Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted on Monday of nearly all the corruption charges against him, as a federal jury of 11 women and one man in Chicago concluded that he had essentially tried to sell his official position for his own selfish ends.
Blagojevich, found guilty in his second trial, faces some 20 years in prison and fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars when he is sentenced by Judges James Zagel of the Northern District of Illinois. The verdict was a huge victory for U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who showed his interest in the case by sitting in on a number of days of testimony.
“It’s in God’s hands,” Blagojevich said as he left his home with his wife, Patti, to hear the verdict, according to Station WLS in Chicago. “My hands are shaking, my knees are weak. I can’t seem to stand on my own two feet.”
The panel convicted the former governor of 17 of the 20 counts against him, acquitting him of one and unable to decide on the remaining two. The most sensational of the charges, and the basis of many of the guilty findings, was that Blagojevich tried to auction off the Illinois Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama when he was elected president in 2008. Blagojevich was arrested shortly after Election Day.
Blagojevich, 54, was accused of trying to use his official position to get campaign contributions, land a cabinet-level post or other high-paying job and other wrongdoing that added up to wire fraud, attempted extortion, bribery, extortion conspiracy and bribery conspiracy, as The New York Times noted.
Monday marked the 10th day of deliberations. Blagojevich’s first trial, last year, ended with jurors able to agree on only one of 24 counts, a relatively minor charge of lying to investigators. There was a general feeling, based in large part on jurors’ comments, that prosecutors had managed to muddy their narrative with too much information. So this time around, prosecutors simplified their story line, reduced the number of charges and trimmed their witness list.
Blagojevich, a Democrat, testified at his second trial, unlike the first, and denied any corrupt conduct — although his testimony did nothing to dispel the notion that politics is a calculating, bare-knuckle business in Chicago. That impression was amply reinforced by the hundreds of recorded telephone conversations between Blagojevich and his advisers that were recorded by investigators.
Observers said Blagojevich showed little emotion when the verdict was read, but that his wife seemed stunned. Since there is no parole in the federal prison system, Blagojevich can anticipate serving most of whatever sentence is pronounced, minus some 15 percent for good behavior. He can, of course, appeal — but most federal convictions survive higher court scrutiny.
