The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

BREAKING: Blagojevich Convicted

Posted on | June 27, 2011 | 29 Comments

Rod Blagojevich, the former Democratic governor of Illinois, has been convicted of several counts in his corruption and bribery trial in Chicago.

UPDATE: Blagojevich was found guilty on 17 counts, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

UPDATE II: The Chicago Tribune reports:

Blogojevich showed no reaction as the jury found him guilty on 17 of 20 counts against him. . . .
Blagojevich was arrested in December 2008, after the FBI had wiretapped hundreds of his telephone calls at work and home. The Illinois Legislature impeached him a month later.

UPDATE III: Chris Bury of ABC News reports:

For seven days, Blagojevich took the stand in an attempt to counter hundreds of FBI wiretaps that, prosecutors argued, demonstrated his maneuvering to peddle the vacated Senate seat of the newly elected Barack Obama. In perhaps the most infamous recording, the then governor is heard saying, “I’ve got this thing and it’s f—— golden. And I, I’m just not giving it up for f—— nothing.”
Other wiretaps recorded Blagojevich musing aloud about possible senior jobs in the new administration he might get should he appoint Obama confidante Valerie Jarrett. “How about Health and Human Services, can I get that?” “How about U.N. Ambassador?”
Jurors also heard recordings that, prosecutors said, showed Blagojevich scheming to sell the Senate Seat to allies of U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. in exchange for more than $1 million in campaign contributions. Jackson has insisted he had no knowledge of any “unauthorized” efforts on his behalf.

UPDATE IV: Linked at The Lonely Conservative — thanks! — and there’s now a Memeorandum thread.

Category: Chicago, Corruption, Crime, Democrats, Illinois

Comments

Comments are closed.