Walking out of the Dirksen Federal Building Monday afternoon, biting his lip and shaking his head, Rod Blagojevich‘s attorney Sam Adam Jr. said he will go to jail in order to make the missing-witness defense for his client.
“I have no qualms about going to prison if that’s what is best,” Adam said, repeating a line he gave to Judge James Zagel about 20 minutes before. Adam was adamant about his desire to raise in closing arguments the fact that the government did not call witnesses like convicted fundraisers Stuart Levine and Tony Rezko. After a sidebar, Adam sat down and was seen mouthing the words, “I did everything I can,” to Blagojevich.
Adam didn’t speak to media in the lobby of the courthouse, but grumbled to some reporters who followed him down the street and into a nearby parking garage.
“You can tell by my face how I feel about that,” Adam said, saying that he doesn’t know now whether he will deliver the closing.
“We’re gonna sit down and figure out what’s best,” Adam said.
What he is sure about, Adam continued, is that he’d go to jail for Blagojevich.
“Definitely. Definitely. Definitely. My job as a lawyer is to do everything I can for my client and if that’s what it takes, if it’s necessary to do that – in a heartbeat. My dad did it for 10 days for a client and I have no qualms about going to prison if that’s what’s best.”
Blagojevich Lawyer Sam Adam Jr.: I’d Go To Jail For Blago from Chicago News Cooperative on Vimeo.