Blago Trial Begins Thursday
STRAP IN AND HOLD ON, IT'S GOING TO BE A WILD RIDE
CHICAGO — The federal corruption trial of Rod Blagojevich— ousted Illinois governor, Elvis impersonator and reality TV star — will provide a summer's worth of legal and political theater.
The trial is scheduled to begin Thursday and will last three or four months. It will include testimony from Blagojevich and former aides cooperating with prosecutors, the courtroom airing of recorded calls between Blagojevich and his associates and a jury that will be anonymous until after the verdict.
"The breadth of the alleged corruption is breathtaking," says Ron Safer, a Chicago defense lawyer and former assistant U.S. attorney. "It will be shocking."
A federal judge denied Blagojevich's bid to subpoena President Obama. His lawyers subpoenaed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Blagojevich faces 24 counts of racketeering, wire fraud, attempted extortion, bribery, conspiracy and false statements. Maximum penalties range from five to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
Besides the alleged sale of the Senate seat, Blagojevich is accused of manipulating state government to enrich himself and his family, using his authority to withhold funding for a children's hospital until one of its executives would write his campaign a $50,000 check and trying to intimidate the Chicago Tribune into firing editorial writers who had criticized him.