Blagojevich lashes out at lawmakers
By DEANNA BELLANDI – The Associated Press
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| In this photo released by CBS, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, left, shares a laugh with host David Letterman on the set of "The Late Show with David Letterman," Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2009, in New York. (AP Photo/CBS, Jeffrey R. Staab) **MANDATORY CREDIT; NO ARCHIVE; NO SALES; NORTH AMERICAN USE ONLY** (Jeffery R. Staab (HO)) |
CHICAGO – Ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich is lashing out at the Illinois lawmakers who removed him from office, calling them drunkards and adulterers who don’t know how to do their jobs.
Blagojevich’s former colleagues and close associates are laughing off the latest comments as those of a desperate man – but he could make people nervous if he starts naming names as federal prosecutors prepare to indict him on corruption charges.
“At some point he’s going to realize how much trouble he’s in and the way the federal sentencing works now, the best way to reduce your own sentence is to cooperate against someone else,” Chicago defense attorney John Beal said.
Blagojevich, impeached and ousted last month in the wake of federal corruption charges against him, seems open to spilling in a book at least some of what he saw during his two terms as a Democrat in the state’s highest office.
“I’ve got my crayons ready; I’m ready to write it. I’d like to tell those stories,” Blagojevich said during a Wednesday interview on WLS Radio’s “The Don and Roma Morning Show.”
Blagojevich said he wanted to be the one to point out “the phoniness and hypocrisy” of the politicians who run state government.
“A bunch of them are cheating on their spouses, a lot of them drink in excess, very few of them know what’s going on; they just take their marching orders from legislative leaders,” Blagojevich said.
As salacious as Bla-gojevich’s comments might be, what ultimately will matter is whether he can tell prosecutors about illegality in state government, Beal said.
“Feeding them a lot of gossip doesn’t get you anywhere,” he said.
Still, the former governor’s accusations won’t do anything to help incumbents when it comes to statewide elections next year.
“If all he’s doing is making these broad allegations then he’s reinforcing negative perceptions about Illinois politics,” University of Illinois at Springfield political science professor Kent Redfield said.
