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Illinois Abuzz as Blagojevich Set to Make His Case
For a trial that has at times seemed sleepy in the absence of its star defendant, the promise that Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich would deliver a closing argument in his impeachment trial before the Illinois State Senate had the capitol buzzing Thursday morning.
With the proceedings scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time, spectators packed the Senate gallery in anticipation of possibly seeing, for the first time in the state’s history, the removal from office of a sitting governor. A line of people stretched down the corridor, waiting to get in.
“It’s a big event,” said Robert Hackman, 57, a retired mail carrier who had come to the chambers hoping to see Thursday’s proceedings but had to leave for a part-time job. “I don’t expect him to resign or anything. I don’t think he’s done much more than any other politician. They all scratch each other’s back.”
Thursday’s session is to open with the prosecution’s closing argument. Then the governor will make his statement, which is expected to last 90 minutes. He will not give sworn testimony or be subject to cross-examination by prosecutors or legislators; his remarks will be in response to the prosecution’s closing. The prosecution will then make a rebuttal, after which the senators will deliberate Mr. Blagojevich’s fate.
After boycotting the trial for three days, Mr. Blagojevich announced Wednesday that he wanted to address the Senate on Thursday.
“He wants to make a closing argument,” said Lucio Guerrero, the governor’s spokesman, on Wednesday. Mr. Guerrero said he was uncertain when or precisely why Mr. Blagojevich had chosen to attend the trial, which he has repeatedly denounced as unfair and fixed.
Mr. Blagojevich’s announcement, which came about an hour before the prosecution rested its case, brought negative reactions from lawmakers. Many had previously lamented the governor’s absence from the proceedings and had repeatedly requested he testify.
“It’s somewhat cowardly that he won’t take questions,” said Senator Dan Cronin, a Republican. “If he had something to say, he should have come down here like a man and faced the music.”
Since he will not be giving testimony, senators said his appearance would not be included as evidence in their deliberations.
“All the testimony was heard, so the things that we will consider, all that has taken place,” said Senator James F. Clayborne Jr., a Democrat. “I’m waiting to hear the closing argument tomorrow.”
During a publicity tour this week, Mr. Blagojevich, a two-term Democrat who was arrested Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges, repeatedly professed his innocence, calling the impeachment trial unfair, and complaining bitterly that many of the statements attributed to him on recordings of his telephone conversations, made by federal agents, had been taken out of context.
Senators here have denounced the publicity campaign. Earlier on Wednesday, the Senate president, John Cullerton, a Democrat, challenged Mr. Blagojevich to appear in Springfield. “If he wants to come down here, instead of hiding out in New York and having Larry King asking questions instead of the senators - I think he’s making a mistake.”
Still, Mr. Blagojevich’s statements seemed to rattle some senators, who worried the trial might appear politically motivated after the prosecution announced it wanted to avoid redundant testimony and would call only 6 of its 13 scheduled witnesses.
“If you eliminate half the witnesses and you speed up the process, does that send the wrong signal?” asked Senator Dave Syverson, a Republican. “Everything is being done very much above board, in fact, we’re going overboard to make sure everything is done fair. It’s just the perception.”
Other senators said that even if the additional testimony was redundant, they would rather hear it out of an abundance of caution.
“I don’t know who has a cruise or vacation to go to, but we ought to take our time,” Senator Kirk Dillard, a Republican, told a crush of reporters in an early morning break from the trial. “I’ll sit here on Super Bowl Sunday if I have to.”
Impeachment proceedings against Mr. Blagojevich erupted in the days after the governor’s arrest by federal agents. Among other things, the case includes accusations that Mr. Blagojevich tried to sell the appointment of President Barack Obama’s former United States Senate seat to the highest bidder and threatened to withhold money from a local children’s hospital, unless its executives contributed money to him.
In Thursday’s session, senators will cast votes on two issues. The first will be whether to remove the governor from office. The second will be to determine whether Mr. Blagojevich should be barred from holding office in the future.
To remove the governor from office, the senate must vote by a two-thirds majority (or at least 40 of the 59 senators). If that happens, Pat Quinn, the state’s lieutenant governor, would immediately replace him. Mr. Blagojevich would then become the first governor in the state’s history, and the first governor nationally to be removed since 1988, when Arizona lawmakers removed Gov. Evan Mecham from office. While many senators said they were still waiting to hear the closing arguments before making their final decision, it seemed unlikely that Mr. Blagojevich would be able to sway many to his side.
“This is typical of his style, the grand slam, the P.R. flourish,” said Senator Christine Radogno, the Republican minority leader. “It’s too bad he wasn’t here earlier in the week, I wish he had been.” She added, “I hope he has a ride home.”
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It's gonna be like this IRL:
For a trial that has at times seemed sleepy in the absence of its star defendant, the promise that Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich would deliver a closing argument in his impeachment trial before the Illinois State Senate had the capitol buzzing Thursday morning.
With the proceedings scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. local time, spectators packed the Senate gallery in anticipation of possibly seeing, for the first time in the state’s history, the removal from office of a sitting governor. A line of people stretched down the corridor, waiting to get in.
“It’s a big event,” said Robert Hackman, 57, a retired mail carrier who had come to the chambers hoping to see Thursday’s proceedings but had to leave for a part-time job. “I don’t expect him to resign or anything. I don’t think he’s done much more than any other politician. They all scratch each other’s back.”
Thursday’s session is to open with the prosecution’s closing argument. Then the governor will make his statement, which is expected to last 90 minutes. He will not give sworn testimony or be subject to cross-examination by prosecutors or legislators; his remarks will be in response to the prosecution’s closing. The prosecution will then make a rebuttal, after which the senators will deliberate Mr. Blagojevich’s fate.
After boycotting the trial for three days, Mr. Blagojevich announced Wednesday that he wanted to address the Senate on Thursday.
“He wants to make a closing argument,” said Lucio Guerrero, the governor’s spokesman, on Wednesday. Mr. Guerrero said he was uncertain when or precisely why Mr. Blagojevich had chosen to attend the trial, which he has repeatedly denounced as unfair and fixed.
Mr. Blagojevich’s announcement, which came about an hour before the prosecution rested its case, brought negative reactions from lawmakers. Many had previously lamented the governor’s absence from the proceedings and had repeatedly requested he testify.
“It’s somewhat cowardly that he won’t take questions,” said Senator Dan Cronin, a Republican. “If he had something to say, he should have come down here like a man and faced the music.”
Since he will not be giving testimony, senators said his appearance would not be included as evidence in their deliberations.
“All the testimony was heard, so the things that we will consider, all that has taken place,” said Senator James F. Clayborne Jr., a Democrat. “I’m waiting to hear the closing argument tomorrow.”
During a publicity tour this week, Mr. Blagojevich, a two-term Democrat who was arrested Dec. 9 on federal corruption charges, repeatedly professed his innocence, calling the impeachment trial unfair, and complaining bitterly that many of the statements attributed to him on recordings of his telephone conversations, made by federal agents, had been taken out of context.
Senators here have denounced the publicity campaign. Earlier on Wednesday, the Senate president, John Cullerton, a Democrat, challenged Mr. Blagojevich to appear in Springfield. “If he wants to come down here, instead of hiding out in New York and having Larry King asking questions instead of the senators - I think he’s making a mistake.”
Still, Mr. Blagojevich’s statements seemed to rattle some senators, who worried the trial might appear politically motivated after the prosecution announced it wanted to avoid redundant testimony and would call only 6 of its 13 scheduled witnesses.
“If you eliminate half the witnesses and you speed up the process, does that send the wrong signal?” asked Senator Dave Syverson, a Republican. “Everything is being done very much above board, in fact, we’re going overboard to make sure everything is done fair. It’s just the perception.”
Other senators said that even if the additional testimony was redundant, they would rather hear it out of an abundance of caution.
“I don’t know who has a cruise or vacation to go to, but we ought to take our time,” Senator Kirk Dillard, a Republican, told a crush of reporters in an early morning break from the trial. “I’ll sit here on Super Bowl Sunday if I have to.”
Impeachment proceedings against Mr. Blagojevich erupted in the days after the governor’s arrest by federal agents. Among other things, the case includes accusations that Mr. Blagojevich tried to sell the appointment of President Barack Obama’s former United States Senate seat to the highest bidder and threatened to withhold money from a local children’s hospital, unless its executives contributed money to him.
In Thursday’s session, senators will cast votes on two issues. The first will be whether to remove the governor from office. The second will be to determine whether Mr. Blagojevich should be barred from holding office in the future.
To remove the governor from office, the senate must vote by a two-thirds majority (or at least 40 of the 59 senators). If that happens, Pat Quinn, the state’s lieutenant governor, would immediately replace him. Mr. Blagojevich would then become the first governor in the state’s history, and the first governor nationally to be removed since 1988, when Arizona lawmakers removed Gov. Evan Mecham from office. While many senators said they were still waiting to hear the closing arguments before making their final decision, it seemed unlikely that Mr. Blagojevich would be able to sway many to his side.
“This is typical of his style, the grand slam, the P.R. flourish,” said Senator Christine Radogno, the Republican minority leader. “It’s too bad he wasn’t here earlier in the week, I wish he had been.” She added, “I hope he has a ride home.”
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It's gonna be like this IRL:
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