By Steve Rhodes
Best opening question in a cross-examination ever:
“Mr. Blagojevich, you are a convicted liar, correct?” Assistant U.S. Atty. Reid Schar asked.
“Yes,” Blagojevich answered.
Instant classic, Mr. Schar. Or to whoever credit is due – Patrick Fitzgerald may have had something to do with it.
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“Schar is attacking Rod Blagojevich by pointing out he once told an adviser to put false information about Jesse Jackson Jr.’s chances for being named a senator into a newspaper gossip column, the Tribune reported in its live coverage yesterday. [The columnist was Sneed; see Chicago Columnist Outed As Blago’s Favorite Patsy.]
“Schar asked if that was a lie.
“‘That was a misdirection play in politics,’ Blagojevich said. ‘It was not factual.’
“‘It was a lie,’ Schar said again.
“‘I don’t see it that way,’ Blagojevich said.
“The ex-governor said he was just trying to bolster the chances for ‘the Madigan deal’ that he had testified so much about ‘that I would love to answer questions about.’
“Schar asked if Blagojevich was trying to deceive public officials knowing no one would challenge him.
“‘It’s the quarterback faking a handoff and throwing long,’ Blagojevich said. ‘It’s part of the business. That was designed for the inside-political world.'”
The inside political world knows not to believe anything they read in Sneed but to instead parse out the meaning and motive of each planted item. Sneed gets paid a lot of money to carry out that function.
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“On Nov. 4, 2008, Blagojevich held a press conference to talk about his Senate pick and had been asked about whether he might appoint himself. Blagojevich told a reporter he was not interested in the seat, Schar pointed out, so that, too, was a lie.”
But Blago didn’t see it that way. Just a misdirection play. Because that’s how much he loves the people of Illinois.
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“Schar is challenging Rod Blagojevich’s statement last year after his conviction for lying to the FBI that the FBI had not allowed the meeting to be recorded.
“At a press conference, Blagojevich had said the process that led to his conviction for lying about his knowledge of fundraising was unfair because it was not recorded.
“Schar asked Blagojevich if he recalled the FBI bringing in recording equipment ‘right in front of you.’
“‘I don’t recall recording devices or anything like that in that interview,’ Blagojevich said.”
This was the interview; it turned out that Blagojevich’s lawyers were the ones who wouldn’t allow it to be taped.
From the first trial, via Fox Chicago News: “On March 16, 2005, [FBI agent Patrick] Murphy testified, the FBI interviewed Blagojevich at the Winston and Strawn law offices. Murphy and and another FBI agent interviewed Blagojevich in front of several attorneys. Before the interview started, Murphy testified they offered to record Blagojevich’s interview, but they were refused.”
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From Beachwood contributor Astralopry:
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http://www.simulation-argument.com/
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4:48 p.m. CDT June 2, 2011
“Blago pressed about ‘good for me’ comment
“Schar asked if he had told aides that his internal process should ‘mirror’ the external process the public was seeing. Blagojevich’s lawyer, Sheldon Sorosky, objected, saying he wanted to know when that was said.
“‘Ever,’ interjected U.S. District Judge James Zagel, telling Schar to put the word ‘ever’ into the question.
“Schar asked again about the mirroring of the two processes, and Blagojevich asked what that meant.
“‘These are your words!’ Schar said loudly.
“What he was getting at, Schar went on, was whether Blagojevich had ‘good for the state and good for me’ as a mantra.
“‘Is that what we called it?’ said Blagojevich, adding it had been called a ‘matrix’ at one point.”
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Blagojevich: As Senator, I Would Have Hunted Down bin Laden.
vs.
Blagojevich Hid In Bathroom From Budget Director.
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“[S]ome dude in the small Russian town of Blagoveshchensk (no relation to Rod Blagojevich) decided that burying himself was the best way to receive a lifetime of good luck,” Geekology reports.
Indeed.
Ah, but I think there is a relation to Rod Blagojevich.
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Too soon?
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Too obvious? ‘Cause, you see, Rod Blagojevich buried himself alive this week too.
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It’s been a long week for a short week, folks.
The Week in Chicago Rock
You shoulda been there.
The Week in WTF
North Avenue Beach, big boobs, Daley, Berrios and Wheaton.
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The Beachwood Tip Line: Beachy.
Posted on June 3, 2011