Re: Should Blago Resign/be removed ? ? ?
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Blagojevich Vows to Fight Charges
With ‘Last Breath’ </font size></center>
Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, accused of trying to sell the vacant U.S. Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama for campaign cash, said he is innocent of the charges.
“I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing and I intend to stay on the job,” Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat, said in his first press statement since his Dec. 9 arrest by federal agents. “I will fight, I will fight, I will fight until I take my last breath. I have not done anything wrong.”
Blagojevich and his former chief of staff, John Harris, are charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as solicitation of bribery. They are accused of using the governor’s power to appoint Obama’s replacement as a chance to reap as much as $1 million in campaign contributions. Harris resigned Dec. 12.
The Illinois House of Representatives is considering impeaching the governor after the chamber’s Democratic leaders abandoned plans Dec. 15 to let voters pick a new U.S. senator. A House impeachment panel said today it will subpoena witnesses including Harris and current and former deputy governors.
In his statement, Blagojevich, 52, went on to say that he is looking forward to responding legally to the charges that U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald filed.
“I am dying to answer these charges,” he said. “I have the personal knowledge that I have not done anything wrong.”
Won’t Apologize
Blagojevich and Harris are also accused of demanding that the Chicago-based Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team and publisher of the Chicago Tribune newspaper, fire editorial board members who were critical of the governor in return for state help in its sale of the home stadium for the Cubs, Wrigley Field.
Blagojevich, a former prosecutor twice elected governor of the fifth-most-populous state, would become the first Illinois official to be impeached in 175 years. The governor has resisted calls for his resignation from influential Democrats such as Obama and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.
The governor didn’t take questions following his three- minute statement at the James R. Thompson Center, the downtown Chicago building that houses state offices and agencies.
After he left the podium, Blagojevich’s attorney responded to questions and said the governor would stay on the job for months.
“If it’s too hard, if the people of Illinois suffer, he will step aside,” said attorney Sam Adam Jr., part of the governor’s defense team. He also said the decision to step aside may not be made much before Easter. The governor “is not going to apologize,” Adam said.
Impeachment Proceedings
Federal prosecutors said they have recordings of wire- tapped conversations of the governor discussing matters related to the charges. Adam said the tapes may not be as conclusive as prosecutors say.
“I guarantee you that when those tapes come out, and they’re not just 15-second snippets that an agent who sits down in an office somewhere pulls out what he thinks is bad, when we get to it, you’re going to find out the truth on these conversations,” Adam said.
The 21-member House panel that’s considering impeachment will reconvene on Dec. 22. The committee is also examining policy and spending decisions undertaken by the governor during the past six years that members say may have violated state laws and the constitution.
“I’m not going to quit a job that people hired me to do because of false accusations and a political lynch mob,” Blagojevich said.
‘Vindication’ Anticipated
The impeachment panel plans to call former Blagojevich fundraiser Antoin Rezko, who was convicted in June of planning to obtain millions dollars in kickbacks, according to a letter the committee sent to Fitzgerald.
Other witnesses the panel intends to call four current or former deputy governors, Ginger Ostro, who oversees the Illinois Office of Management and Budget, and every registered lobbyist for the state’s horse-racing industry, according the Dec. 18 letter released by the panel.
The letter seeks Fitzgerald’s guidance on whether calling any of the listed witnesses will interfere with his criminal inquiry. The committee also asked for the wire-tap recordings and the names of individuals referred to in the criminal complaint by titles such as “Adviser A” or “Lobbyist 1.”
Quoting Kipling
Until a new senator is sworn in, the state’s 12.8 million residents are represented in the U.S. Senate by just one of the two seats to which they are entitled. The lack of a senator also leaves Democrats a vote short in the chamber as they seek to pass legislation.
“I intend to answer every allegation,” he said. “However, I intend to answer them in the appropriate forum, in a court of law. And when I do, I am absolutely certain I will be vindicated.”
He quoted author Rudyard Kipling at one point, and at another he alluded to the impeachment proceedings.
“I know there are some powerful forces arrayed against me,” he said. “It’s kind of lonely now. But I have on my side the most powerful ally there is and it’s the truth.”
Edward M. Genson, an attorney for Blagojevich, has said his client is innocent of the charges. Reached by phone, Harris’ attorney James Sotos of Itasca, Illinois, declined to discuss the charges against his client.
The governor and Harris are scheduled to appear in court next on Jan. 14 for a probable-cause hearing.
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris at the federal court in Chicago: aharris16@bloomberg.net.
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