Blagojevich's attorneys have a day off to make final preparations before they begin mounting a defense at the former Illinois governor's corruption retrial.

Judge James Zagel has business unrelated to the case Tuesday. So he delayed the restart of the trial until Wednesday.

Defense lawyers have said they'll call their first witnesses Wednesday. But they haven't provided any names.

They describe their witnesses as prominent people who've been subpoenaed previously.

That means the witnesses could include Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel hasn't been accused of wrongdoing. But his name came up often in government testimony.

Defense attorneys have left open the possibility of calling Blagojevich himself. But they may wait to decide that until others take the stand first.

Blagojevich faces 20 charges. He denies any wrongdoing.

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Rod Blagojevich, Ex-Governor, Testifies in Corruption Trial (Time.com)

After giving his wife Patti a quick peck on the cheek, Rod Blagojevich walked over to the witness stand at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in Chicago and swore to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth before the jury. Then he quickly introduced himself to those who would decide his fate. "I'm Rod Blagojevich. I used to be the governor ... I've waited two and a half years to be here to get my side of the story out. It's very liberating to answer all of your questions."

Before entering the courtroom on Thursday, May 26, Blagojevich, 54, had made a predictable scene outside, literally flexing his muscle by showing off his biceps to the waiting reporters, satisfying - for a moment - their quest for more details on one of America's most controversial political clowns. Then, taking his place at the witness stand - a spot he never appeared in at his previous, abortive trial for corruption - Blagojevich began a meandering testimony that had all the melodrama and filigree of a Lifetime movie. It began with his childhood and moved to his college years and beyond in a five-hour performance, one that was not finished by the time the court adjourned for the day. The intricacies were as crosshatched as the tie he wore. (See TIME's photo-essay "The Remarkable World of Rod Blagojevich.")

On trial for, among other things, allegedly trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois that was vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected President in November 2008, Blagojevich - who was originally arrested Dec. 9, 2008 - detailed a life story that would have sounded hapless and comical had he not been elected governor of Illinois - all the while name-dropping everyone from former Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley to Donald Trump, Seinfeld co-creator Larry David and various actors and actresses and other celebrities.

Blagojevich joked about flunking drafting class in high school, his Little League baseball career that culminated in just one hit in 12 at bats, his failed dreams of playing Major League Baseball or in the National Basketball Association. He boasted of his love of reading volume after volume of the World Encyclopedia and Shakespeare - and then admitted to almost flunking out of law school several times. He said he worked as a shoeshine boy at the age of 9, labored on the Alaskan pipeline, ran deliveries for a pizza parlor and hauled beef at a meatpacking plant in Philadelphia. Blagojevich joked about loving to run mile after mile because he liked to stay in shape and had a "vain quality." And then he showed off his finish time at his first marathon, in 1984: 2 hr. 55 min. 30 sec. He admitted he was a disco-era guy who loved wearing polyester A la Saturday Night Fever while attending Northwestern University in the 1970s. (See the 25 crimes of the century.)

Blagojevich's testimony was littered with mentions of some 50 celebrities - not all contemporaries. He cited historical figures like George Washington, who "taught me not to tell a lie." Grinning, Blagojevich joked about having a "man crush on Alexander Hamilton." Then he noted one of his odd jobs, at a gym in Malibu, Calif., where he saw the likes of Farrah Fawcett, Olivia Newton-John and Michael Landon.

And all of this while testifying in his own defense. His attorney Aaron Goldstein seemed to encourage him to admit to his foolishness. "Are you still in [the disco] era when it comes to hair?" Goldstein asked. Blagojevich replied, "Those habits start early in life, and that hasn't changed." Indeed, his helmet of Presley-like hair, rivaled only by Donald Trump's, seemed to be assiduously preserved.

Everything the ex-governor said seemed to dovetail with his defense strategy in his previous trial - which led to a hung jury and the federal government's decision to not pursue charges against his co-defendent, his elder brother Robert. The core of that strategy was that Rod Blagojevich liked to talk a good game but was not competent or capable enough to carry out any of his intentions, as corrupt as they may have sounded.

See how Rod Blagojevich's defense fund grew empty.

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Blagojevich was willing to be apologetic, acknowledging that the wiretap tapes the jury had already heard were littered with F bombs. He joked that his eldest daughter Amy blew him a kiss before he left for court Thursday morning and warned him, "Good luck, and watch your language." "So I'd like to apologize to the women and men for those terrible words, like when I saw the Senate seat as f------ golden," Blagojevich testified. "When I hear myself on tape swearing like that, I'm a f______ jerk, and I apologize for that."

Blagojevich then played on emotions by delving into his relationship with his wife. As he recalled his first meeting with Patti, who he said was wearing a red dress at a political fundraiser for her father on March 6, 1988, he began to choke up on the witness stand. Across the court from him, tears streamed down Patti Blagojevich's face as well. Judge James Zagel responded by asking the courtroom to take a break. "Oh, no, I'm O.K.," Blagojevich quickly said, all signs of emotion ceasing (though that seemed to make his wife cry more even more.) "No, let's take a break anyways," Zagel replied. (See the top 10 crime duos.)

For Blagojevich's defense team, putting the ex-governor on the stand doesn't come without risk - the biggest one being that he commits perjury. If that happens, it could bring on more charges and have a large impact on the sentencing guidelines and his potential sentence, according to Daniel Purdom, former assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago. "If you call a defendant to testify, it allows the government to highlight its evidence and to make a second closing argument during cross-examination," says Purdom, a partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson, where he heads the white-collar-crime group. "He's going to be confronted with a lot of damaging statements and facts in addition to being asked a lot of tough questions he can't answer."

The prosecution's streamlined case has been drastically pared down from last summer's. The former governor, who was found guilty on just one of 24 counts in August 2010, now faces 20 charges, including the alleged attempt to sell Obama's Senate seat for campaign cash or a high-paying job. The prosecution, which rested after only two weeks (compared with six weeks last year), has narrowed its scope of testimony. The prosecutors included a PowerPoint presentation with pictures of witnesses and their titles to assist jurors. They also provided the panel with a binder containing a timeline of events.

The web of political linkages in the Blagojevich trial became manifest on Wednesday, May 25, when the witness stand was occupied by former White House chief of staff and newly elected Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and U.S Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., subpoenaed by the defense team. Both testimonies were so hostile and convoluted that they may in the end backfire.

Though he admitted he wanted the Senate seat, Jackson denied that he raised money for Blagojevich in an attempt to land it. The Congressman contributed an entertaining anecdote about the governor's snapping his fingers to emphasize that Jackson should have contributed money. For his part, during a five-minute appearance, Emanuel said no one had ever asked him, while he was a Congressman in 2006, to have his brother arrange a fundraiser for the governor in exchange for the release of a $2 million grant to a school in Emanuel's congressional district or to set up a nonprofit for Blagojevich to run in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett to Obama's Senate seat. Jarrett is now one of the President's chief advisers. (See how the Blagojevich brothers grew apart during their trial.)

Blagojevich's arcane assertions from the stand - including one about Obama, Pennsylvania and the veto of Illinois legislation - clearly wore the patience of the court. At one point, when the jury was not present, Zagel summed up Jackson's and Emanuel's testimonies by saying," Unfortunately, [Rod Blagojevich] just realized there is a difference in quid pro quo today. There is a difference in 'If you vote for my bill, I'll vote for your bill' and 'If you pay a large amount of money, I'll vote for your bill or I'll appoint your mother to the Supreme Court.' "

Blagojevich is expected to testify in his own defense and undergo cross-examination into the middle of next week. His defense chose not to put him on the stand in his previous trial - which ended in some success, with the hung jury. Some feel that despite the melodrama of his testimony, the former governor may be eliciting sympathy from the jury. However, it remains to be seen if making him speak this time is worth the risk at the end.

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Less is more at retrial of ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (AP)

CHICAGO – No mention of Rod Blagojevich hiding in the bathroom, details about lavish shopping or drawn-out questioning of witnesses.

Heading into the third week of the ousted Illinois governor's corruption retrial, it's clear prosecutors are guided by the adage that less is more as they streamline what jurors in the first trial complained was an overly complicated case.

"They've made the case a lot of easier to follow," said James Matsumoto, who was the foreman at the initial trial and has attended much of the testimony at the second, this time sitting on spectator benches rather than in the jury box.

Prosecutors have been right, he added, to begin their presentation by focusing primarily on the allegation Blagojevich sought to sell or trade President Barack Obama's vacated U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash or a top job. Last year, they waited weeks before getting to it.

"It's the strongest part of the case," Matsumoto said.

Starting sometime next week, prosecutors are expected to delve deeper into allegations Blagojevich tried to shakedown a children's hospital, a school and others for campaign donations.

Jurors last year deadlocked on 23 of 24 charges, agreeing only to convict Blagojevich of lying to the FBI. Prosecutors later dropped confounding racketeering charges, so Blagojevich faces 20 counts this time.

Previous jurors had described their frustration trying to understand the chronology of Blagojevich's alleged crimes, noting they took it on themselves to draw up a makeshift timeline and tape it to a jury room wall.

Prosecutors said this week that they intend in the coming days to introduce timelines into evidence that jurors can use once they start deliberating.

The length of time spent presenting details about Blagojevich's personal habits also left the first trial's jurors scratching their heads. However sensational, they just didn't seem relevant to his alleged wrongdoing, Matsumoto said.

IRS agent Shari Schindler spent hours on the stand last year describing how Blagojevich and his wife spent more than $400,000 on tailored suits, ties and other fine clothes in a six-year shopping spree. So detailed was the testimony that prosecutors even displayed dozens of itemized credit card statements on a screen showing, among other things, that Blagojevich spent $1,302.53 on ties in one day in April 2006.

"That was all distracting, extraneous stuff," Matsumoto said. "It just confused jurors."

On the stand this week, Schindler noted only in passing that the Blagojeviches spent a large amount of money on clothes. Prosecutors did not ask her to provide any detail.

The former foreman also said he and his colleagues were confused by the hours of testimony the government devoted last year to describing how Blagojevich appeared disengaged from state government affairs.

Former Blagojevich deputy governor Bob Greenlee testified last year that his boss often spent just a few hours a week at the office. In some of the first trial's most memorable testimony, he also said Blagojevich would hide in a bathroom to evade a budget director who wanted to talk policy.

Greenlee didn't mention any of that during a day of testimony for the government this week.

FBI wiretaps also have been subject to prosecutors' efforts to avoid clutter at the retrial, where they've played many of the same conversations as last year, only shorter clips.

Laying out such a truncated case does carry its own risks: Jurors impressed by sheer volumes of testimony and exhibits could be left wanting more, if not necessarily better, evidence.

What's not in doubt is that the stripped-down case has thrown off defense lawyers, who likely spent weeks preparing to ask cross-examination questions about subjects that prosecutors didn't bring up this time.

"The government is asking witnesses a condensed amount of questions ... it completely obliterates our ability to ask anything meaningfully," Blagojevich attorney Lauren Kaeseberg told Judge James Zagel this week.

The defense didn't put on a case at the last trial, perhaps recognizing prosecutors' own presentation was muddled. The tighter, cleaner case will put pressure on Blagojevich attorneys to mount a defense this time.

Matsumoto is among those who think Blagojevich's attorneys have their work cut out for them. From his own observations at the retrial and from discussions with other spectators, he believes convictions on multiple counts are likely.

"I've heard others who attended both trials say, `Ah, now I get what prosecutors are trying to say,'" he said. "I think these jurors will get it, too."

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