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| Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reaches to sign an autograph after leaving "The View," Monday, Jan. 26, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) |
Posted: Tuesday, 27 January 2009 3:40PM
FBI Tapes Played For Impeachment Trial
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(CBS/AP) Illinois senators for the first time have heard FBI recordings of Gov. Rod Blagojevich that are part of a corruption investigation that led to his impeachment.
The prosecutor at the Democratic governor's impeachment trial said Tuesday that the taped conversations reveal the governor talking with a lobbyist about how to get campaign contributions in exchange for signing legislation wanted by the horse-racing industry.
Blagojevich never specifically mentions money, but he and the others on the recordings talk about a lobbyist being "good for it" and keeping his "commitment."
The recordings played Tuesday are just some of those made by the FBI and the U.S. attorney's office.
The U.S. attorney won't release most of the tapes because that might interfere with his criminal investigation. But he's allowed the impeachment trial to hear a few minutes on just one topic.
Earlier Tuesday, an FBI agent testified that Blagojevich called President Barack Obama's vacant U.S. Senate seat a "golden" opportunity that could help him make money,
Again and again, agent Daniel Cain told state senators he had accurately quoted Blagojevich in a sworn affidavit filed when the governor was arrested last month on federal corruption charges. At each stage, House prosecutor David Ellis displayed the most damning quote on a poster board.
The affidavit quoted Blagojevich saying his power to name a replacement to Obama's vacant Senate seat was a "valuable thing, you just don't give it away for nothing." Ellis asked if that was accurate.
Yes, Cain replied.
Did he say, "I've got this thing and it's (expletive) golden, and uh, uh I'm just not giving it up for (expletive) nothing"?
Yes, Cain said.
Did he say, "I want to make money"?
Yes, Cain said.
While the impeachment prosecutor used Blagojevich's own words against him, the Democratic governor was in New York for the second day of a media tour focused on portraying the impeachment as unfair and politically motivated.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Blagojevich did not directly answer when asked whether he will step aside quietly if convicted by the Senate.
"I'll respect the law and the Constitution and the rules," he said, "and whether or not there are legal remedies to pursue beyond this we haven't really discussed ... but I'm not going to rule out what some of those options might be."
The embattled Illinois governor said on The Early Show Tuesday he's skipping his impeachment trial in the Illinois State Senate because he knows the lawmakers will kick him out of office, so he's bringing his case to the court of public opinion, instead.
"If present trends continue," Blagojevich said, "I'll be out of work in the not-too-distant future. I'm not delusional in terms of what my likelihood of success is to convince those senators to give me a fair trial."
Blagojevich, who says he expects to be removed from office soon, also said he hasn't done anything to prepare state government for the switch to a new governor.
"This was completely unexpected and not something that we envisioned happening. It's all happened so fast," he said. "The answer is no. I have not."
Blagojevich doesn't deny making the comments alleged by federal prosecutors. But he says they were taken out of context and don't amount to anything illegal.
"In the end, a lot of it was talk and exploring ideas," Blagojevich told the AP. "I never, ever intended to violate any criminal law."
At the impeachment trial, senators are expected to hear Blagojevich's own voice when a portion of the recorded conversations are played. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald is keeping most of the recordings secret, but he has given permission for senators to hear some material.
Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on a variety of corruption charges, including scheming to benefit from appointing Obama's replacement and demanding campaign contributions in exchange for state services.
He denies any wrongdoing.
His arrest triggered impeachment proceedings in the Illinois Legislature, where lawmakers have spent six years butting heads with Blagojevich. The House voted 117-1 to impeach Blagojevich - the only "no" came from his sister-in-law - and now the Senate is conducting a trial on whether to remove him.
Blagojevich says the trial is meant to get him out of the way so Springfield insiders can raise income taxes. He also says the Senate's trial rules are so biased that he can't present a real defense.
Neither the prosecution nor the defense is allowed to summon any witnesses whose testimony might interfere with federal prosecutors' criminal case against Blagojevich, although their public statements could be introduced as evidence. But Blagojevich has not asked to call witnesses or present any evidence at all, and said he does not plan to participate in any way.
The impeachment case against Blagojevich also includes allegations he defied the Legislature, circumvented hiring laws and schemed to trade state contracts for campaign contributions.
Seats for Blagojevich and his attorney sat empty in the Senate chamber as the trial continued. Silence reigned Monday when the presiding judge, Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Fitzgerald, asked if anyone was present to represent the governor.
He ordered the trial to go forward as if Blagojevich had entered a not guilty plea.
No other Illinois governor has been impeached, let alone convicted in a Senate trial. It would take a two-thirds majority - or 40 of the 59 senators - to remove Blagojevich. The Senate also could bar him from ever again holding office in Illinois.
With Blagojevich refusing to be present or mount a defense, Illinois senators could vote within days on whether to oust the 52-year-old Democrat. Democratic Lt. Gov. Patrick Quinn would replace him.
The outcome of Blagojevich's impeachment trial has no legal impact on a separate criminal case against the governor. No trial date has been set on those charges.
Blagojevich spent Monday and Tuesday making the rounds of news shows in New York, declaring his innocence but refusing to discuss the criminal allegations he faces.
Pressed on what context would justify using Obama's Senate seat to land a job for himself, Blagojevich said he didn't try to make a trade.
"If you do an exchange of one for the other, that's wrong," he told ABC's "Nightline." "But if you have discussions about the future and down the road and what you might want to do once you're no longer governor in a few years, what's wrong with that?"
Blagojevich said Tuesday he realizes he'll probably soon be out of a job, but said he won't resign because he didn't do anything wrong and doesn't want to send the wrong message to his children.
"For me to quit is to say somehow that what they're saying about their dad is true and the last thing I ever want is my daughters to feel their father did something wrong that he didn't do," Blagojevich told the AP.
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Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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