US News
Scandal plagued governor vows fight to the "last breath" (Roundup)
By Mike McCarthy Dec 19, 2008, 20:32 GMT
Washington - Embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich said Friday he was not guilty of corruption, vowed to fight the federal charges against him to the 'last breath' and rebuffed calls to resign.
'I'm here to tell you right off the bat that I am not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing, that I intend to stay on the job, and I will fight this thing every step of the way,' Blagojevich said in his first public comments since charges were announced December 9.
'I will fight. I will fight. I will fight until I take my last breath,' the defiant governor said.
Federal authorities arrested Blagojevich on December 9 at his Chicago home, accusing him of attempting to solicit bribes by using his sole power to appoint a successor to the US Senate seat vacated by president-elect Barack Obama.
Blagojevich, 51, and his top aide face a host of other corruption- related charges in addition to trying to sell Obama's seat to the highest bidder.
The Justice Department accused the two men of threatening to withhold state assistance for the media firm, the Tribune Co, unless it sacked editorial writers seen as unfriendly to the governor. They were additionally charged with seeking campaign contributions in exchange for official actions in a 'pay to play' scheme.
'I am absolutely certain that I will be vindicated,' Blagojevich said.
Blagojevich said he will address the charges against him in court - not in the media - and did not take questions. 'I am dying to answer these charges,' he said.
Federal agents wiretapped Blagojevich's conversations with aides, which allegedly reveal that he was discussing - frequently using foul language - how he and his wife could personally benefit from the Senate seat choice.
He also explored seeking favours from the Obama camp to name the president-elect's preference. Blagojevich allegedly told an aide he would not do it just for 'appreciation.'
Blagojevich and the aide John Harris, 46, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. They face maximum sentences of 20 years in prison if convicted. Harris has resigned as chief of staff.
While the federal authorities made clear they are not implicating Obama or any of his staff, the issue has placed the president-elect on the defensive as he assembled his cabinet and works on plans to reverse the slumping economy.
Obama, who has called on the governor to resign, has pledged to release any contact between his staff and Blagojevich's. He said that would be delayed until at least next week at the request of federal prosecutors.
The Illinois state legislature has begun impeachment proceedings against Blagojevich, and the state's top law enforcement officer has filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court requesting the governor be temporarily stripped of his powers.
By staying on the job, Blagojevich still holds the power to name Obama's replacement. The legislature has also moved to change the law and hold a special election to name a new senator.
Obama resigned from the Senate on November 16, 12 days after winning the election. Attorney General for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald said there was no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama.
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Older Talkback
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Looks like not too many learned a lesson from the Duke Lacrosse team scandal where the public behaves scandalously. Looks like what he have so far is some musing between friends. The angry mob has grabbed the rope again.
How about lynching some of these Congress members and Senators who have taken campaign donations from special interests to drive your $14 trillion economy to its knees and then give the culprits trillions more?
ewebsmith.com/gov/JFKWarning.html
I pray that Governor Blagojevich will grant the clemency petition of Paul Modrowski, the young man who is actually innocent and was wrongly convicted.
Paul was convicted of murder at the age of 18 in 1993, on an accountability theory -- for supposedly lending his car to a friend who supposedly went and killed a third young man they both knew. The supposed 'killer' was acquitted.
Paul was never at the scene of the crime, and there is no evidence that he lent his car. The FBI thoroughly searched his car, and it turned up not a trace of evidence.
Paul has been in prison for over 15 years, on what truly was a witchhunt. Because this murder occurred close in time and place to the Brown's massacre, the police believed the two were related. Paul is autistic and he probably seemed a little cold or 'off' to them. The police held him for days without an attorney, kicked him, kept his parents wondering where he was, etc.
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION ASKING GOVERNOR BLAGOJEVICH TO GRANT PAUL'S CLEMENCY PETITION-- which Paul wrote himself. It is free to sign, takes a just a minute, and you won't be spammed:
NOT ALLOWED TO PUT A LINK HERE, BUT TYPE in the usual http and then the usual www and then petitiononline and then dot and then com and then slash and then paulmod
The arrest complaint was only a snapshot moment that forestalled his latest criminal act. In the next two-three months the US Attorney will be filing a formal indictment and then you'll see the depths of this guy's corruption. Again, the arrest last week was only a sample of what's yet to come.
...you make a very valid point. People are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. The Governor is no exception.
Nonetheless, we've seen the left, and their minions the libnazi press, do this every day to Republicans and it is hard to not comment on something that makes Halliburton or the minor offenses of some republican pale in comparison to the Walmart scale of corruption this man allegedly perpetrated.
Most of all, it is the media that throws marshmallows at libnazi politicians while pillorying the right for stuff that either isn't true, or is vastly blown out of proportion.
Illinois Governor Rod Blagovich- rhymes with son of a bitch- spoke out loud and clear on tape in his office when he conspired to sell the US Senate seat formerly occupied by Barack Obama.
Clearly, Blago is a good enough attorney to exploit the flaws in the federal prosecutor's current case and gain an acquittal.
Gaining an acquittal does not mean that Blagovich did nothing wrong- or even that he did nothing illegal. It merely shows that the American judicial system's presumption of innonence works.
Blagovich lied to the people of Illinois when he put himself before them as an honest attorney seeking re-election as Governor. Blagovich has been utterly corrupted by the power he wields.
The impeachment proceeding is not a criminal proceeding. The legislators will investigating whether or not Blagovich has lived up to the highest ethical and moral standards associated with public service.
Through impeachment, the legislators are empowered to remove the Governor if he fails to meet high ethical and moral standards, even if his actions do not cross the line into out and out criminality.
The people of Illinois deserve better than Blagovich can provide. The Governorship is not a job, it is a role and an office. Blagovich has demeaned and dishonored the office and the reputation of Illinois.
Blagovich should resign immediately.
Nonetheless, we've seen the left, and their minions the libnazi press, do this every day to Republicans and it is hard to not comment on something that makes Halliburton or the minor offenses of some republican pale in comparison to the Walmart scale of corruption this man allegedly perpetrated.
This is typical right wing propaganda. How does one compare Cheney and Haliburton who burned down a country to Blago?
Only by paranoid conspiracy theories complete with mythical monsters like libnazis.
Oh my, boo-hoo-hoo! You really need help, poor neo-cons always being picked on, in the mean time half of them are arrested, but they are being picked on. Boo-hoo-hoo! STFU you big baby.
I support this guy. I think he should secede Illinois from the union and make it a fully, independent Republic separate and apart from the United States.
..none of that makes me wrong. The fact is, the left has gotten soft-peddled in the press at every turn. People like Dodd and Frank are allowed a pass on their stifling failures (at best) or what can only be called naked corruption (at worst) while these same libnazis, yes, real facists all of them, hold the political right to a completely different standard they themselves could never live up to, or ever have.
Obama was the living standard: The press moved away from his relationship with a card-carrying domestic terrorist, a crazy preacher that, were he white and living in Texas, Bill Clinton's storm troopers would have blown, him and his followers kids, to hell all for some concocted infraction that never stood up in court.
They are, as we sit, ignoring the glaring fact of his relationship with a major figure in this current Illinois Governor's mess, Tonny Rezko. He is mentioned, repeatedly, in the indictment, yet, no one, short of FOX news (golly, what a surprise), is digging into what can only be described as the silent 800 lb gorilla in the room. Add to that the glaring lies about who met with who, and when, and you have a huge conspiricy to sell the highest legislative office in the land, if not by Obama himself, surely his minions.
No, Mr. Chapman, I cannot accept your evaluation here. Am I biased?...perhaps, but the facts are undeniable to anyone who will simply open their eyes.
'No, Mr. Chapman, I cannot accept your evaluation here. Am I biased?...perhaps, but the facts are undeniable to anyone who will simply open their eyes.'
No not at all you are just being yourself, wrong and stupid.
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SP4: goDec 19th, 2008 - 20:59:47
...16 rounds with Mohammed Fitzgerald, Governor.
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