Taxpayers may be thankful that Rod Blagojevich‘s lawyers decided to rest their case on Wednesday without calling witnesses, cutting short his corruption trial by weeks. The ex-governor’s court-controlled legal fund (what was formerly Blagojevich’s campaign chest) is scraping the bottom of the barrel.
Donna Carey, manager of administrative services at the U.S. District Court in Chicago, said that the fund’s current balance, which started around $2.5 million, is now down to $76,281. And that is before the July disbursement has been issued, which will likely wipe the account clean.
After the current balance is exhausted, Blagojevich would then be able to apply for federal funds through the Justice Department, so he can pay his attorneys and the remainder of his legal expenses.