Lying to the FBI carries a maximum sentence of five years. I'm not holding my breath.
I don't really like the lying to investigators charge, simply because that seems to be a CYA charge on the part of the investigators and prosecutors. I mean if the feds interviewed anyone long enough after tapping phones and surveillance , I'm sure they could catch them telling some lies.
Just got home from the Dr. This is absurd!! They had him dead to rights with the tapes and all.
After Judge James B. Zagel said he plans to call a mistrial on the remaining counts, federal prosecutors said they would retry Blagojevich "as quickly as possible."Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/17/attorney-lawyers-blago-case-summoned-court/)
Zagel set a hearing for Aug. 26 to decide the manner and timing of the retrial. He also said Blagojevich's bond will stay the same.
Blagojevich faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for lying to agents investigating the corruption allegations.
What's the penalty for the Fed's lying to us?
(http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1291/751745888_c81b21ec97_o.jpg)
CHIMPEACHMENT!!!!!
No surprise here. Chicago is rotten to the core.
(http://www.chimpout.com/forum/images/smilies/thats_racist.gif)
A corrupt cesspool. Such a pity because it was one of the great cities.
Chicago has been a corrupt cess pool, and a boil on the ass of humanity since the 1840s.
The first year he ran in Illinois I voted for him. Seven times. :evillaugh:
LOL.
Sounds like there was one holdout. They will try him again and do a better job this time.
People had to have known that this trial was going to be a charade.
Sounds like there was one holdout. They will try him again and do a better job this time.
Criminal justice student Eric Sarnello was willing to speak about his jury time. Some of what he said, we know: many votes just weren't unanimous. But he also painted a picture of what we couldn't see.CBS2 Chicago (http://cbs2chicago.com/local/jurors.blagojevich.corruption.2.1865627.html)
"Overall, I'd say everyone was pretty respectful. In the beginning, it was a little more heated, a lot more emotions, voting was defensive. And then we checked ourselves and took emotion out of it," said Sarnello. "To me, it was pretty clear where we were gonna end about the third day."
Despite the division, according to Sarnello, the 12 came very close to convicting Blagojevich on the biggest alleged scheme: trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.
It was 11 to 1. The holdout was a woman.
He says at times jurors were getting hostile towards the holdout juror, but then they realized that she would shut down if she felt attacked.
Blagojevich attorney says he'll ask for President Obama to testify in retrial
Chicago, IL - Aaron Goldstein, Rod Blagojevich's Attorney, has just confirmed to In Session that assuming the government retries his client, the defense will renew their motion for President Obama to be a witness in the United States of America v. Rod and Robert Blagojevich. The defense will also renew their motion for mistrial as well as their motion to dismiss.
Juror # 106, a black female believed to be in her 60s, is a retired state public health director who has ties to the Chicago Urban League. She has handed out campaign literature for a relative who ran for public office. She listens to National Public Radio and liberal talk radio shows.
The Chicago Urban League supports and advocates for economic, educational and social progress for African Americans through our agenda focused exclusively on economic empowerment as the key driver for social change.
The Chicago Urban League provides African Americans with the tools, the programs and the experiences to help them reach their full economic potential. We are committed to growing Chicago’s African-American workforce and business community with well-informed pursuit of the following four strategies....
I know FoxNews gets blamed a lot for all the "poison" it's putting into the body politic -- what poison did she ingest from NPR and liberal talk radio?
From where did she get the idea that it was right to spring a guilty man in the interest of some political gamesmanship?
I have a sneaking suspicion that someone up the liberal ladder paid a hefty sum to get her on the jury.
I have a sneaking suspicion that someone up the liberal ladder paid a hefty sum to get her on the jury.
I'm not quite to that level yet...:tinfoil: :tinfoil:
I'm sure the defense desperately wanted to find a moonbat to put on the jury. I guess the prosecution didn't do their due diligence.
Either that or she's watched enough episodes of Law & Order to know tokeep her mouth shutflat out lie during the jury selection.
I've been on enough juries to know the fault lies with the attorneys. "Will juror # so-and-so please be excused" should have been used.
But each side can strike only so many.....and knowing democrats....the jury pool was probably selected to be over loaded with ringers.
There was one problem, she found him guilty of one charge....had he been found innocent of all charges....he couldn't be retried.
Blago to appear at Chicago Comic Con
CHICAGO - Former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is slated to appear at Wizard World Chicago Comic Con on Saturday alongside the likes of William Shatner and Adam West.
Blagojevich, who on Tuesday was convicted in his corruption trial of lying to the FBI, will sign autographs, pose for pictures and meet fans at the pop culture convention at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.
“I’m looking forward to meeting loyal supporters and other fans on Saturday,” Blagojevich said.
Blagojevich: Will call Emanuel, Reid, Menendez in retrial
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Sunday that he would call a host of high-profile witnesses -- including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel -- to testify if he is retried on corruption charges.
Blagojevich, in a combative interview on "Fox News Sunday," said he was ready for a second trial on charges that he tried to sell President Barack Obama's former Senate seat. Federal prosecutors have vowed to retry Blagojevich after a jury deadlocked on all but one of 24 criminal counts the government brought against the fiery Democrat.
The state/prosecution is stupid to waste another $20 million to try this turkey. The Judge can sentence him to 5 years. If they retry him, there is the possibility that one or two moonbats will find him not guilty on all charges. Put his ass in jail and end this friggin circus.I can't agree here.
I can't agree here.
When we begin to place a dollar value on whether to prosecute criminals or not, I believe we lose our soul.
We prosecute criminals because we have enough evidence they committed a crime.
We all know Blago is guilty on more than just lying to the FBI. One single moonbat hold-out juror saved his ass - this time.
The prosecutor, Patrick Fitzgerald, is such an overzealous asshole. He tried the border guards for a cover up in shooting a drug dealer. He nailed Scooter Libby for lying to the FBI when he knew the answer to the questions. He stated before the trial that he was going to put Blago in jail for the rest of his life. The government has spent 30 million dollars on a case where no money changed hand. Ex Congressman Duke Cunningham was sentenced to 8 years for bribery of a couple million dollars along with income tax evasion.
Instead of trying Blago again, both sides should cut a deal saving save us millions and seeing Blago's crooked ass on TV everyday. Put him away for 5 years and fire Fitzgerald who is a persecutor rather than a prosecutor in my opinion.
Federal prosecutors announced today they have dropped all charges against Robert Blagojevich, the former governor's brother.
Assistant U.S. Atty. Reid Schar said the government was dropping two counts of extortion conspiracy and one count each of wire fraud and extortion because of "the disparity in the roles" of the two brothers and "in the interests of justice."
Agreed with just about all of that except that in an age where a $13 Trillion deficit is gracing our books, $30 million is a drop in the bucket.
Try Blago again, make the charges stick, then put him away for as many years as the law allows.
But fire Fitzgerald first and make sure he has nothing more to do with the government either prosecuting or defending. He could try some pro bono cases in which some drug peddler is facing 3 to 5 for intent to sell. With luck, he'll become a junkie himself.
I would like the government to drop a million or two on me. How about you?
I am tired of seeing these crooked politicians on TV. Try them and put them away. 5 years is enough for the crime he commited in my opinion. Heck, cold cash Jefferson got 13 years and he got 500 thousand dolars worth of bribes. His wife is also a crook. Blago did not get a dime for the crimes he commited.
[/i] cash in." His monumental stupidity, arrogance, and sheer selfishness ought to be enough for a 10-year sentence. He'd be out in five, which is about right. Your sentence of only 5 years puts him out in two - that ain't enough for an asshole of Blago's caliber.
Blagojevich holdout explains vote (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-blagojevich-jury-20100827,0,1393639.story)
Battling stomach pains and fatigue, JoAnn Chiakulas would take the train into the city each morning knowing that her resolve was disappointing some people and infuriating others.
But the 67-year-old grandmother said she also knew that as a juror in Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial, she had a responsibility to follow her conscience and the law. She said she did not believe he or his brother committed a crime with their actions to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat, so she would not find them guilty despite what other jurors, prosecutors and, perhaps, the general public wanted.
If it was going to be 11-1, so be it.
"I could never live with myself if I went along with the rest of the jury," Chiakulas told the Tribune in her first media interview since the trial ended. "I didn't believe it was the correct vote for me."
---- much more at link ------
:lame:
This DUmor was a community organizer in the Obamessiah's mold. Can't let a disciple of Teh Wun get his comeuppance . . . So, I think that Fitzgerald was pretty much going to fail, no matter what, because of this DUmor.
You must be confused about the difference between state and federal parole guidelines. You commit a federal crime and you will spend at least 85% to 90% of that time in prison. States let them out much sooner. For example. Ex Gov of LA was sentenced to 10 years in 2002. He is still in prison with one year to go. He gets out a year early with a reduction of 1 year for good behavior. A 5 year sentence for Blago would mean that he would be incarcerated for 4 1/2 years unless he was pardoned, and I don't think that is going to happen.
The facts are that Fitzgerald is an over zealous prosecutor who wanted to put Blago in jail for life and brought 24 charges which just confused the hell out of the jury. BTW, some of the charges were 9 to 3 and 9 to 2; not all were 11 to 1. The Judge sent the jurors 100 pages of instructions to follow. You can blame the asshole prosecutor for this screw up.
Confused? No. Momentarily forgot about the federal angle? Guilty.
While we disagree about whether or not to continue prosecuting Blago (I say let's make an example out of him and you're saying to let him go with the 5-year rap and that you're tired of the whole thing :whatever: ), we are agreed that Fitzgerald is a dufus of the first order and that his ass needs to be fired.
I guess that's something.
If they try him again, the cost will be another couple million and the possibility exists that he will get off Scott free. Like I said, the evidence is flimsy. I would rather the prosecution and the defense get together, plead guilty to 1 or 2 other charges, sentence him to 5 to 7 years, put his ass in jail and get it over with. That would be the best outcome as far as I am concerned. Justice is not served when a maniac prosecutor wants to put Blago away for the rest of his life.
Blagojevich holdout explains vote (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-blagojevich-jury-20100827,0,1393639.story)
Battling stomach pains and fatigue, JoAnn Chiakulas would take the train into the city each morning knowing that her resolve was disappointing some people and infuriating others.
But the 67-year-old grandmother said she also knew that as a juror in Rod Blagojevich's corruption trial, she had a responsibility to follow her conscience and the law. She said she did not believe he or his brother committed a crime with their actions to fill Barack Obama's Senate seat, so she would not find them guilty despite what other jurors, prosecutors and, perhaps, the general public wanted.
If it was going to be 11-1, so be it.
"I could never live with myself if I went along with the rest of the jury," Chiakulas told the Tribune in her first media interview since the trial ended. "I didn't believe it was the correct vote for me."
---- much more at link ------
:lame:
Really, if she did it for the right reasons I don't have a problem with it, she did find against him on the one count with indisputable proof, and against him on the ones that were not so indisputable.Correct. Fitzgerald had FBI agents questioning neighbors, friends and associates whether Blago gambled, cheated on his wife, went to titty bars, etc. That had nothing to do with the charges.
And Fitzgerald is a prick who uses the limitless power of the Federal purse and resources to relentlessly dig and sling mud until something sticks, unfortunately in the minds of most jurors when the prosecution is allowed to do that they get in a mindset that there really must be something to at least the vaguer charges, and they split the difference and convict on something - if you look at what he did in the Libby trial with his grandiose promises at pressers in advance versus what was ultimately served up, it was a travesty. His career is a living, breathing example of the fact that if the Government wants to spend enough money doing it, they can eventually nail anyone on something.
A slim majority statewide, 54 percent, agreed with Fitzgerald's decision to re-try Blagojevich, while 37 percent disagreed. Another 10 percent had no opinion in the survey of 600 registered Illinois voters conducted Aug. 28-Sept. 1. The error margin was 4 percentage points.
In Chicago, 35 percent of voters favored retrial and 51 percent opposed it. But 54 percent of those in the Cook County suburbs and 57 percent of those in the collar counties agreed with the notion that Blagojevich should be retried, the survey found.
As governor, Blagojevich was always more popular in the city than in the suburbs, so the geographic split over the retrial issue may to some extent reflect the pattern of political attitudes forged during his tenure.
By a slight margin, voters who identified themselves as Democrats were more inclined to disagree with the decision to retry Blagojevich, the survey found. On the other hand, more than 7 out of 10 Republican voters surveyed said they backed a retrial.
There was also a stark difference between white and black voters on the issue. White voters were for a retrial by a wide margin: 60 percent to 31 percent. The position of black voters was almost the reverse: 63 percent against a retrial and 25 percent in favor.
I say let Blago be. Fitzgerald had his shot at him and failed. They are going to spends millions to prosecute and maybe convict Blago. Not only the millions spent but for what, to send a guy to some minimum security country club Fed Prison for maybe 2 yrs.