By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Oprah trumps all! As you might recall the other day, a prospective juror in the retrial of ex-Ill. Gov Rod Blagojevich wanted off jury duty because she had four tickets to a May 10 taping of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” In May, the legendary show, which is taped in Chicago, is…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Let’s face it: There are few things in life more important than Oprah — at least in some circles. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that a prospective juror in the trial of ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said she didn’t want the trial to ruin her chance to attend a taping of the…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The pretrial hearing was like a “weigh in” before the big boxing match, where both sides snipe at one another. A federal prosecutor on Monday called the very chatty ex-Ill. Gov Rod Blagojevich a ‘liar’ at a pretrial hearing in U.S. District Court in Chicago, according to the Chicago Tribune. And…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com With just days to go before his retrial, ex-Ill. Gov Rod Blagojevich is still speaking his mind. No surprise. The chatty ex-Gov. told the Associated Press Saturday he never considered a plea deal with federal prosecutors. The retrial is set to begin Wednesday in U.S. District Court in downtown Chicago. “There…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The Blago noise machine is revving up again as the ex-Illinois governor prepares for his retrial next week in federal court in downtown Chicago. On Wednesday, Rod Blagojevich griped before a group of reporters in front of his Ravenswood Manor home in Chicago that the prosecution is refusing to play all…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Attorneys for ex-Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich want prosecutors to turn over FBI interview summaries of President Obama. In a motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the attorneys asked for the documents known as FBI 302 reports so they can use the information to cross examine a government witness….
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Imagine taxpayers spending millions of dollars collectively trying an Illinois governor, and in the end, the case all but collapses. The jurors only convict on one of 24 counts . They end up deadlocked on the rest. Imagine that. Yes,it’s not too hard, considering it happened in the first trial of…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Is a federal judge going too far by restraining the media or just being considerate? The Chicago Tribune reports that U.S. District Judge James Zagel in Chicago said Thursday he may have the U.S. Marshals Service offer no-trespassing signs to jurors to put up at their homes following the verdict in…
