Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich is too broke to afford official transcripts of his trial, according to a motion filed by his attorneys this week that seeks a judgment for acquittal or a completely new trial.
“Prior to the end of trial,” the motion reads, “defendant‘s fund from which his legal fees were paid was depleted, and as a result, Blagojevich has not been able to procure copies of the official transcripts from trial.”
It continues: “Counsel is also not in possession of transcripts from all arguments made in open court. As a result, counsel submits the instant motion without the benefit of reviewing all of the official transcripts.”
Among other things, the 31-page, post-trial motion takes issue with the way the jury was asked to render a verdict on the false statement charge, Count 24 of Blagojevich’s indictment. The jury was asked to decide whether Blagojevich deliberately misled FBI agents in 2005, and found him guilty based on one statement, according to the filing.
Blagojevich’s attorneys charge that this process was unfair, and that the statement Blagojevich made was presented incompletely to the jury.
In addition, Blagojevich’s lawyers charge that prosecutors have “been tainted by misconduct and questionable ethical standards from day one,” pointing to U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald‘s press conference following the ex-governor’s arrest. It further accuses the government of “judge-shopping,” although it doesn’t explain much more.
The motion continues: “Serious questions should be asked by this Court (and the defense would urge an investigation into) why Blagojevich was arrested on December 9, 2008 – days from making an announcement on the Senate appointment. If the ―crime spree was occurring, why was Jesse Jackson, Jr. never implicated in any wrongdoing?”
Blagojevich’s attorneys also take issue with the way in which the government decided to drop charges against the former governor’s brother, Robert.
“The prosecutor told Robert‘s lawyer that if Robert was interested in a severance,” the motion claims, “the government would agree to it, so long as Robert agreed to be re-tried after Rod. Counsel for Robert did not agree to this and the next morning in open court, the charges against Robert were dropped. It is an outrage that the U.S. Attorney‘s Office is so focused on winning this case that it abdicates its duty under the Rules of Professional Responsibility and used a federal indictment against Robert as a pawn in the prosecution of Rod.”
The motion is signed by attorneys Sam Adam Sr. and Lauren Kaeseberg.