Blago Lawyers Map Defense Strategy

Lawyers for Rod Blagojevich will not have to call defense witnesses until next week.

Judge James Zagel told both sides this morning that if the prosecution rests its case today, he will not call the jury back until the start of next week.

Blagojevich’s team plans to argue a ‘lack of willfulness defense, Sam Adam Sr., an attorney for the impeached governor, told the court. The defense introduced the possibility of this strategy in a filing last week. Other potential defenses Blagojevich’s attorneys considered in that filing included “reliance on the advice of others including attorneys” and “reasonable doubt.”

On Tuesday, Adam suggested that the lack of willfulness defense will rely on an “informal advice-of-counsel defense,” which ultimately will argue that Blagojevich received bad information from his advisers and aides on what he could and could not do. Zagel said there is nothing that the defense has presented to the court that will allow a formal advice-of-counsel defense. Both sides have debated for weeks whether former aides who had law degrees or legal backgrounds were acting in the formal role of counselors. Zagel has sided with the government, which has argued that they were not.

Adam declared once more Tuesday morning that Blagojevich will take the stand in his defense: “He will testify,” Adam said. Zagel noted that Blagojevich’s testimony is essential to his attorney’s planned defense.

Before this, the judge overruled another defense objection to admitting Blagojevich’s Blagojevich’s legal fees with Wintston & Strawn as evidence.

“What evidence is relative to is his motive because it shows explicitly that he understood the cost of legal representation,” Zagel said.

Up on the stand now is FBI Agent Daniel Cain, who is introducing a slew of documentary and tape-recorded evidence. Following him will be former top Blagojevich aide and close friend John Wyma.