Don't admit guilt but instead try to bury the evidence.  Typical 
democrat...

=========================

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081219/D955PCIO2.html


Legal fight planned over Ill. governor wiretaps 
 
Dec 19, 7:36 AM (ET)

By JIM SUHR
 
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Gov. Rod Blagojevich's attorney is offering a 
glimpse of his client's unfolding legal strategy, saying he'll challenge 
the lawfulness of court-ordered wiretaps at the heart of federal 
corruption allegations against the Democrat. But the two-term governor 
may go public to defend himself first.

With Blagojevich saying he's itching to talk, perhaps as early as 
Friday, Chicago attorney Ed Genson continued bashing what's gotten his 
client in a legal bind: FBI wiretaps that prosecutors say catch 
Blagojevich scheming to deal President-elect Barack Obama's vacant 
Senate seat for campaign cash or a plum job.

Genson told an Illinois House panel considering whether to impeach 
Blagojevich that its consideration of the recorded excerpts he cast as 
meaningless "jabbering" was inappropriate, if not illegal. "I think 
you're using evidence that was illegally obtained," he said Thursday.

After the committee recessed its hearing until next week, Genson told 
reporters he planned to go after the taped conversations in court at 
some point.

Members of the House panel pledged Thursday to do nothing that would 
interfere with the investigation by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald. If 
Fitzgerald asks lawmakers not to interview certain witnesses, the 
panelists will abide by that, they said.

"The fact that no one has denied that the governor has said those things 
(on tape) is relevant. That evidence already is on our record," said 
state Rep. Lou Lang, a suburban Chicago Democrat.

While hopeful that Fitzgerald lets the panel "go in some directions" 
with some potential witnesses in the criminal case, "if he shuts us down 
completely, this committee will deal with it," Lang said.

Blagojevich's first substantial public comments - other than snippets 
shouted to reporters camped outside his Chicago home since his arrest 
last week - could come as early as Friday, Genson said. The attorney 
didn't sound keen on the prospect.

"I'm a lawyer by trade - I don't like my clients to talk to anybody," he 
said.

Genson said he expected federal grand jurors to eventually indict his 
client, which would likely unseal many of the documents in support of 
the charges, perhaps marking the point where his legal attack may truly 
begin.

"I'm talking that within the next few months the air will clear a little 
bit and we'll be able to get access to all the things that we need to 
get access to," he said. "And I'll be able to look at those things."

The impeachment process appears certain to grind on until then, possibly 
into next year, with or without Fitzgerald's help. Without it, the 
committee probably will emphasize some lower-profile allegations of 
misconduct against Blagojevich: defying the Legislature, failing to 
honor reporters' Freedom of Information requests, and trading state jobs 
and contracts for campaign contributions.

On Wednesday, the Illinois Supreme Court rejected a request to declare 
him unfit to serve, and Genson made it clear that the governor is not 
going down without a fight.

Federal prosecutors' case could be undermined - or at least greatly 
complicated - if Illinois lawmakers compel certain witnesses to testify. 
Following the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s, the convictions of 
Oliver North and John Poindexter were thrown out after the courts 
determined that the cases against them were built too much on testimony 
they gave to Congress under a promise of immunity.

The impeachment committee sent Fitzgerald a letter Thursday formally 
asking for information about people mentioned by pseudonyms in the 
criminal complaint, and requesting his guidance on who can be called to 
testify. Fitzgerald refused to comment.

When the panel returns Monday, its members hope to discuss any 
guidelines or restrictions Fitzgerald may place on them.

Committee chairwoman Barbara Flynn Currie, a Chicago Democrat like the 
governor, noted that even before Blagojevich's arrest last week, some 
lawmakers were calling for his impeachment.

"We've got plenty of evidence out there of questionable activity on the 
part of the governor," she said.

Besides the Senate-seat-for-sale allegations, the governor was accused 
of trying to strong-arm the Chicago Tribune into firing editorial 
writers who criticized him and pressuring a hospital executive for 
campaign donations.

Outraged lawmakers appointed a committee to investigate Blagojevich and 
issue a recommendation on whether he should be impeached.

Genson had no comment on what restrictions Fitzgerald should place on 
the committee. "They do what they got to do and I do what I've got to 
do, and then what happens is what we've got to do," Genson said.

Unlike the U.S. Constitution, which allows impeachment in cases of "high 
crimes and misdemeanors," the Illinois Constitution does not define an 
impeachable offense. No Illinois governor has ever been impeached, so 
lawmakers have little to go on.

Genson has complained about the lack of a clear standard and suggested 
he might raise the issue in court if the governor is impeached.

"I don't know what the line is," he told the committee. "The
line should 
be based on evidence, should be based on due process, should be based on 
confrontation." 

CMPQwk 1.42-21 9999 
Carbon Dioxide makes up just 32 parts per million of atmosphere ....

--- PCBoard (R) v15.3/M 10