***UPDATE TO UPDATE: COUNT #24 False statement. That's it. Blago will be strutting around town. We have to vote the other bums out. Will the Feds retry?---YES. Breaking. On at least some of the other counts. HAHAHA Dems...Who will they trot out this time. How bout some of the big guns, Patrick Fitz, hmm. We wanna see Tony Rezko too. And Jesse Jr. squirm...They're saying it's the Martha Stewart verdict. Maybe Blago will do a cookbook in jail. Bouffant beef stew, Ba nananaheyheyhey breadVingeviciute So,Blago is guilty of lying to the FBI agent.That's it?Bad boy.What does he get for that?FBI agent will mess up his hair? #Blagojevich
More.Ward_Room LIVE VIDEO: The #Blagojevich aftermath, from the lobby of Dirksen http://bit.ly/cO5ubP
WBEZ DNP: #Blagojevich Verdict Form: A detailed look at what the jurors decided http://bit.ly/dcH3aGMore. Blago blog:
Well, come on, a verdict of innocent was too much to hope for. Illinois has been through the impeachment trial, after all, and has seen Blago through two terms. Some of the jurors probably voted for him twice in spite of everything. There was no bleepin golden smoking gun on the tapes but there was enough there to muddy the minds of jurors to get a hung jury except on lying to the FBI. Which is what happened.Judge James Zagel said he would give prosecutors until Sept. 7 to decide if they wanted to retry the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Reid Schar wasted no time in responding.
"It is absolutely my intention to retry this ... as quickly as possible," Schar said.
When the verdict was read, there wasn't a visible sense of relief at the defense table. Rod Blagojevich looked at the jury and shook his head. It appears the defense was hoping for some acquittals.
After the jury left, Sam Adam Jr. sat next to Rod and put his arm around him, looking as if he were consoling him. He now has to go through this again.
Bring Rahmbo out too, Fitz. At least we can decide whose mouth is more foul.
More.
AnnaTarkov Whew, back in front of a TV. #Blagojevich is signing autographs outside before driving awayHey, hey, hey, let's have the retrial heading into the November election. Obama will not only have to avoid Dem candidates, he'll have to avoid his home town.
Rezko may be hitting the bottle in his basement.
And we'd really like to hear from John Thomas. But I won't hold my breath.
More. Statements: From the Illinois GOP Chairman Pat Brady:
From the Dem Illinois Senate leader John Cullerton:“We extend our gratitude to the men and women of the jury for their sacrifice and hard work. They had a difficult job, as demonstrated by their many days of deliberations. The fact that Rod Blagojevich was convicted on only one of the counts against him does not take away from his serious breach of the Public’s trust.
“From his infamous “bleeping golden” remark to his attempt to shake down Children’s Memorial Hospital, Blagojevich was all about pay-to-play. The lack of any real defense and Blago’s refusal to testify spoke volumes.
“The entire case was a black eye for Illinois, but made even worse by the fact that Pat Quinn, Mike Madigan and the Democrats stood by this man, supported his re-election and later denied the public the right to a special election for the U.S. Senate seat Blagojevich had tried to sell. The trial also showed that Blago’s scheming was going on in the earliest days of his administration, and yet Quinn, Madigan and the Democrats were silent.”
Hahaha. Blago was "pathological". And you guys endorsed him for reelection when he was under nine separate federal indictments. "No pleasure or relief in this outcome". Hell no. Dems still in power are responsible for this guy.“On January 29, 2009, the Illinois Senate Impeachment Tribunal voted unanimously to remove Rod R. Blagojevich from office and to disqualify him from holding any future public office of the State of Illinois. Our impeachment proceedings were part of a political process that is independent of the criminal trial proceedings and outcome.
Now a criminal trial jury has spoken. While jurors deadlocked on many charges, they clearly confirmed the former governor’s pattern of dishonesty. As I said last January on the day the Senate delivered our verdict, this is a sad occasion. There’s no pleasure or relief in this outcome.
I’m proud of the manner with which the General Assembly carried out its obligations under the constitution. The process was detailed, deliberative and fair. Our decision was based on un-rebutted evidence, including evidence that related to professional conduct that had no connection to the federal criminal charges.
I voted to remove Mr. Blagojevich because he was clearly unable to govern, demonstrated disdain for the laws and processes of our state and pathologically abused his power without regard for the people he was elected to serve.
I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to recall how we worked together to resolve this crisis of integrity. I ask that the same spirit of cooperation be used to finally address the lingering challenges facing our state.”
We've all got Blago in our face for at least a few more months. And this all started with the jockeying over the bleepin golden Obama Senate seat.
More. Blago expected to speak soon. WGN live.
Blago looks cocky, Patti looks sullen. He says he's being persecuted. The prosecutor is spending millions of taxpayers money, and taking him away from his little girls...
He says "we didn't even put a defense on and the government couldn't prove its case". That's pretty good. Because he was such a scuzzball he was hard to defend, guilty or not.
More. After 6 central:
abc7chicago Watch Blago's lawyers' statements http://bit.ly/9voePK RT @adwoa14 Thank you abc7chicago for adding the entertainment that was the Sam AdamsBlago's not shutting up, talking outside his house. One of my friend writes in:
The verdict & courthouse clamor this afternoon was straight out of "The Front Page"!!!! Perhaps HBO will do a remake featuring Rod.....Brady statement:
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady today released the following statement in response to the Blagojevich trial verdict;
“The people of Illinois are grateful to the men and women of the jury for their hard work. While we hoped this decision would mark the end of an unfortunate chapter and put this embarrassing episode behind us, today’s conviction of Rod Blagojevich for lying to federal law enforcement officials will likely result in further action in the pursuit of justice.
But one thing is clear - the people of Illinois are rightly frustrated about the unchecked power of politicians like Rod Blagojevich who put the special interests before taxpayers. This important election in November marks the single best opportunity in our lifetime to finally clean house in Springfield.”
GOP Senate candidate Kirk statement:
“This is a sad day for Illinois. Rod Blagojevich disgraced our state and deserved the full weight of justice. For the sake of our economic future, the citizens of Illinois need to turn the page from Rod Blagojevich and the team he brought to power by electing thoughtful independent leaders who will restore integrity to our state.” - Congressman Mark KirkBlago could avoid prison? NBC5Chicago legal analyst. Video.
***UPDATES below. Blago's in the building. Tweets: #blagojevich***NBC5Chicago:
In that note, the jury asked for a copy of their oath of service. That oath reads:
"Do each of you solemnly swear, that you will well and truly try, and true deliverance make, in the case now on trial and render a true verdict according to the law and evidence, so help you God?"
After that request, the jurors asked for guidance on how best to fill out their verdict forms, if they were unable to render verdicts on given counts.
Why the jurors requested the oath was not immediately clear.
"It sounds like some jurors are not voting," said Kent College Law Professor Richard Kling. "And some other jurors are saying, 'look, you took this oath, you promised you would do it, vote!'"
Prosecutors looked visibly shaken when they entered the courtroom after hearing what the jurors requested, while defense attorneys were laughing among themselves.
"This is, I believe, finally over," said Michael Ettinger, attorney for Robert Blagojevich, the former governor's brother and co-defendant. "I believe all that's left is to sign the jury form!"
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