Rod Blagojevich corruption charges

In December 2008, then-Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris were charged with corruption by federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. As a result, Blagojevich was impeached by the Illinois General Assembly and removed from office by the Illinois Senate in January 2009. The federal investigation continued after his removal from office and he was indicted on corruption charges in April 2009. The jury found him guilty of one charge of making false statements with a mistrial being declared on the other 23 counts due to a hung jury after 14 days of jury deliberation. On June 27, 2011, after a retrial, Blagojevich was found guilty of 17 charges (including wire fraud, attempted extortion, and conspiracy to solicit bribes), not guilty on one charge and the jury deadlocked after 10 days of deliberation on the two remaining charges. On December 7, 2011, Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison. The investigation became public knowledge when a federal judge revealed that Blagojevich was the "Public Official A" in the indictment of Tony Rezko. The case gained widespread attention with the simultaneous arrests of Blagojevich and his chief of staff, John Harris, on December 9, 2008, at their homes by federal agents. Blagojevich and Harris were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of soliciting bribes. The case involved sweeping pay to play and influence peddling allegations, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for Barack Obama, who had resigned after being elected President of the United States (see bribery). United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald noted that there had been no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama. After the arrest, Illinois elected officials began calling on Blagojevich to resign. The 50 members of the U.S. Senate's Democratic caucus called on Blagojevich to not appoint a senator and pledged not to seat anyone he attempted to appoint. Legislators introduced bills in both houses of the Illinois General Assembly to remove the Governor's power to appoint a senator and require a special election; however, no such bill passed. Blagojevich did eventually appoint Roland Burris to the seat. Despite attempts to keep Burris from taking the seat in the U.S. Senate, he was eventually allowed to take the oath of office. Within days of Blagojevich's arrest, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a motion with the Illinois Supreme Court seeking to declare the Governor "unable to serve" and strip him of the powers of his office. The court denied the request. Meanwhile, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Mike Madigan (the Attorney General's father) announced that on December 16 he would begin impeachment proceedings. The state House impeached Blagojevich on January 9, 2009, and the state Senate convicted him on January 29, thereby removing him; they also disqualified him from holding further office in the state. Background: Blagojevich had been under investigation for corrupt activity for four years, as part of a broader federal investigation by Fitzgerald, code-named Operation Board Games, that had been going on for three years. To date, 15 people have been charged in connection with the investigation. Blagojevich had long been suspected to be a target of the investigation, but it was confirmed by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve that he was the "Public Official A" referred to in the federal indictment of Tony Rezko. Just before the 2008 U.S. general elections, federal investigators were granted authority to tape Blagojevich's conversations. On December 8, 2008, in a press conference, Blagojevich claimed, "whether you tape me privately or publicly, I can tell you that whatever I say is always lawful and the things I'm interested in are always lawful." He further stated that "if anybody wants to tape my conversations, go right ahead, feel free to do it. I appreciate anybody who wants to tape me openly and notoriously; and those who feel like they want to sneakily, and wear taping devices, I would remind them that it kind of smells like Nixon and Watergate." After a meeting between Blagojevich and Jesse Jackson Jr. regarding the Senate seat, when asked his thoughts on being the subject of federal tapings, Blagojevich stated that he didn't believe there's any cloud that hangs over him that he though there's nothing but sunshine hanging over him." Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff John Harris were arrested at their homes at 6:15 a.m. on December 9, 2008 by deputies of the United States Marshals Service on behalf of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Blagojevich and Harris were each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of soliciting bribes. The case involved sweeping pay to play and influence peddling allegations, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for Barack Obama when the later resigned after being elected U.S. President. United States Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald noted that there had been no evidence of wrongdoing by Obama. The cases are part of a broader federal investigation by Fitzgerald code-named Operation Board Games that had been going on for three years in which 15 people have been charged by Fitzgerald. Before the scandal, Blagojevich considered himself as a contender for the 2016 presidential election, but was willing to pursue an interim position as a Cabinet member, United States ambassador, or a high profile corporate titan instead. The governor viewed his statutory power to appoint a replacement for Obama in the U.S. Senate as convertible currency of the form that could assure this future. Soon after the Presidential election, it became very clear to Fitzgerald from his wiretaps that a sale of the Senate seat was imminent; Fitzgerald immediately pressed for Blagojevich's arrest. After the arrest, the prosecution began proceedings to obtain an indictment from a grand jury; this process was granted an extension to April 7, 2009. A federal grand jury in Illinois returned an indictment against Blagojevich and five other defendants on April 2, 2009. Blagojevich is the seventh Illinois Governor to have been arrested or indicted; and became the fourth, following Dan Walker, who has been jailed since 1971. As well as the allegations concerning the Senate seat, Blagojevich has also been charged with: -Attempting to extort the owners of the Tribune Company to fire Chicago Tribune editors who criticized the governor's handling of state affairs. -Abuse of power concerning release of US$8 million of state funds to Children's Memorial Hospital expecting to obtain a $50,000 campaign contribution. -Seeking graft in the form of $2.5 million in campaign contributions (through 2008) from companies and individuals who have received state contracts or appointments. On January 2, 2009 Governor Blagojevich's federal security clearance was revoked by the United States Department of Homeland Security. -In June 2009, it was determined by the judge overseeing the case that the Blagojevich trial would start on June 3, 2010. In the wake of the scandal, reform measures are being proposed. Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold, who then served as the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Property Rights, had stated that he would introduce a constitutional amendment requiring vacant Senate seats be filled by special elections, as the House of Representatives requires; however, nothing ever came of it.