CHICAGO (AP) — Prosecutors rested their case Thursday at the corruption retrial of impeached Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, whose attorneys quickly announced that —unlike at his first trial — they would mount a defense starting next week.
Blagojevich's attorney Sheldon Sorosky told
presiding Judge James Zagel that the defense intended to call "people of
some prominence," but did not say who is on the witness list.
Asked by reporters outside court if Blagojevich
himself might be on that list, another defense lawyer, Aaron Goldstein, would
only say, "You'll find out later."
Blagojevich, who didn't speak to reporters as his
left, had said before the retrial began last month that he had prepared for
months for the possibility of testifying. But he didn't say he would take the
stand for sure.
There are other potentially intriguing defense
witnesses.
They include former White House chief of staff and
now Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. While the defense didn't end up calling any
witnesses last year, Emanuel and other well-known public figures were
subpoenaed by the defense.
Prosecutors' last exhibit before resting Thursday
was a video of Blagojevich — one hand raised, the other on a Bible — taking his
oath of office, vowing "that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the
office of governor to the best of my ability."
There was no testimony about the video, but the
point prosecutors wanted to make was clear enough: That the evidence they had
rolled out in recent weeks showed Blagojevich had violated that oath.
Government attorneys presented a drastically
streamlined case that took just three weeks to complete. They clearly heeded
criticism that their six-week case last year was overly complicated. Hung
jurors in the first trial could agree on only one count, convicting Blagojevich
of lying to the FBI.
Rather than the meandering, all-encompassing
narrative they told at the first trial, prosecutors this time told a narrowly
focused short story. They put on fewer witnesses, asked far fewer questions and
rarely let testimony stray into issues not directly related to the charges.
Blagojevich, 54, denies any wrongdoing. He faces 20
counts this time, including that he tried to sell or trade President Barack
Obama's old U.S. Senate seat for campaign cash or a high-profile job.
Emanuel has never been accused of any wrongdoing in
the case, but his name came up frequently during government testimony.
Witnesses described how Blagojevich hoped Emanuel
would help him cut a deal whereby the then-governor would name Obama's friend
Valerie Jarrett to the vacated Senate seat and Blagojevich would get a Cabinet
post.
But when word got back to Blagojevich that the
then-president elect would only be willing to offer "appreciation,"
an angry Blagojevich is heard on FBI wiretap recordings cursing Obama and
Emanuel.
Jarrett was also subpoenaed by the defense at the
last trial, but, like Emanuel, she did not testify. She could also potentially
be called next week by the defense.
The prosecution's last new witness Thursday was a
former deputy governor under Blagojevich, who told jurors his boss had planned
to hold up a $2 million grant to a school in Emanuel's district until the
congressman's Hollywood-agent brother held a fundraiser for the governor. The
school eventually got its money and no fundraiser was held.
Bradley Tusk was a formidable final witness in part
because he was one of the few close aides to Blagojevich who expressed deep
misgivings about the alleged shakedown at the time.
During their cross-examination, the defense stayed
with a strategy that began with the first: Couching arguments in the form of
questions. Sorosky suggested Blagojevich was merely shooting off at the mouth
and was never serious about his directive to call Emanuel.
"Did you know the governor would sometimes say
explosive things, rash things, and not really mean them?" he said.
For Blagojevich, presenting a defense carries
risks, especially if he is one of the witnesses. He would be subject to
blistering and potentially damaging cross-examination by prosecutors.
Before his first trial, Blagojevich repeatedly said
that he was sure to take the stand. His attorneys for that trial also promised
jurors he would testify. It was a pledge many considered a blunder when, in the
end, Blagojevich did not.
Another potential witness is U.S. Rep. Jesse
Jackson, whose name arose in wiretap recordings as someone Blagojevich
allegedly considered naming to the Senate seat. The Chicago-area Democrat, who
has not been accused of wrongdoing, was also subpoenaed last year. A spokesman
for Jackson said Thursday that no requests for him to testify had been made.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
