Last week, the government rested its second corruption case against former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich after calling only a handful of witnesses.
Today, Blagojevich begins his defense.
Blagojevich has absolutely nothing to lose (besides his freedom), so expect him to put some of the nation’s top politicians on the stand: Rahm Emanuel, Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., Senator Harry Reid, Senator Dick Durbin…
In 2008, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was a falling star. His approval ratings were in the dumps. Speaker of the House Mike Madigan loathed him and his legislators were sick of him not signing bills.
Then, Barack Obama was elected president and Blagojevich finally had to make a decision: who to appoint to fill Obama’s vacant Senate seat. All of a sudden, the phone starting ringing and people started arranging meetings with him.
Since Blagojevich hadn’t made a decision in years, he had no idea what to do or how to vet the candidates. His top advisors weren’t helping much besides saying “yeah, yeah” to every idea the governor threw at the wall, from whether he should appoint Valerie Jarrett, Oprah or even himself.
His advisors were also arranging for powerful people — from big-money donors to lobbyists — to meet with their boss and put their choices in the hat. SEIU union leader Tom Balanoff even stated (in the first trial), “If he didn’t appoint Valerie Jarrett, he would no longer have [SEIU] support.”
He also had the Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. dilemma.
He knew the Congressman was on a mission to prove he was the best guy for the job, but Blagojevich didn’t like Jackson because he hadn’t supported Blagojevich’s reelection in 2006.
Congressman Jackson conducted polling that not only showed he was the statewide favorite, but that he was viable enough to retain the seat in the 2010 election. He appeared on national news shows, such as Larry King Live and Joe Scarborough; he received endorsements from the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Southtown Star and the Daily Herald. The Chicago Tribune even named him one of four candidates it supported.
Unbeknownst to Jackson, however, there was a problem: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made it clear to Blagojevich that he didn’t want Jackson appointed.
Reid confirmed he spoke to Blagojevich after Obama’s election but refused to state who they discussed because Reid “didn’t want to embarrass anyone.”
Then Reid’s spokesman felt the urge to justify Reid’s call to Blagojevich. You know, no biggie, it was business as usual. Reid also called the governors of New York and Colorado because their senators left their seats to join the Obama administration. “It is part of his job as majority leader to share his thoughts about candidates who have the qualities needed to succeed in the Senate,” his spokesperson said.
During defense attorney Sam Adam’s opening statement in the first trial, we found out that Reid called Blagojevich and essentially said, “Anyone but Jesse Jackson.” (This conversation was apparently recorded on FBI phone taps.)
Then there’s David Axelrod, the president’s former advisor. He told Fox News Chicago, “I know [Obama] has talked to the governor…there are a whole range of names, many of which have surfaced…and I think he has a fondness for a lot of them…”
After Axelrod’s comment, however, Obama’s “transition team” released a report that stated there was “no contact” between Obama and Blagojevich and “no inappropriate contact” between the transition team and Blagojevich. The report further stated there is “no indication of inappropriate discussions with the governor or anyone from his office about a ‘deal’ or a quid pro quo arrangement in which he would receive a personal benefit in return for any specific appointment to fill the vacancy.”
Also according to the report, Rahm Emanuel was the only person who had direct contact with the governor but Emanuel and Blagojevich did not discuss a “personal benefit” for the governor.
In my opinion, prosecutors have once again failed to prove their streamlined case beyond a reasonable doubt. Blagojevich’s defense should do the same thing that the great Sam Adam defense team did in the first trial: do not call a single witness; argue Blagojevich’s innocence in the closing argument and sit down.
Blagojevich is finally getting his chance to tell his version of the story. It may get ugly, folks.
Tamara N. Holder is one of the nation’s rising attorney and legal analytical stars. She is a Contributor for the Fox News Channel. She founded The Law Firm of Tamara N. Holder, LLC, in 2005. Her work includes: criminal defense, expungement, race discrimination, police brutality, public policy, and pro bono practices. Seeing the need for outreach in this area, Tamara founded www.xpunged.com, a practice that provides a second chance to those individuals who have expungeable offenses under Illinois law. She is a former clerk to the Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs at Miramax/Dimension Films.