Grendel
01-29-2009, 08:34 PM
Illinois Senate Votes to Oust Gov. Rod Blagojevich
By Peter Slevin and Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 29, 2009; 6:11 PM
CHICAGO, Jan. 29 -- The Illinois Senate voted unanimously Thursday to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) from office for abuse of power, ending a weeks-long impeachment ordeal that ranged between drama and farce.
One by one, Republicans and Democrats stood to call for the governor's ouster, rejecting his last-minute pleas and criticizing him as a liar and a hypocrite before voting in the late afternoon.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn (D) instantly became the state's 41st governor. Although they were elected to office at the same time, she and Blagojevich had a falling out and have not spoken since August 2007.
By a matching 59 to 0 vote, the Senate also voted to bar Blagojevich for life from holding Illinois political office.
Blagojevich, who addressed the senators Thursday morning and told them he had done nothing wrong, was already home in Chicago went the votes were tallied.
When he arrived home, he changed into running clothes and went for a jog.
Talking with reporters later, he called the verdict "un-American."
"I predicted it. The fix was in from the beginning," Blagojevich said, adding that he wants no pity. "There are tens of thousands of people across America just like me who are losing their jobs, or who have lost their jobs.
"To the people of Illinois," Blagojevich said, "God bless all of you. I want you to know that I haven't let you down."
Quinn, who became the 41st governor or Illinois when Blagojevich was convicted, quoted labor leader Cesar Chavez.
"Si, se puede," Quinn said. Yes, we can.
"The rule of law prevailed in Illinois. We are ready to move forward," Quinn said. "Something I'm going to work on night and day is to ask folks to put aside differences of the past and really focus on the common good. We're going to make this a year of reform in Illinois."
Earlier in the day, the House prosecutor summed up the case against the governor, saying that "the pattern of abuse of power is unmistakable" and Blagojevich should be removed from office.
"The evidence showed that throughout his tenure as governor, the governor has abused the power of his office and put his own interests above the interests of the people," David Ellis told the 59 senators.
"Which interests?" Ellis asked, quoting Blagojevich's own words as captured on secret FBI tape recordings. "Legal. Personal. Political."
Blagojevich defended his actions shortly after Ellis finished, criticizing the proceedings as "a rush to judgment and an evisceration of the presumption of innocence."
"There was never a conversation where I intended to break any law," Blagojevich said. "I'm appealing to you and your sense of fairness."
"How can you throw a governor out of office on a criminal complaint and you haven't been able to show or to prove any criminal activity?" Blagojevich asked.
Evidence that the prosecution contends was an illegal attempt to squeeze a bribe from a horse racing executive, Blagojevich said, amounted to "things all of us in politics do to run campaigns and win elections."
After Blagojevich finished a speech that was long on passion and short on answers, lawmakers offered their impressions. Few thought he had done much to help his cause.
"The governor is always very charismatic, and he had some sense of contrition and apologetic tone to his speech," said Sen. Martin Sandoval, a Chicago Democrat. "Nonetheless, it seems a little too late."
Rep. Jack D. Franks and Rep. Susana A. Mendoza said they were surprised by the governor's comments that FBI wiretaps showed nothing more than politics as usual.
"My jaw dropped," said Mendoza (D).
"He admitted he shook down others, and said that's what you do to get elected."
Franks (D) added, "He said we all do that. Well that's not what we do because that's absolutely illegal."
"The only question today was whether he was going to go kicking and screaming or whether he would have some dignity and resign," said Franks, who was unmoved when Blagojevich said he now inhabits a lonely place.
"Its lonely," Franks said, "because all of his once inner circle are either convicted or cooperating with the federal government."
Blagojevich, awaiting trial on federal corruption charges in Chicago, refused to mount a defense and would not allow himself to be questioned about evidence that Ellis described as a series of plots to benefit from his official actions.
About half of the 13 paragraphs in the lone article of impeachment are based on evidence and allegations in a 76-page FBI affidavit that depicts Blagojevich trying to sell President Obama's former U.S. Senate seat, force the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial writers and pressure business leaders for campaign contributions in return for the governor's acts.
In the most surprising aspect of his rambling speech, Blagojevich asked senators to extend the trial and allow him to call witnesses and present evidence.
Blagojevich pointedly missed a deadline to challenge the impeachment allegations and call witnesses, sending no attorney to file legal motions or otherwise represent him.
In television interviews in New York this week, he has complained that he cannot call certain witnesses who could testify that they did not hear him seek favors for appointing Obama's successor. He omitted mention of witnesses who might testify against him.
The prosecution has expressed its own frustration at not being allowed by federal prosecutors to call witnesses who would be expected to say that he did seek favors.
Ellis, who was prevented by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald from calling such witnesses -- people expected to testify in the criminal trial, told the senators that they could rely on the testimony of FBI special agent Daniel Cain that incriminating comments by Blagojevich were faithfully transcribed and were not taken out of context.
"The governor's own words," Ellis said at one point. "The governor's own words. Scheming and plotting to shake down the Tribune Company: Fire your editorial board members if you want $150 million in state aid.
"Fifteen different conversations," Ellis said of the Tribune allegations in the affidavit. "Fifteen different examples of abuse."
In all, Ellis said, the affidavit includes excerpts from 60 conversations. He replayed four of them for the senators.
As Blagojevich's voice echoed from the speakers as the tapes played, senators took notes, followed along in their printed transcripts or rocked in their chairs. One leaned far back and stared up at the ornate ceiling as Blagojevich and his brother discussed contributions from a horse racing lobbyist.
A number of members of the Illinois House sat in the gallery looking down on the proceedings. The House on Jan. 9 voted 114 to 1 to impeach Blagojevich, with three lawmakers not voting. The legislative session subsequently expired, and the new House held another vote on sending the impeachment to the state Senate for trial. That vote was 117 to 1.
In the public gallery earlier in the day, sentiment was running against Blagojevich.
"He keeps talking about a kangaroo court," said Judy Ingham, 64, a retired banker who arrived an hour early to claim a seat. "His media appearances were the kangaroo court."
"We've been hoping for this for a long time, but we didn't ever think it would happen until Fitzgerald," said retired state employee Randy Fulks. "This is a state employee town, and he never liked state employees. He lives in Chicago when there's a governor's mansion here."What a circus.
Hard to imagine the thought process that leads an elected official to seek an audience on The View with something like this going on.
You can only figure he knows his goose to be so thoroughly cooked that he's going to make his eventual book as bizarre as possible.
By Peter Slevin and Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 29, 2009; 6:11 PM
CHICAGO, Jan. 29 -- The Illinois Senate voted unanimously Thursday to remove Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) from office for abuse of power, ending a weeks-long impeachment ordeal that ranged between drama and farce.
One by one, Republicans and Democrats stood to call for the governor's ouster, rejecting his last-minute pleas and criticizing him as a liar and a hypocrite before voting in the late afternoon.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn (D) instantly became the state's 41st governor. Although they were elected to office at the same time, she and Blagojevich had a falling out and have not spoken since August 2007.
By a matching 59 to 0 vote, the Senate also voted to bar Blagojevich for life from holding Illinois political office.
Blagojevich, who addressed the senators Thursday morning and told them he had done nothing wrong, was already home in Chicago went the votes were tallied.
When he arrived home, he changed into running clothes and went for a jog.
Talking with reporters later, he called the verdict "un-American."
"I predicted it. The fix was in from the beginning," Blagojevich said, adding that he wants no pity. "There are tens of thousands of people across America just like me who are losing their jobs, or who have lost their jobs.
"To the people of Illinois," Blagojevich said, "God bless all of you. I want you to know that I haven't let you down."
Quinn, who became the 41st governor or Illinois when Blagojevich was convicted, quoted labor leader Cesar Chavez.
"Si, se puede," Quinn said. Yes, we can.
"The rule of law prevailed in Illinois. We are ready to move forward," Quinn said. "Something I'm going to work on night and day is to ask folks to put aside differences of the past and really focus on the common good. We're going to make this a year of reform in Illinois."
Earlier in the day, the House prosecutor summed up the case against the governor, saying that "the pattern of abuse of power is unmistakable" and Blagojevich should be removed from office.
"The evidence showed that throughout his tenure as governor, the governor has abused the power of his office and put his own interests above the interests of the people," David Ellis told the 59 senators.
"Which interests?" Ellis asked, quoting Blagojevich's own words as captured on secret FBI tape recordings. "Legal. Personal. Political."
Blagojevich defended his actions shortly after Ellis finished, criticizing the proceedings as "a rush to judgment and an evisceration of the presumption of innocence."
"There was never a conversation where I intended to break any law," Blagojevich said. "I'm appealing to you and your sense of fairness."
"How can you throw a governor out of office on a criminal complaint and you haven't been able to show or to prove any criminal activity?" Blagojevich asked.
Evidence that the prosecution contends was an illegal attempt to squeeze a bribe from a horse racing executive, Blagojevich said, amounted to "things all of us in politics do to run campaigns and win elections."
After Blagojevich finished a speech that was long on passion and short on answers, lawmakers offered their impressions. Few thought he had done much to help his cause.
"The governor is always very charismatic, and he had some sense of contrition and apologetic tone to his speech," said Sen. Martin Sandoval, a Chicago Democrat. "Nonetheless, it seems a little too late."
Rep. Jack D. Franks and Rep. Susana A. Mendoza said they were surprised by the governor's comments that FBI wiretaps showed nothing more than politics as usual.
"My jaw dropped," said Mendoza (D).
"He admitted he shook down others, and said that's what you do to get elected."
Franks (D) added, "He said we all do that. Well that's not what we do because that's absolutely illegal."
"The only question today was whether he was going to go kicking and screaming or whether he would have some dignity and resign," said Franks, who was unmoved when Blagojevich said he now inhabits a lonely place.
"Its lonely," Franks said, "because all of his once inner circle are either convicted or cooperating with the federal government."
Blagojevich, awaiting trial on federal corruption charges in Chicago, refused to mount a defense and would not allow himself to be questioned about evidence that Ellis described as a series of plots to benefit from his official actions.
About half of the 13 paragraphs in the lone article of impeachment are based on evidence and allegations in a 76-page FBI affidavit that depicts Blagojevich trying to sell President Obama's former U.S. Senate seat, force the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial writers and pressure business leaders for campaign contributions in return for the governor's acts.
In the most surprising aspect of his rambling speech, Blagojevich asked senators to extend the trial and allow him to call witnesses and present evidence.
Blagojevich pointedly missed a deadline to challenge the impeachment allegations and call witnesses, sending no attorney to file legal motions or otherwise represent him.
In television interviews in New York this week, he has complained that he cannot call certain witnesses who could testify that they did not hear him seek favors for appointing Obama's successor. He omitted mention of witnesses who might testify against him.
The prosecution has expressed its own frustration at not being allowed by federal prosecutors to call witnesses who would be expected to say that he did seek favors.
Ellis, who was prevented by U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald from calling such witnesses -- people expected to testify in the criminal trial, told the senators that they could rely on the testimony of FBI special agent Daniel Cain that incriminating comments by Blagojevich were faithfully transcribed and were not taken out of context.
"The governor's own words," Ellis said at one point. "The governor's own words. Scheming and plotting to shake down the Tribune Company: Fire your editorial board members if you want $150 million in state aid.
"Fifteen different conversations," Ellis said of the Tribune allegations in the affidavit. "Fifteen different examples of abuse."
In all, Ellis said, the affidavit includes excerpts from 60 conversations. He replayed four of them for the senators.
As Blagojevich's voice echoed from the speakers as the tapes played, senators took notes, followed along in their printed transcripts or rocked in their chairs. One leaned far back and stared up at the ornate ceiling as Blagojevich and his brother discussed contributions from a horse racing lobbyist.
A number of members of the Illinois House sat in the gallery looking down on the proceedings. The House on Jan. 9 voted 114 to 1 to impeach Blagojevich, with three lawmakers not voting. The legislative session subsequently expired, and the new House held another vote on sending the impeachment to the state Senate for trial. That vote was 117 to 1.
In the public gallery earlier in the day, sentiment was running against Blagojevich.
"He keeps talking about a kangaroo court," said Judy Ingham, 64, a retired banker who arrived an hour early to claim a seat. "His media appearances were the kangaroo court."
"We've been hoping for this for a long time, but we didn't ever think it would happen until Fitzgerald," said retired state employee Randy Fulks. "This is a state employee town, and he never liked state employees. He lives in Chicago when there's a governor's mansion here."What a circus.
Hard to imagine the thought process that leads an elected official to seek an audience on The View with something like this going on.
You can only figure he knows his goose to be so thoroughly cooked that he's going to make his eventual book as bizarre as possible.