MinnLawyer Blog

The headline on CNN.com yesterday afternoon was elegant, funny and dead on:

“Blagojevich 23, Feds 1″

News that former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich was convicted on only one count of making false statements to the FBI surprised everyone. The prosecutors had the now famous tapes of him swearing and promising to sell the open U.S. Senate seat to the person with the highest bid.
This conversation recorded by federal agents was my favorite:

“I’ve got this thing, and it’s [expletive] golden. I’m just not giving it up for [expletive] nothing.”

The government had Blago dead to rights. I don’t know the exact percentage, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office conviction rate is more than 90 percent and Blago wasn’t exactly a sympathetic defendant. First he was going to testify in his defense, but then after his defense attorneys, who are father and son, got in a fight over the decision, Rod did not take the stand. He has appeared on talk shows, reality TV and any place else with a camera hawking his book and his innocence. And then there’s the hair.

It wasn’t a question of if he would be convicted, but if he would be convicted on all 24 counts.

As soon as the verdict was announced both sides vowed further legal action. Blagojevich said he would appeal the one conviction and the feds said they would retry him.
If the feds do, it shouldn’t be with the attorneys who worked the first trial. My vote?

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald should go to the bullpen and call in Joltin’ Joe Dixon and the team that convicted Tom Petters.