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 U.S. District Judge Zagel has tried being patient with Rod Blagojevich. Zagel has tried being polite. And Zagel has warned him about using the media to suck up to potential jurors. (April 20, 2011) |
If you've ever had a stubborn dog defiantly try to chew up your shoes, then you know what U.S. District Judge James Zagel is going through with the former governor of Illinois.
Zagel has tried being patient with Rod Blagojevich. Zagel has tried being polite. And Zagel has warned him about using the media to suck up to potential jurors.
The federal judge warned that goofy mutt one last time on Monday.
"It would be wise for the defendant to restrain himself," said Zagel. "You can consider my remarks today a red flag."
But dogs are colorblind, judge. At least the ones on four legs. And a two-legged political dog, one looking at about 10 long years behind a federal fence, isn't worried about what a judge might say.
Wednesday marks the opening of Blagojevich's federal corruption trial, where he once again faces charges he tried to sell President Barack Obama's old Senate seat. A supportive juror saved him last time.
And on Tuesday, Blago was defying Zagel's "red flag" warning by hunting new jurors on WLS-AM, on the Don Wade and Roma show. Among Blago's latest unproven allegations: that the feds leaked damaging — and somewhat blond — information about U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Bud Light, and his mistress to the media.
In the last trial, prosecutors said pro-Jackson businessmen were willing to pay some $1 million to Blagojevich's campaign in exchange for the governor naming Jackson to Obama's vacant seat.
"If I'm a conspirator — bring it on," Jackson snarled in a interview last year with Don Wade and Roma.
Shortly after, Jackson suffered a bimbo eruption involving a blonde swimsuit model. Blagojevich suggested the information came from FBI documents, though he did not offer proof.
"… Then all of a sudden somebody leaked, and I'm not so sure that the government is supposed to be leaking information on FBI interviews, but they then embarrassed him and leaked his FBI 302 (report)," Blagojevich said. "I believe it's them. I'm not sure. But it sure looks like it.
"He said, 'Bring it on' and the next day there was a big story in the paper … that humiliated him with his other problems," Blagojevich said.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago declined to comment about the latest Blagojevich rant.
Blagojevich said he hoped that Rahm Emanuel, Chicago's mayor-elect, would testify. He also claimed that former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, the Illinois Republican, offered him key advice.
This explains that rather strange video clip that was being shown last year on cable news almost every time Blagojevich was mentioned. It showed a rather stumpy fellow, a former wrestling coach, leading then-Gov. Blagojevich to a lectern for a speech. It was Hastert.
"I can't go into all the details of this case, except to say that these conversations that took place involve me and U.S. Speaker Dennis Hastert," said Blagojevich. "The former Republican speaker of the House and I had a long conversation the day after the election, where he's advising me and suggesting to me political moves and political things I should consider doing."
Don and Roma sounded skeptical. They asked good questions. They know who he is.
But that didn't stop Blagojevich from hustling, hoping to reach that one juror gullible enough to buy what he's selling.
This is exactly what Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar warned about during Monday's hearing — the one in which Zagel admonished Blagojevich.
"This is just part of an attempt by him to poison what's going on," Schar said.
Blagojevich loves broadcast news. He knows there's no penalty for media perjury. It's perfectly legal to treat listeners like idiots.
A jury, though, is a different matter.
Blagojevich has been great at opening his mouth at news conferences, and in those pistachio commercials. He's great at asking his wife to eat those tasty jungle bugs on a TV reality show, then beg the jury pool for mercy.
Yet after all that barking and barking and barking, he was silent when it counted. He never did testify in his last trial. His lawyers promised it. He blustered about it. But when he had the opportunity, he wouldn't open himself up to cross-examination under oath.
"I thought I was going to do that the first time and nothing's changed," he said Tuesday. "I would hope to do it the second time. I think one of the things probably we shouldn't have done is say with complete and total certainty that was going to happen."
As they begin selecting a jury in the federal building on Wednesday, here is what Gov. Dead Meat must know:
That he's a trophy head with a great mane of puffy hair, and federal prosecutors will want him to serve at least the same sentence as his convicted predecessor, former Gov. George Ryan, who got 6 1/2 years in federal prison.
If convicted on all counts, Blago is looking at somewhere around 10 years.
So after Tuesday's stunt, Zagel might think about using a rolled-up newspaper on that bad political dog. But Blago's clearly willing to risk a few whacks on the snout.
What does he have to lose?
All he's got to do is sniff out that one friendly juror, the one with the tasty treats.
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