TUESDAY, JULY 27, 2010
KLMNO POLITICS THE NATION &
At Blagojevich trial, ‘dirty schemes’ in detail PROSECUTION
WRAPS UP CASE
Defense spars with judge
by Peter Slevin
chicago — As governor of Illi- nois, Rod Blagojevich was a bully who rigged state business to build his campaign treasury and line his pockets, a federal pros- ecutor said Monday, urging ju- rors to find Blagojevich guilty of two dozen corruption charges. Blagojevich (D) broke the law
repeatedly, ending with a fren- zied 2008 attempt to sell the Sen- ate seat once held by President Obama, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Niewoehner said at the close of a seven-week trial, de- tailing what he described as “years of dirty schemes.” “It was about him, defendant Rod Blagojevich, and not the peo- ple of the state of Illinois whom he’d sworn an oath to serve,” Nie- woehner said on the first of two days of closing arguments. Defense attorney Sam AdamJr.
was set to begin his summation, but landed in a dispute with U.S. District Judge James Zagel, who barred Adam from using his clos- ing arguments to criticize the government for not calling cer- tain witnesses, given the fact that Adam could have called the same witnesses. Among them was fundraiser and convicted felon Antoin Rezko. Increasingly angry, Adam de- clared that Blagojevich is “fight- ing for his life” and vowed to defy the judge’s order. Zagel said he would cite Adam for contempt if he persisted. He then gave Adam until Tuesday morning to rede- sign his closing argument “given your profound misunderstanding of the legal rules.” The sudden twist reflected the tension and the stakes as federal prosecutors try to make Blagojev- ich the second successive Illinois
DIGEST CALIFORNIA
Pay scandal draws state-level scrutiny California’s attorney general
said Monday that he has sub- poenaed hundreds of records from a Los Angeles suburb under investigation for sky-high sala- ries paid to its leaders. Attorney General Edmund G.
“Jerry” Brown Jr. (D), who is run- ning for governor, demanded to see employment contracts from Bell within 48 hours to determine whether to file charges. Bell’s city manager, assistant
manager and police chief, who all resigned last week, collectively earned more than $1.6 million a year to run the poverty-plagued city of about 40,000 people. The Los Angeles County dis- trict attorney’s
launched its own investigation into the salaries.
— Associated Press COLORADO
Tancredo to leave GOP, run for office Former Republican congress-
SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, center, arrives at U.S. District Court in Chicago, where the corruption trial is in its seventh week.
governor jailed for corruption. Ousted by the state legislature and indicted by a Chicago grand jury, Blagojevich has turned his bid for vindication into a crusade, but he called no witnesses and did not testify. With a 12-member jury expec- ted to begin deliberations as early as Tuesday, Niewoehner spent more than two hours on a me- thodical rendering of the racket- eering, extortion, fraud and per- jury case that could send Blago- jevich to prison for years. Niewoehner, speaking to jurors
before a packed gallery that in- cluded Blagojevich’s wife and two young daughters, began by recall- ing what the governor said about appointing Obama’s Senate suc- cessor as FBI recorders whirred: “I’ve got this thing and it’s [exple- tive] golden. And I’m just not giv- ing it up for [expletive] nothing.” Blagojevich was “talking,
scheming,” Niewoehner said. At first, Blagojevich was hop- ing to appoint Chicago business- woman Valerie Jarrett, an Obama friend and adviser, in exchange for a job as secretary of health and human services. When that seemed out of reach, he discussed seeking lucrative appointments from Obama’s team for himself or jobs for his wife, Patti. Blagojevich also entertained
an overture by supporters of Rep. Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), a Sen- ate aspirant, who said they could raise $6 million for the gover- nor’s campaign fund, according to testimony. Jackson denies do- ing anything improper and has not been accused of wrongdoing. Niewoehner, anticipating de- fense arguments, told the jury that Blagojevich was no dupe and could not plausibly argue that he was relying on smarter advisers. As a former Cook County pros-
ecutor, he said, Blagojevich knew what he was doing as he told as- sociates what to say, including in- structing them to beware of moles and listening devices. Illinois was being run by “a cor- rupt ring of people,” the prosecu- tor said. “It all goes back to him.” To the defense contention that
investigators traced no illicit cash to the governor, Niewoehner pointed out that Rezko quietly routed tens of thousands of dol- lars to Blagojevich’s wife for little or no work. He sent another $40,000 to her for home repairs, yet the source of the money ap- peared nowhere on the couple’s income tax returns. Defense lawyers contend that the former governor talked big but was not too smart, and had no criminal intent. Blagojevich told reporters that he was brain- storming with aides and his brother Robert, who is also on
trial. Yet he presented no witness- es to explore or explain hours of FBI tapes or the testimony of three former chiefs of staff, three deputy governors and two fi- nance directors. In the dramatic exchange that ended the day, Adam told Zagel that he was willing to go to jail rather than surrender his plan to slam the government for failing to call key witnesses. Zagel said that Adam could not
draw inferences to the jury — suggesting, for example, that the witnesses would have helped Bla- gojevich’s defense — because Ad- am, too, chose not to call them. “I’m sure you will be able to fig- ure out some way that the govern- ment’s case is insufficient,” Zagel said. “It may be possible for you to designate another lawyer to ar- gue for your client if you are inca- pable of following my rulings.”
slevinp@washpost.com
man Tom Tancredo said Monday that he plans to switch parties and run for Colorado governor on the American Constitution Party ticket. Tancredo has said that he
thinks Republican candidates Scott McInnis and Dan Maes have no chance of beating Demo- crat John Hickenlooper in No- vember.
— Associated Press
Birther flap causes hopeful to apologize
A Republican Senate candidate apologized Monday for disparag- ing “tea party” members who questioned the authenticity of President Obama’s birth certif- icate. Ken Buck, a conservative sup-
ported by many tea party mem- bers, has said that he thinks Oba- ma is a natural-born U.S. citizen. — Associated Press
S
A3
office has
a
b
d
c
Shop in store and at
nordstrom.com.
Quantities limited. Shop early for best selection. Tysons Corner Center 703.761.1121. Pentagon City 703.415.1121. Dulles Town Center 571.434.4000. Montgomery Mall 301.365.4111. Towson Town Center 410.296.2111. Annapolis Mall 410.573.1121. The Mall in Columbia 410.715.2222. Shipping charges may apply.
connect with us:
DRESSCASUALS FOR ALL-DAYCOMFORT.
a. 59.90 AFTER SALE 99.95 CLARKS ‘Hagen’ leather slip-on with flexible rubber sole, black, 7–12,13,14m. 297638
b. 169.90 AFTER SALE 245.00 ALLEN EDMONDS ‘Berkshire’ plain-toe oxford with cushioned rubber sole, dark brown, 7–12,13,14,15m. 273703
c. 119.90 AFTER SALE 179.95 ECCO ‘Seattle’ leather oxford with rubber sole, black, European sizes 39–47 (US sizes 6–14m). 261680
d. 109.90 AFTER SALE 178.00 COLE HAAN slip-on with Nike Air® technology, black, 7–12,13,14m. 297588
Men’s Shoes. PRICES GO UP AUGUST 2
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60