By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Sometimes judges complain to federal prosecutors that their case is dragging on too long. But in Chicago, in U.S. District Court, there’s a bit of different twist. The defense for ex-Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich is complaining that prosecutors are moving far too quickly in trial and will finish presenting their case…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The public corruption trial of ex-Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has embarrassed some big names beyond the governor himself. Last week, fed prosecutors in Chicago said that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. “attended a meeting in 2008 at which $1 million in fund-raising for Rod Blagojevich was discussed in exchange for Jackson’s…
FBI agent Pete Cullen should have retired in 2006 when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 57. But the FBI wanted to keep him around for his expertise. He ended up running the wire taps on ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is currently on trial. Last week, after getting extensions to stay, he finally retired…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com The entertainment factor in the trial of ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich continues to be strong. Tapes played Monday during his public corruption trial show Blagojevich tossed around some names to fill the Senate seat vacated by President Obama and mentioned Oprah Winfrey, the Chicago Tribune reported. His chief of staff John…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich wants to look at the written reports on President Obama’s interviews with the FBI and prosecutors in his case, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Sun-Times reports that the Blago defense team has filed a motion asking for the reports, claiming court testimony by government witness John Harris contradicts…
By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Who didn’t figure this was coming? The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office is asking U.S. District Judge James Zagel to impose a gag order to shut up ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich and his lawyers during the ongoing public corruption trial, the Chicago Tribune reported. Prosecutors claim the defense and Blago are trying to…
By Allan Lengel For AOL News After glad-handing citizens and hustling on the campaign trail, Rod Blagojevich, the man with the trademark Beatles-style do, convinced 1.7 million Illinois voters to re-elect him governor in 2006. Nearly four years later, the now-impeached governor hopes to win over just 12 very important votes: the jurors who will…
