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Fitzgerald Asks For Extension On Blago Indictment
US Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald has asked for a 90-day extension to bring an indictment against Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich.
In a motion filed today in U.S. District Court, Fitzgerald said that the length, scope, and complexity of the investigation, combined with the intrusion of the holiday season, has prevented him from meeting the January 7 deadline. The probe, writes the prosecutor, began in 2003 and "involves multiple potential defendants" and thousands of intercepted phone calls.
The move means that we likely won't learn much more from Fitzgerald about Blagojevich's alleged crimes until at least March. So speculation is likely to continue.
We'll have the motion for you soon...
Late Update: Here it is.
Josh
Zachary
So basically Fitzgerald cannot get his act together on even the two counts in the criminal complaint. Since the two people charged don't seem to mind the extension, it's not a further violation of due process by Fitzgerald. But it reinforces the notion that he's inept or corrupt.
US Attorneys should not engage in political manipulations.
December 31, 2008 2:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
sorry eds, that's the stupidest fucking thing
i've read since this started. what planet are
you living on?
December 31, 2008 3:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well, dave... Fitz. may be as stupid as all that, or maybe you should get out more! Either way, Happy New Year to all!
December 31, 2008 8:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
I second that eds. He has been investigating him since 2003 and the damning press conference on Dec. 9 had nothing to do with that case he's been building for five years. No one was cooperating with Blago's alleged attempt to sell the senate seat, Fitzgerald said as much himself, and most of the prime candidates said they were surprised as they hadn't been approached with such a scheme.
December 31, 2008 3:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not sure about whether anyone was cooperating or not. There's some suggestion the JJJ's "emissary" was involved in some kind of deal idea. But then there are hints that JJJ has been working with Fitz. for many months, in which case any such emissary may have been a sting operation. The fact is that Fitz. has NOT accused Blago of selling the seat, and Obama is wrong to have phrased his comment the way he did.
Fitz. might have a solid case, but so far it looks Xmas wrapping on hot air, the day after.
December 31, 2008 8:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, Blagojevich is the Kwame Kilpatrick of Illinois State government . . . But I still remain unanswered about whether the timimg of this whole thing is about Blago pulling the State's cash from BofA in an attempt to force BofA to fund a certain window manufacturer's credit line AND cast grayness upon Obama by the Bush43 Legacy Tour . . .
December 31, 2008 7:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Fitz admitted in his initial press conference that he moved on Blago before the investigation was ripe in order to stop the attempt to sell Obama's Senate seat.
Crimes, he said, had been committed, in various pay to play schemes. But he could not wait to complete the investigation into those cases if it meant that he would have to stand by and watch a Senate seat sold in the interim.
If you believe Fitz about what's on the tapes - and the quotes are pretty damned impressive - then you understand why he acted when he did and why he needs more time.
A number of former Blago aides have resigned and are said to be cooperating with Fitzgerald, and many of those who were shaken down are talking. Fitz runs a tight ship with few - if any - leaks.
But available information about who's cooperating makes it clear this one is moving quickly. It's just so wide-ranging, it's gonna take time to wrap it up and be ready for court.
January 1, 2009 9:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
That it bull. There are two criminal counts on the table. Neither is a slam dunk conviction. "wide ranging" means there is no solid case on any given count, or Fitz. is holding back key evidence.
Based on what is now public Fitz. should be fired. And he's asked for 90 days when his excuses are really only worth at most 2 weeks. So his case against Blago sucks at this point.
Innuendo and trial by press conference are NOT what a US Attorney should engage in.
January 1, 2009 11:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
But he could not wait to complete the investigation into those cases if it meant that he would have to stand by and watch a Senate seat sold in the interim.
And yet Fitz said at that same press conference no other party did anything wrong, no other party was taking Blago up on his offer. I wouldn't be surprised if several candidates, not just JJJ, went to Fitz and told him Blago was poisoning the senate seat with his baldfaced demands. Hell even if he made none everybody in IL hated him, they could have just asked him to get on with it and indict him already.
I think Fitz got desperate and went to Plan B: the wiretaps. Rezko was convicted in June. His sentencing was supposed to be in Sept., then Oct., then Dec., and is now pushed back indefinately. After five long years I don't think Rezko gave him enough to nail Blago. And/or Fitz was being tipped off by others Blago was currently trying to shake down that Rod was getting ever more desperate himself and making crazier demands by the day. Everybody expected Blago to be indicted sooner or later and he needed big money to defend himself.
What remains to be seen is whether Fitz jumped the gun. Was he way too invested in getting Blago to recognize the weakness of the case he laid out on Dec. 9? Did he think he could hold the press conference and get the enemies of his enemy in the State Assembly to impeach him quickly giving him the result he wanted without having to convict on his shaky case? The second scenario sure looks plausible. Mike Madigan controls the State House and hates Blago with a passion that rivals Fitz's.
But Madigan also wants his daughter Lisa the State AG to run for governor, probably as soon as 2010. It doesn't help her prospects by rushing to judgment on Blago only to elevate Pat Quinn to the governorship. Even if she beat Quinn in a bruising primary - and there's no guarantee of that - she might not win the general. Quinn is a do gooder, Madigan doesn't control him and an unwounded do gooder in the governor's mansion is less desirable than a mortally wounded lameduck Blago. Quinn would be a roadblock, Blago would just be roadkill.
January 1, 2009 11:58 AM | Reply | Permalink
Another angle: Maybe Rezko is screwing Fitz. with hints and lures in hopes that Fitz will somehow stumble on something Rezko doesn't know and thus get Rezko a reduced sentence for cooperating with Fitz. So Fitz has enough (information and belief based on vague Rezko insinuations) to get wiretap orders in Oct and Nov time frame. He gets some juicy stuff the National Enquirer might love to print (maybe with "bleeps", I don't know if they print "fuck" etc.). And now Fitz. is way out on a limb trying to cover his ass and hoping the Blago will do something stupid like Libby may have done.
This whole thing strikes me as very dirty.
Thanks for questioning whether Fitz. "jumped the gun".
January 1, 2009 11:41 PM | Reply | Permalink
This is just bad form. Either he has enough to charge him or he shouldn't have raised such a hoohah to begin with. Fitz didn't nail Libby for anything other than lying. The real crime was treason. I'm starting to think Blago will weather this thing for better or worse.
Enjoy.
January 1, 2009 7:06 PM | Reply | Permalink