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Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, has been taken into custody on criminal charges - Source: Reuters -
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Illinois lawmakers opened an impeachment inquiry into Governor
Rod Blagojevich, saying they would look at years of questionable
activities including last week's charge that he tried to sell the
US Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.
The head of the bipartisan committee said Blagojevich's lawyer
would attend the panel's next hearing on Wednesday.
Blagojevich, a Democrat, was arrested and charged a week ago with
scheming to trade the vacant Senate seat and political favours for
campaign cash and jobs.
The governor has denied doing anything wrong and refused calls from
within his own party to resign.
His lawyer, Edward Genson, said Tuesday they would fight the
charges.
"The case that I've seen so far is significantly exaggerated. It's
not what people think it is," Genson said.
That stance and a lengthy impeachment process could be a
distraction as Obama announces Cabinet nominations and tries to lay
out an agenda for dealing with the recession and other crises after
his January 20 inauguration.
Obama has said he had no contact with the governor, and his staff
acted appropriately in discussions about the Senate seat.
The president-elect was not implicated in the federal
investigation.
Obama, asked on Tuesday whether the state should hold a special
election to fill the Senate seat, said: "I've said that I don't
think the governor can serve effectively in his office. I'm going
to let the state legislature make a determination in terms of how
they want to proceed."
After Illinois legislators authorized the impeachment committee on
Monday, Democrats put off any consideration of a special election,
triggering howls from Republicans who see an opening to fill the
seat with one of their own.
Blagojevich still has sole authority to fill the seat, but has been
urged not to in view of the taint from the charges.
The 21-member state legislative committee met briefly on Tuesday in
Springfield, the state capital.
Committee chair Rep Barbara Currie, a Democrat from Chicago,
suggested several avenues of investigation and asked the public to
weigh in with any evidence of Blagojevich misdeeds.
"We would be more than happy to hear from ordinary folks,
whistleblowers, whatever, who think they have something to offer,"
she said.
Currie said the committee would seek permission to speak to
witnesses and review documents from the US attorney in Chicago,
Patrick Fitzgerald, who brought the federal case last week with the
help of court-approved wiretaps.
Hugh Totten, a Chicago lawyer unaffiliated with the case, said
there is a danger that witnesses granted immunity by the
impeachment committee may escape the grasp of prosecutors.
"The legislators might grant immunity to the guys making the
payments" to the governor, he said.
But Currie said the committee would be sensitive to the federal
investigation.
One witness who may not be heard from is imprisoned businessman
Tony Rezko, a Blagojevich adviser who was convicted of extorting
bribes as a political fixer and is cited as a co-operating witness
in the complaint against the governor.
Rezko was an active campaign fund-raiser for the governor and also
raised funds for Obama when he ran for Senate.
A federal judge on Tuesday granted a request from Rezko's lawyers
to postpone his sentencing, which may indicate he will be called
upon to testify against the governor.
The legal cloud hanging over Blagojevich was also weighing on state
finances.
The charges and Illinois' projected $2 billion budget deficit were cited by Fitch Ratings when it downgraded the state's general obligation debt to AA-minus from AA.
The two other major debt ratings agencies cited the impediment
of the legal woes in issuing warnings.
The state on Tuesday held a delayed auction of $1.4 billion in
notes that would help pay off some of the $4.5 billion backlog of
unpaid bills.
