Blagojevich: I’m Not Guilty!

Yesterday former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to all charges in federal court:

CHICAGO – Ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s not guilty plea to racketeering and fraud charges has begun a sequence of legal maneuvers that attorneys say will likely lead to a trial a year or two down the road, a journey he must undertake with questions surrounding his ability to pay for his own defense.

“It’s the end of the beginning in one respect but it’s the beginning of another aspect” of the case, the impeached former governor said to a media throng after he and his brother, Robert, were arraigned Tuesday on charges that include an alleged scheme to sell President Barack Obama’s former U.S. Senate seat. “That is the beginning of me being able to prove and clear my name and be vindicated of what are inaccurate allegations.”

[…]

Blagojevich faces charges including racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud, extortion conspiracy and attempted extortion, and making false statements. Most of the charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Prosecutors must give the defense team mounds of documents and recordings made over years of investigation. Defense attorneys can then be expected to ask Zagel to throw out much of it.

“The circumstances of these wiretaps hasn’t been flushed out yet,” said DePaul University law professor Leonard Cavise. “We can expect all kinds of motions to suppress evidence. They will challenge the warrants. They will challenge whether the government had probable cause” to tap Blagojevich’s home and campaign office phones.

As I’ve said before here the saddest thing about this whole episode, both for Rod Blagojevich and the people of Illinois, is that I’m convinced that although the former governor’s actual innocence strains credulity he genuinely does not know what he did that was wrong. Corruption is endemic in the system.