By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
Imprisoned ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojovich, who is serving 14 years for corruption, is likely to be resentenced as as a result of a federal appellate court ruling on Tuesday, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
The paper reports that the court tossed five counts against Blagojevich. But the court ruled the ex-politician could not be released from prison while awaiting the resentencing.
In his first trial, he was convicted only of one count. The jury deadlocked on the other 23 counts. In a second trial, he was found guilty of 17 charges.
The paper writes:
While the appellate court tossed five counts against the former governor, the 23-page ruling, written by U.S. Appellate Court Judge Frank Easterbrook, does not take a sympathetic tone to Blagojevich.“Blagojevich now asks us to hold that the evidence is insufficient to convict him on any count. The argument is frivolous. The evidence, much of it from Blagojevich’s own mouth, is overwhelming,” according to the opinion.
The court found that the jury was given improper instructions on the criminal counts related to Blagojevich asking for a Cabinet position in exchange for appointing Valerie Jarrett to President Obama’s then-vacant Senate seat. So those counts have to be vacated.
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