Related: Blago Beats Crack Government Prosecutor
CHICAGO — A jury convicted former Illinois governor Rod R. Blagojevich yesterday of trying to personally benefit from his role in selecting a replacement for President Obama in the US Senate.
Blagojevich, a Democrat whose former aides say once saw himself as a possible presidential contender, was found guilty of 17 counts of wire fraud, attempted extortion, bribery, extortion conspiracy, and bribery conspiracy. He was acquitted on one charge of bribery, and the jury deadlocked on two counts of attempted extortion....
After the [first] trial, jurors said the case had been too tangled and confusing, and it was clear that prosecutors took that message to heart. In the new trial, which began in April, prosecutors offered fewer, simpler charges, a notably boiled-down message, and a emphasis on the thought that Blagojevich did not need to actually complete any deals to be found guilty of crimes for proposing them.
The crimes involved, the prosecutors told jurors again and again, could not have been simpler: Blagojevich sought personal benefit for public acts.
How is he any different than any other politician?
Blagojevich defended himself against recorded calls and testimony that seemed to suggest he was pressing for a Cabinet post in the Obama administration in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett, an ally of the president, to the Senate. And he defended himself against calls and testimony that seemed to suggest he was considering a $1.5 million campaign contribution from supporters of Jackson if he were appointed to the Senate. He had not committed to any particular result, Blagojevich testified, and was even mulling far-fetched possibilities, such as appointing himself to the Senate and then going to Afghanistan to hunt down Osama bin Laden....
Does that guy have to make an appearance in nearly every article?
The verdict appeared to be the conclusion to the spectacle of Blagojevich’s political career, which began its descent shortly after Obama was elected president in November 2008. A month after Election Day, Blagojevich, who under state law was required to name a senator to replace Obama, was arrested, and federal agents revealed that they had secretly recorded hundreds of hours of damaging phone calls by him and his advisers.
But they only sprung it on him after he threatened to stop making state payments to Bank of America.
As the counts were read in court, and one “guilty’’ followed another, Blagojevich looked back at his wife, Patti, at one point. She slumped into the arms of a relative, eyes closed, and wiped away tears....
The outcome came as a victory for federal prosecutors, whose earlier trial of Blagojevich resulted in a deadlocked jury on most counts and led people to wonder whether Blagojevich’s behavior would ultimately be deemed crass political deal-making or a lot of blustery talk that did not rise to the level of a crime.
For Democrats here, in a state government they almost entirely control, the final chapter could not come soon enough. Blagojevich’s impeachment, removal from office, and evolution into a punch line on late-night television threatened the Democratic Party’s political hold on the state....
The scandal also reaffirmed an image that Illinois (where corruption, by one university’s estimate, has cost taxpayers more than $300 million a year) has long wished to shed: If Blagojevich goes to prison, he will be its fourth governor in recent memory to be imprisoned (one for acts committed after leaving office).
Massachusetts has had three straight House speakers convicted for crimes so we can't be far behind.
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