FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2010
KLMNO POLITICS THE NATION &
Judge urges Blagojevich jurors to seek agreement
VERDICT ON TWO OF 24 COUNTS
Jury says it surpassed ‘reasonable attempts’
by Peter Slevin
chicago — A dozen days into jury deliberations in the corrup- tion case against former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D), there is no end in sight. The pre- siding judge, learning that jurors had reached a verdict on only two of 24 counts, told them Thursday to keep trying. The jury has “gone beyond rea- sonable attempts to reach agree- ment” and has not begun consid- ering 11 counts of wire fraud, the jurors reported to U.S. District Judge James B. Zagel. The notes gave no clue which two counts have been decided or what the verdict will be. Jurors now have a long week- end to think it over. Zagel gave them Friday off. They are due back at the courthouse on Mon- day.
If the jurors, who have shown
little desire for further instruc- tion, wanted an assurance that they should press ahead, they re- ceived one. Before sending them back to work, the judge praised them outside their presence for their diligence and noted the lack of raised voices coming from the jury room.
But the handwritten messages
after more than a week of public silence only deepened the mys- tery about their lengthy delibera- tions, with Blagojevich’s future and the fruits of U.S. Attorney Pat- rick J. Fitzgerald’s six-year investi- gation in the balance. “If I were the government, I’d be really nervous right now,” said
Julian Solotorovsky, a former prosecutor. “If it took them this long to reach a verdict on only two counts, it means there’s plenty of disagreement on the jury. That doesn’t bode well.” The government presented hours of secretly recorded audio- tapes and summoned some of Bla- gojevich’s closest aides, who testi- fied that the former congressman and two-term governor tried to shake down Illinois businesses seeking state money and intended to sell President Obama’s former Senate seat to the highest bidder. Blagojevich did not testify dur- ing the two-month trial. In fact, defense attorneys called no wit- nesses, telling the jury in closing arguments last month that Blago- jevich was a dim bulb who only did what politicians do — and meant to break no laws. “He ain’t corrupt,” Sam Adam
Jr. told the jury. “And it’s proven in this case.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar called Adam’s argument “desperate and ridiculous.” But Adam’s reasoning reached at least one juror. “There are obviously some peo- ple in there who think the govern- ment met its burden and those who don’t think the government met its burden,” said Jeffrey Cramer, managing director of the investigations firm Kroll and a former prosecutor. “They’re obvi- ously having difficulty with the acts that make up the racket- eering and attempted extortion charges.” Cramer, who has listened to the FBI tapes played during the trial, suspects the jury has decided to convict Blagojevich of lying to the FBI when he said he built a fire- wall between politics and govern- ment and did not keep track of contributions to his campaign committee. Yet it is impossible to know
what the six men and six women on the jury have decided or what
will happen next, legal observers emphasized outside the court- room. One theory holds that some jurors simply needed to know that they still have time to come to an agreement. Another view holds that the jury is steering the court toward a mistrial on many critical counts, forcing the prosecution to decide whether to retry the case. Four years ago, it took a jury in the same courthouse 10 days to conclude that former governor George Ryan Jr., Blagojevich’s Re- publican predecessor, was guilty of all 18 corruption charges against him. The Blagojevich jurors first sig- naled trouble on Wednesday in a note to Zagel saying that they were stuck. “In a situation where jurors
can’t agree on given counts, what should the next logical step be?” the note said. “We’ve gone beyond reasonable attempts without ran- cor. We now ask for guidance.” Zagel asked for more informa- tion, leading to the news that the jury was unanimous on only two counts. Blagojevich is named in two dozen counts, including rack- eteering, attempted extortion and perjury. His brother Robert, who briefly headed the governor’s campaign committee in 2008, is named in four. “I’m imagining both sides are in a state of shock right now,” Solotorovsky said. “I think the government is thinking really bad thoughts and the defense is think- ing really good thoughts.”
slevinp@washpost.com
on
postpolitics.com
Images from the case
Photo galleries and video are available online at The
Washington Post’s Web site. ROBERT F. BUKATY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
MAINE: Werner Rhode of Richmond, Maine, digs for bloodworms Thursday on the Harraseeket River. He sells to a dealer for 25 cents a worm. His catch becomes bait as far away as the Mediterranean.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Lawmaker quits after joke on Palin death
A New Hampshire Democrat apologized and resigned from the state legislature Thursday after cracking a joke on Facebook about Sarah Palin dying. Rep. Timothy Horrigan of Dur- ham wrote that a “dead Palin wd be even more dangerous than a live one” and she “is all about her myth & if she was dead she cdn’t commit any more gaffes.” Horri- gan delivered a letter of resigna- tion to the House speaker and said he was discontinuing his re- election campaign. The state Democratic Party chairman calls the remarks “out of line.” Horrigan is the second New
Hampshire Democrat to be crit- icized this week for a Facebook comment about Palin, the former Alaska governor. House candi- date Keith Halloran apologized
Thursday for posting a death wish for Palin in response to a post about the plane crash that killed Ted Stevens, a former U.S. senator from Alaska. — Associated Press
PENNSYLVANIA
Sentence for theft: 21 years’ house arrest
A suburban Philadelphia wom- an who admitted stealing $475,000 from her employer has been sentenced to 21 years of house arrest so she can work to repay it, $750 a month. An attorney for Lanette Sanso- ni, 40, said his client has already repaid about $275,000. Sansoni worked as an office
manager for a small title com- pany that went broke because of the theft. She pleaded guilty in January. She can leave home to work but could go to jail if the payments stop.
— Associated Press MASSACHUSETTS
Pea-size lump is . . . a pea The doctor confirmed the good
news for Ron Sveden, 75, once the mass in his left lung came back from the lab: It isn’t cancer. Instead, he had a pea sprouting inside his chest. Sveden’s pulmonologist, Scott
Slater, said it’s not unusual for a patient to accidentally inhale a small object. “The typical story would be
maybe someone’s at a picnic and someone tells a joke and they laugh and they choke on some- thing and then, voila, we find for- eign bodies in the airways,” he said. “But it’s a little unusual to have aspirated on something and not know it.” After his surgery in June, Sve- den spent three weeks in the hos- pital and a week in rehab. He said he feels fine now.
— Associated Press DIGEST
R
A3
NEW FALL ARRIVALS HAVE US TOTALLY BOXED IN.
What with all the new fall merchandise arriving daily, something’s got to go. At 50% to 85% off, everything should. .
BELOW IS JUST A SMATTERING OF THE GREAT BUYS. THE GREAT COLLECTIONS:
Valentino, Stella McCartney, Akris, Rena Lange, Badgley Mischka, Vera Wang, Peggy Jennings, Donna Karan, Alexander McQueen, Isaac Mizrahi, Escada, Yves Saint Laurent, Moschino, Alberta Ferretti, Zac Posen, and Lanvin, among others!
DRESSES, ENSEMBLES & SUITS Were $490 to $5,350 Now $98 to $1,595
COCKTAIL DRESSES & EVENING GOWNS Were $670 to $6,150 Now $335 to $1,845
Michael Kors, Brioni, Roberto Cavalli, Loro Piana, Dusan, Etro, Piazza Sempione, Shamask, Jean Paul Gaultier, Brunello Cucinelli, Blumarine, Yeohlee, Armani Collezioni, and many, many more!
v ENSEMBLES
Were $995 to $3,635 Now $299 to $1,091
SWEATERS & BLOUSES Were $175 to $555 Now $29 to $111
SKIRTS & PANTS Were $250 to $925 Now $125 to $463
CITY LIFE & THE RIGHT STUFF:
Saks Jandel “Essentials”, PORTS, Lida Baday, Gunex, Rivamonti, Iceberg, Phillip Lim, Fabiana Filippi, Vince, Rachel Roy, Les Copains, Catherine Malandrino, Magaschoni, Marccain, Charles Chang-Lima, Basler, and lots of others!
DRESSES & SUITS Were $170 to $1,330 Now $34 to $180
SWEATERS & BLOUSES Were $100 to $515 Now $40 to $206
JACKETS
Were $295 to $1,185 Now $89 to $356
FROM 10 AM ’TIL 6 PM...SATURDAY, SUNDAY & MONDAY 5510 WISCONSIN AVENUE, CHEVY CHASE We welcome American Express, Diners Club, VISA, MasterCard, Discover. All Sales Final. No Alterations. Original prices are offering prices and may or may not have resulted in sales.
SKIRTS & PANTS Were $170 to $480 Now $26 to $240
JACKETS
Were $470 to $2355 Now $188 to $942
SKIRTS & PANTS Were $445 to $1,100 Now $178 to $440
DESIGNER SPORTSWEAR:
SWEATERS & BLOUSES Were $295 to $1,590 Now $89 to $477
$3,000,000 FREE-FOR-ALL 50-85% OFF
ALL SPRING AND SUMMER FASHIONS—EVERYTHING BUT THE LATEST ARRIVALS
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 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128