For more than two weeks the jury in the Rod Blagojevich case mulled over the evidence of the government’s 24 count indictment, and when all was said and done Tuesday, they found the former Illinois governor guilty of lying to the FBI, but could not bring forth a conviction on the more serious charges of racketeering, bribery and extortion.
The government, behind their high profile prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald, who successfully got convictions on the likes of Scooter Libby and another former Illinois governor George Ryan, failed to provide the evidence necessary to convict Blagojevich. The jury found Blagojevich to be a liar, so what must they think of the government’s ill-conceived attempt prove he was guilty of more?
Prosecutors are now talking about a retrial, after they figure what went wrong with this trial, but in the current political and economic climate you have to wonder if the expense of another trial is worth the effort. What do the people have to gain by another Blagojevich media circus? He was forced out of the governor’s office, his political career is ruined and he could serve from one to five years for perjury; it’s time to let it go.
Fitzgerald will be chomping at the bit over this loss, but he should take his lumps and go home. We spend far too much time and money trying to shake down corrupt politicians, when it seems to be common knowledge that few of them are totally honest. The issue that bothers me most about this case is the enthusiasm the government showed in going after Blagojevich in the first place; there are plenty of fish in the sea of corruption, so why did they throw all their bait at him?
Essentially, Blagojevich has been convicted of lying to the FBI about his knowledge of who contributed to his campaign coffers, and how much they contributed. I believe a good number of politicians may be found guilty of similar infractions if the government sought to pursue cases against them.
We may never know if Blagojevich was trying to sell President Obama’s senate seat, or if he is guilty of some of the other charges the government brought against him. All we know for sure at this point is the prosecution failed to prove their case, and paying for the expense of another trial may not provide us with any further information. It’s time to let Blagojevich sail off into obscurity.
